What is desertification BBC Bitesize?
This is the process that sees productive land turned into non-productive desert. It usually affects dry areas on the edge of deserts, eg The Sahel, south of the Sahara Desert in Africa.
What is desertification ks2?
The spread or encroachment of a desert environment into a nondesert region is a process known as desertification. This process results from a number of factors, including changes in climate and the influence of human activities.
What is desertification explain?
Desertification is the degradation process by which a fertile land changes itself into a desert by losing its flora and fauna, this can be caused by drought, deforestation, climate change, human activities or improper agriculture. Desertification is a process of degradation of the land.
What do you mean by desertification?
The United Nations’ official definition says desertification is land degradation in typically dry areas resulting from various factors, including climatic variations and human activities.
What are some effects of desertification?
The potential impacts of desertification on health include:
- higher threats of malnutrition from reduced food and water supplies;
- more water- and food-borne diseases that result from poor hygiene and a lack of clean water;
- respiratory diseases caused by atmospheric dust from wind erosion and other air pollutants;
What is desertification and its effects?
What is a desertification in geography?
The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification defines “desertification” as “land degradation in arid, semi-arid and sub-humid areas resulting from various factors including climatic variations and human activities,” and, as of May 2014, a total of 196 countries and the European Union have ratified the …
What is desertification and how can it occur?
Desertification occurs due to a decrease in vegetation. This can happen naturally due to a drought or can be caused by human activities. The lack of plants can cause changes to the land. Plants help shade the soil, so when plants are removed, the soil will be exposed to the sun and will dry out more quickly.
How does desertification affect the world?
The combined impact of climate change, land mismanagement and unsustainable freshwater use has seen the world’s water-scarce regions increasingly degraded. This leaves their soils less able to support crops, livestock and wildlife.
What are the cause and consequences of desertification?
Climatic disturbances may be both a consequence and a cause of desertification. The destruction of the natural grass and woody vegetation cover in dry lands affects the topsoil temperature and air humidity, and thus influences the movements of atmospheric masses and rainfall.
What are the 6 effects of desertification?
CONSEQUENCES OF DESERTIFICATION Loss of biodiversity by worsening the living conditions of many species. Food insecurity due to crop failure or reduced yields. The loss of vegetation cover and therefore of food for livestock and humans. Increased risk of zoonotic diseases, such as COVID-19.
What is desertification in simple words?
What is desertification and why does it occur?
Desertification is the process by which vegetation in drylands i.e. arid and semi-arid lands, such as grasslands or shrublands, decreases and eventually disappears.
What happens during desertification?
Desertification is the conversion of habitable and fertile land to uninhabitable desert. When a habitable and fertile land loses its vegetation due to natural drought or human activity, the land begins to change. It will become drier due to lack of plants to shade the ground.
What is meant by desertification?
Desertification. This is the process that sees productive land turned into non-productive desert. It usually affects dry areas on the edge of deserts, eg The Sahel, south of the Sahara Desert in Africa.
What are the characteristics of desert?
Deserts are dry, arid areas that receive very little rain. Deserts can be hot or cold. Most hot deserts are found near the equator. Deserts are dry or arid areas that receive less than 250 mm of rain each year. Deserts can be hot or cold. They contain plants and animals that are specially adapted to these extremely dry conditions.
What are the effects of desertification in Africa?
It usually affects dry areas on the edge of deserts, eg The Sahel, south of the Sahara Desert in Africa. What are the effects of desertification? Lack of vegetation cover for holding soil together and for grazing. Increased soil erosion. Crop failure, leading to famine. Fewer plant and animal species.
What are the strategies to reduce desertification?
Strategies to reduce desertification. Prevention is much more cost-effective than rehabilitation. Desertification can be reduced by adopting the following strategies: Planting more trees – the roots of trees hold the soil together and help to reduce soil erosion from wind and rain.