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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." [10]
A satellite image of the Sahara, the world's largest hot desert and third largest desert after Antarctica and the Arctic. Desert greening is the process of afforestation or revegetation of deserts for ecological restoration (biodiversity), sustainable farming and forestry, but also for reclamation of natural water systems and other ecological systems that support life.
For example, climate change can cause species to move in different directions, potentially disrupting their interactions with each other. [10] [11] Examples of effects on some biome types are provided in the following. [clarification needed] [where?] Research into desertification is complex, and there is no single metric which can define all ...
A 10.3 million km2 area, or 34.2% of the continent's surface, is at risk of desertification. If the deserts (Sahara and Kalahari) are taken into account, the affected and potentially affected area is roughly 16.5 million km2 or 54.6% of all of Africa. 5.7 percent of the continent's surface is made up of very severe regions, 16.2 percent by ...
Desertification: Human-led changes in land management practices lead to changes in the ecological characteristics of a region. Land mismanagement and climate change can lead to a loss of ecosystem services, such as through degradation of soil. [15] Together, these losses can result in desertification seen in arid and dry areas.
The Soil Conservation Service worked with state governments and universities with established agriculture programs, such as the University of Nebraska, to promote the method to farmers. By 1938, the introduction of new agricultural techniques, such as contour plowing, had reduced soil loss by 65% despite the continuation of the drought.
Soil regeneration is the reformation of degraded soil through biological, chemical, and or physical processes. [ 2 ] When productivity declined in the low-clay soils of northern Thailand, farmers initially responded by adding organic matter from termite mounds , but this was unsustainable in the long-term.
The livelihoods of millions of people in developing countries depend highly on dryland biodiversity to ensure their food security and their well-being. Drylands, unlike more humid biomes, rely mostly on above ground water runoff for redistribution of water, and almost all their water redistribution occurs on the surface. [4]