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Causes of Desertification – Desertification

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Causes of Desertification – Desertification

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To what extent do you agree that anthropogenic causes of desertification in the Sahel are more important than natural ones?

Desertification is when once fertile land turns into a desert due to a combination of natural and human factors. It is a long-term change that causes the land to become degraded or barren, with vegetation dying and soil eroding by wind and rain. The Sahel is an example of desertification. The Sahel is a semi-arid region in central North Africa just north of the Sahara Desert. It passes through the countries of Ethiopia, Sudan, Somalia and Chad. The Sahel has been turning into a desert since the late 1940s, caused by drought, population growth, over-cultivation, overgrazing and firewood cutting.

There is only one physical cause for desertification in the Sahel, and that is climate change. Severe droughts occurred frequently in the Sahel between 1968 and 1974, and again between 1979 and 1984. Without water for a long time, vegetation dies and the soil turns to dust, making it more susceptible to wind erosion. Severe and frequent droughts are allegedly caused by global warming, which leads to higher temperatures and increased evapotranspiration, so it can be said that the droughts are partly caused by humans, as they burn fossil fuels, which leads to global warming.

Read the full article: Term Papers

author: William Van Cottum

Professor Emeritus of Botany, Ghent University (Belgium). Scientific advisor on desertification and sustainable development.



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