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Desertification is a gradual process of increased soil aridity.Desertification has been defined in the text of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) as "land degradation in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid regions resulting from various factors, including climatic variations and human activities."
Desertification is the process by which a piece of land becomes a desert, as the word desert implies. [3] The loss or destruction of the biological potential of the land is referred to as desertification. [4] It reduces or eliminates the potential for plant and animal production on the land and is a component of the widespread ecosystem ...
Much of the soil has rocks or clay from volcanic activity. Other causes include erosion, desertification, and deforestation. Another source of soil degradation is the improper management of waste, lack of facilities and techniques to handle waste lead to the dumping of waste in soil, therefore causes soil degradation by process such as leaching.
Ghana's drylands in the northern Sudanese and Guinea savannah regions are especially at risk from erosion; in these areas, land deterioration is known as "desertification." The risk of desertification is present on about 35% of Ghana's land. An estimated $1.4 billion, or 6% of Ghana's GDP, is lost to land degradation each year in the country. [3]
The cultivation of semi-arid regions encourages erosion of soil and is one of the causes of increased desertification. Desert farming is possible with the aid of irrigation, and the Imperial Valley in California provides an example of how previously barren land can be made productive by the import of water from an outside source.
The causes of both drought and desertification are multifaceted and intricate, stemming primarily from the intricate interplay between climatic factors and human activities in the environment. These causes encompass: Climatic Variability: Climatic variations serve as a significant catalyst for numerous environmental degradation issues ...
Desertification is one of the issues of environmental concern in Nigeria, particularly the northern part of the country. According to UNEP [4] in 1993, Northern Nigeria has one of the highest rates of deforestation in the world at about 3.5%, caused by land degradation, increase in agricultural intensity, over-grazing of livestock, and demand for fuel by cutting down trees.
As per the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment of 2005, land degradation is in defined as "the reduction or loss of the biological or economic productivity of drylands". [6] A similar definition states that land degradation is the "degradation, impoverishment and long-term loss of ecosystem services".