Desertification

The causes of desertification:Deforestation is caused mainly for these two factors: • Human activities and• Drought • Human Activities:

Human activities are partly responsible for the growth of deserts in the semi- arid areas. With a growing population, there is an increasing demand for more food. As a result more live stock is reared and more crops are cultivated .All these activities- overgrazing, over cultivation and deforestation and cause soil erosion. When soil is eroded, the damaged land becomes a desert.  •  

Overgrazing:Overgrazing refers to the rearing of too much livestock in a limited pasture. When too many cattle graze in an area, over time, they can eat up all the grass and shrubs. The pounding and trampling of the animals’ hooves can also kill the grass. Once the vegetation cover disappears, the soil is exposed. Exposed soil is easily blown away by wind or washed away by occasional rain, causing the land to become barren.

Over cultivation: Over cultivation refers to the continuous growing of crops on the same piece of land year after year without replacing soil nutrients. As people over cultivate the land, the fields are no longer left to lay fallow, which means to let the cultivated land to rest so that the soil can regain its fertility. If the soil gets no rest from constant ploughing and growing of crops and it gradually loses its nutrients. If the soil nutrients are not replaced, the land becomes infertile and crop yields fall and crops cannot be grown on the infertile soil.

Deforestation : The act or result of cutting down or burning all the trees in an area is known as deforestation. As the population is increasing, people cut more trees for fuel and wood. As the trees are being cut down, the vegetation cover is being cleared away. When there is no vegetation covers, the soil is loose and winds can carry the soil away.

Drought:

The term “drought’’ means a long period of time with little or no rainfall. In drought-prone areas the soil is already exposed and its gets blown up the wind, or the occasional rain. Drought reduces vegetative cover and the soil is exposed. As a result, nothing can be grown in the barren land.

How desertification can be controlled?

The ways to control desertification are crop rotation, controlled grazing and wind brakes. 

Crop Rotation:

Crop rotation is the cultivation of different crops in a specified order on the same fields, in gap to a one-crop system or to random crop sequences. It helps in reducing soil erosion and increases soil fertility. The plant absorbs the nutrients from the soil. The farmer then, plants a plant which replaces the soil nutrient.

Controlled GrazingIt means to allow grazing animals in an area for a certain period of time before removal of the animals and allowing rest and recovery of the vegetation. When the cattle finish eating the grass in field 1 it is moved to another field and allowing field 1 to rest, so that the soil can regain its fertility.

Wind brakes: The process by which people plant trees in a line to protect the soil from soil erosion is called windbreak. These trees are planted in a row so that the force of the wind is not strong and it protects the soil from soil erosion.

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