Process by which fertile areas of land become increasingly arid
Not to be confused with Decertification or Desertion.
Global distribution of dryland subtypes based on the aridity index (1981-2010)[1]
Desertification is a type of gradual land degradation of fertile land into arid desert due to a combination of natural processes and human activities.[2] This spread of arid areas is caused by a variety of factors, such as overexploitation of soil as a result of human activity and the effects of climate change.[3][4] Geographic areas most affected are located in Africa (Sahel region), Asia (Gobi Desert and Mongolia) and parts of South America. Drylands occupy approximately 40–41% of Earth's land area and are home to more than 2 billion people.[5] Effects of desertification include sand and dust storms, food insecurity, and poverty.
Humans can fight desertification in various ways. For instance, improving soil quality, greening deserts, managing grazing better, and planting trees (reforestation and afforestation) can all help reverse desertification.
Throughout geological history, the development of deserts has occurred naturally over long intervals of time.[6] The modern study of desertification emerged from the study of the 1980s drought in the Sahel.[7]
^European Commission. Joint Research Centre. (2018). World atlas of desertification :rethinking land degradation and sustainable land management. LU: Publications Office. doi:10.2760/9205.
^"Desertification - an overview | ScienceDirect Topics". www.sciencedirect.com. Archived from the original on 3 April 2022. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
^"Sustainable development of drylands and combating desertification". Archived from the original on 4 August 2017. Retrieved 21 June 2016.
^Zeng, Ning; Yoon, Jinho (1 September 2009). "Expansion of the world's deserts due to vegetation-albedo feedback under global warming". Geophysical Research Letters. 36 (17): L17401. Bibcode:2009GeoRL..3617401Z. doi:10.1029/2009GL039699. ISSN 1944-8007. S2CID 1708267.
^Global Drylands Report unemg.org 2018
^Cite error: The named reference :1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Cite error: The named reference :6 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
Desertification is a type of gradual land degradation of fertile land into arid desert due to a combination of natural processes and human activities...
Desertification in Africa is a form of land degradation that involves the conversion of productive land into desert or arid areas. This issue is a pressing...
United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in Africa (UNCCD)...
The World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought is a United Nations observance celebrated each year on 17 June. Its purpose is to raise awareness...
caused lakes and rivers to shrink significantly and caused increasing desertification. This, in turn, decreased the amount of land conducive to settlements...
Australian Desert. Desert Desertification List of deserts by continent Polar desert Tundra United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification "Top ten largest...
be exempt from windfall tax). The Gobi Desert is expanding through desertification, most rapidly on the southern edge into China, which is seeing 3,600 km2...
crops and properties. Drought stands as a significant contributor to desertification. The absence of a universally accepted, precise, and objective definition...
Historic desertification is the study of the desert-forming process from a historic perspective. It was presumed in the past that the main causes of desertification...
creation of habitable areas for local communities. The prevention of land desertification is one of 17 Sustainable Development Goals outlined by the United Nations...
The conversion of productive drylands to desert conditions, known as desertification, can occur from a variety of causes. One is human intervention, including...
initiated in Algeria in the 1960s to plant millions of trees to stop desertification, specifically to prevent the northward advancement of the Sahara Desert...
was eventually torn down by scrap iron thieves. Due to the sudden desertification in the area, the name "Oltenian Sahara" quickly caught on among the...
decade. 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. January 1–4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine...
turned farmland into desert. Each year, arable land is lost due to desertification and human-induced erosion. Improper irrigation of farmland can wick...
2024-03-28. Retrieved 2024-03-28. Waghorn, Terry (7 March 2011). "Fighting Desertification". Forbes. Archived from the original on 2017-07-29. Retrieved 2020-01-21...
the National Work to Fight Desertification program, over 60 percent of the land in Lebanon is at risk of desertification.[citation needed] According...
issues is climate change, which will be responsible for an increase in desertification, natural disasters, and land degradation. Another is deforestation...
Land (SRCCL), also known as the "Special Report on climate change, desertification, land degradation, sustainable land management, food security, and...
retreated south to approximately where it is today, leading to the gradual desertification of the Sahara. The Sahara is now as dry as it was about 13,000 years...
PMC 5451287. PMID 28608869. Sinha, R. K.; Bhatia, S. & Vishnoi, R. (1996). "Desertification control and rangeland management in the Thar desert of India". RALA...
Diversity UNCCD, the abbreviation of United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED)...
Environmental issues in Libya include desertification and very limited natural freshwater resources. Annual rainfall averages only between 200 and 600...
precipitation that falls, by the temperature that prevails, by the causes of desertification or by their geographical location. Deserts are formed by weathering...
the region. Desertification remains a serious problem, consuming an area greater than the area used as farmland. Although desertification has been curbed...
lands accelerates desertification. It is now questioned whether present-day climate warming will favour or disfavour desertification, with contradictory...
results. A 2017 study marked that desertification was controlled, but that the area was still at risk for new desertification in the future, as a result of...
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