What is desertification risk?
Desertification manifests when land and water resources are degraded beyond certain thresholds. Such degradation is leading to irreversible changes and to a new non-desirable state (Briassoulis, 2005, Kosmas et al., 1999).
What geographic areas are affected by desertification the most?
Africa is the continent most affected by desertification, and one of the most obvious natural borders on the landmass is the southern edge of the Sahara desert. The countries that lie on the edge of the Sahara are among the poorest in the world, and they are subject to periodic droughts that devastate their peoples.
What states are at risk for desertification?
Seventeen states in the Western U.S. can be categorized as arid, semi-arid or dry subhumid based on climate and soil type; this characterizes them as vulnerable to desertification. The most severely affected areas in the U.S. are in New Mexico, Texas and on the Navajo Indian reservation in New Mexico and Arizona.
What is desertification what causes it what areas are at risk of desertification?
Human activities that contribute to desertification include the expansion and intensive use of agricultural lands, poor irrigation practices, deforestation, and overgrazing. These unsustainable land uses place enormous pressure on the land by altering its soil chemistry and hydrology.
What are 3 causes of desertification?
Various Causes of Desertification
- Overgrazing.
- Deforestation.
- Farming Practices.
- Excessive Use of Fertilizers and Pesticides.
- Overdrafting of groundwater.
- Urbanization and Other Types of Land Development.
- Climate Change.
- Stripping the Land of Resources.
At what rate is desertification happening?
More than 75 percent of Earth’s land area is already degraded, according to the European Commission’s World Atlas of Desertification, and more than 90 percent could become degraded by 2050.
Why is Texas at risk of desertification?
Many arid areas in Texas will likely enter desertification or lose its productivity for activities like livestock. In 2020, high temperatures and lack of rainfall led to a drought with D3 (extreme) and D4 (exceptional) categories in Texas as well as many other Western and Central states.