Desertification is a common problem of land degradation . It consists in the fact that fertile lands turn into deserts, devoid of moisture and vegetation. As a result, such territories become unsuitable for human life, and only some species of flora and fauna will be able to adapt to life in such conditions.
Reasons for desertification
There are a huge number of reasons why desertification occurs. Some are natural in nature because they arise from natural phenomena, but most of the reasons are caused by anthropogenic activities.
Consider the most relevant causes that lead to desertification of the soil:
Water scarcity . Drought can occur due to abnormal precipitation during an increase in air temperature. The scarcity of water resources is due to the remoteness of water bodies, so the earth receives insufficient moisture;
Climatic changes . If the air temperature rises, moisture evaporation increases, and precipitation decreases, climate aridizes;
Felling trees . If forests are destroyed, the soil becomes unprotected from water and wind erosion . Also, the soil will receive a minimum amount of moisture;
Livestock overstock . The territory where animals are grazed loses vegetation very quickly, and the earth will not receive enough moisture. As a result of ecosystem changes, desertification will occur;
Biological death . When the flora instantly disappears due to infection, for example, with toxic and toxic substances, the soil succumbs to severe depletion;
Inadequate drainage . This occurs as a result of a violation of the drainage system, artificial or natural;
Salinization of the soil . A similar problem occurs due to the action of groundwater, imbalance of salts in agricultural activities or a change in land cultivation technologies;
Groundwater level reduction . If groundwater has ceased to feed the earth, then it will soon lose fertility;
Termination of reclamation work . If you do not irrigate the earth, then desertification will occur from a lack of moisture;
There are other reasons that change the soil, resulting in desertification.
Depending on the causes of soil changes, several types of desertification can be distinguished. The first is salinization. It can be primary or secondary, when salts accumulate in the soil naturally or due to sudden changes in climate conditions , water regime.
Secondly, it is deforestization, that is, a change in soil due to deforestation and destruction of vegetation. Thirdly, pasture degradation occurs, which is also a type of desertification. And fourthly, the drainage of the seabed, when the water level drops significantly and the bottom, devoid of water, becomes land.
Desertification is determined by a number of indicators. This is a measurement of soil salinity and tree density, the area of bottom drainage and soil bonding. The choice of indicators directly depends on the type of desertification. Each option has its own scale, by which you can determine the degree of desertification of the earth.
Thus, desertification of the soil is an urgent environmental problem of our time . Of course, we know many deserts on the planet that appeared many thousands of years ago. If you do not take measures, then we risk that soon all the continents of the planet will be hidden by deserts, and life will become impossible. The more intense the agricultural and industrial activity of people, the faster desertification occurs. One can only guess after how many years and where a new desert will appear on the planet.