What is a desert?
A desert is a dry place that gets very little rainfall every year.
Plants and animals who live in deserts have adapted in many ways so they can live in the harsh, dry environment.
What is desertification?
Desertification is the spreading of current deserts and deserts beginning to form in non- desert areas. Desertification is a big issue because with all these new deserts animals and plants are losing their homes. An estimated six million hectares of land are lost every year because of desertification.
More than 110 countries are affected by desertification.
Africa is the country that is most covered in deserts 2/3s of the country covered in dry lands or desert.
How does it occur?
The increasing human population lead to increasing demands on our already fragile environment
Cultivation, overgrazing, deforestation and poor water management can all be contributing factors to desertification.
The pounding of the soil by the hooves of livestock may degrade the soil and encourage erosion by wind and water- this causes desertification.
What can be done about this issue?
There are many things that are being done to try and combat desertification, these include.
© Rehabilitate degraded land
© Planting more seeds for new crops
© Limiting soil disturbance
© Reforestation
© Appropriate animal number
© Develop renewable energies for heating and cooking
We can do many things that will help this problem such as making people aware of desertification and educating them on what it is all about.
No comments:
Post a Comment