Degradation of land leading it to lose moisture and become dry and arid is called Desertification. It is a very alarming condition of land and results to infertility of land followed by absence of vegetation in the area altogether. The area turns into a complete wasteland and becomes barren hence, the name desertification. The major causes are climatic changes and deteriorating human activities.
Dryland covers almost half (40%) of the total land in the earth. And its the habitat of lots of organism too. As to the research in the beginning of the millennia, 1/3 of the total human population resides in drylands. Drylands are most prone to desertification as they have limited resources and water bodies. The land doesn't get recharged by water and the soil is too dry for most of the vegetation. Also dry soil can't absorb or retain heat resulting in either too hot or too cold weather.
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When dryland is occupied by humans and they use its resource in unsustainable way, the lan cannot recover the resources and the desertification starts like an avalanche, its very hard to stop this process once it starts. Almost 15% of the drylands have been deteriorated till now and this process is increasing at an exponential rate. The desertification occurs due to the following causes:
- Global warming and climate change
- Human settlement
- Unbalanced demand to supply ratio of resources
- Unsustainable development
- Excessive extraction of under-ground water
- Excessive use of pasture lands for grazing and horticulture
These causes lead to the unbalance of the ecosystem which resist the flow of energy through the ecosystem. The scarcity of water leads to loss in vegetation; the lack of flora and fauna results in reduction in the animal population and thus the entire ecosystem gets effected. Had the resources been used in a sustainable manner, the ecosystem would recover the resources for the living beings to use it, but due to excessive use the resources deplete and the ecosystem fails.
Desertification has been considered a great threat to the world as its effects are inevitable. The effects of desertification are:
- Barren land
- No agriculture/ crops
- Extinction of flora and fauna
- Overpopulation in fertile lands
- Degrading quality of life
So, it is very important that the government and every individuals have a sense of responsibility towards the environment and sustainable use of resources. Strict policy, Afforestation, Awareness, Eco-friendly development and Recycling of resources can avoid such devastating event from occurring which may lead humans to abandon their home due to their own reckless behavior.
( Source: http://www.shanghaidaily.com/newsimage )