The phenomenon of desertification

The concept of the phenomenon of desertification

The concept of desertification expresses the process that leads to a reduction in the biological productivity of dry lands. These are arid or semi-arid lands resulting from natural or human causes. The concept of desertification differs from the concept of the physical expansion of pre-existing desert, as it represents the multiple processes that threaten the ecosystems of dry lands, including deserts, pastures, lands, and swamps.

Causes of desertification

The causes of desertification are as follows:

Overgrazing

Overgrazing of animals is considered one of the major problems in many areas that have begun to desertify. When there are many animals that feed on plants in a certain area, it will lead to a lack of growth of these plants and difficulty in growing them again, which leads to damage to the vitality of the land and makes it lose its green nature.

Elimination of Forests

People contribute to shaping the phenomenon of desertification through their participation in deforestation when they want to move to an area, or when they need wood to build houses or for other purposes, and deforestation prevents the growth of plants around them.

Farming

There are some farmers who are ignorant of using the land in an effective way, which leads them to strip the land of its components before leaving it and going to another piece of land. Stripping the soil of the nutrients it contains is considered one of the causes of desertification in areas used for agriculture.

Urbanization and land development

The process of urbanization leads people to kill plant life, and may cause various problems to the soil as a result of chemicals and other substances that may harm the land. When areas become urban or populated, this will lead to a reduction in the areas in which plants grow, leading to desertification.

Climate change

Climate plays a major role in the desertification process. When the weather becomes warmer and periods of drought increase, desertification will become more widespread. In the event of rapid climate change, large areas of land will become desert, and some of these areas may become uninhabited.

Capturing nature's resources

When the land contains natural resources such as gas, oil, or raw materials, humans will dig it to obtain these materials, which leads to stripping the land of nutrients and killing plant life. When these actions continue, the land will turn into a desert.

natural disasters

Natural disasters cause damage to nature due to several reasons, including drought. In this case, humans cannot avoid the resulting damage, but they may contribute to rebuilding the lands after the disaster ends.

Stages of desertification

The following points address the stages of desertification and the features of each stage:

Mild primary desertification

In it, simple indicators that negatively affect the environment begin to appear, such as a decline in the size and quality of vegetation cover.

Moderate desertification

This stage is considered dangerous, and it should be started by relying on policies that prevent matters from getting worse, as plant production decreases by a quarter, due to soil erosion and erosion by water and wind, or due to its high degree of salinity.

Severe desertification

The dangers of desertification are worsening and its manifestations are becoming more apparent than before. With the increase in the rate of soil salinity and the degree of erosion, its production decreases by half, and new harmful types of plants begin to appear to replace beneficial plants. It can be said that it is not too late at this stage to rectify matters, except The cost of reclamation will be high, and the process will require a lot of time.

Very severe desertification

It is the last stage of desertification and the highest degree of environmental deterioration, as the land is no longer able to produce due to its transformation into sand dunes or completely empty rocky lands, and it is difficult at this stage to return the land to its previous state or reclaim it due to the high cost.

Consequences of desertification

Desertification leads to many consequences that negatively affect the ecosystem. The most prominent of these consequences are as follows:

• Desertification affects the provision of basic services, such as: fresh water, food, and fodder.
• It affects the regulation of basic services such as water purification, and it also affects climate regulation and causes a change in weather.
• It affects cultural and recreational services.
• It affects the soil and reduces its production.
• It causes the migration of people from areas that have been exposed to desertification to other new areas, and this leads to the exacerbation of urban sprawl, which leads to political and social problems.
• It leads to the conversion of remaining pastures and forest lands into agricultural lands, which leads to increased pressure on the ecosystem that causes soil fertility to deteriorate and erode.
• Surface soil is exposed to winds as a result of desertification, which causes erosion over time.

Areas vulnerable to desertification

There are some areas that are more vulnerable to desertification than others, and they are:

Irrigated agricultural lands

Irrigating land leads to the accumulation of salts in the soil, which causes deterioration in the condition of the land and reduces its productivity. It should be noted that irrigated crops need 80 cm of water annually, and as irrigation continues, salts will accumulate in the soil if it is not drained correctly.

Rain-fed agricultural lands

Rainfall in varying amounts on these lands leads to their desertification. They may become dry lands in seasons with less rainfall, and the soil will be constantly exposed to winds, which leads to its erosion.

It should be noted that the meadows that depend on rain reach an area of ​​5 million km², and represent a third of the world’s agricultural land entirely, noting that more than 2 million km² of agricultural land is deteriorating to a moderate to severe degree, and farmers abandon 1% of it annually.

Lands subjected to overgrazing

This caused damage to it and led to its erosion, which exposed its soil to erosion, as livestock consume most of the plants in the area, trampling on others and destroying them.

Dry forest lands

Which have been subjected to excessive logging, and most of these areas are spread across the continents of Asia and Africa, as the wood is placed in ovens designated for producing charcoal to be used later for cooking, and these areas are not replanted.

Solutions to eliminate desertification

There are many solutions that can be followed to eliminate desertification, the most prominent of which are the following:

• Land and irrigation management: Continuous effective management of the land corrects some problems, such as: overgrazing, soil erosion, and avoiding excessive irrigation that leads to soil desertification.
• Maintain vegetation cover: so The role of vegetation cover is to protect the soil from wind erosion, and it also protects it during periods of drought.
• Alternative agriculture and the use of modern agricultural methods: These methods reduce pressure on the soil and its erosion, as ponds dedicated to raising fish can be created in dry areas to reduce the problem of desertification.
• Creating the green fence: It is a project to plant trees in the form of a line like fences to combat land degradation and to renew gardens. This initiative began on the African continent in 11 countries, in order to revive plant life and enhance natural landscapes.