Desertification

Desertification is a worsening condition where the amount of precipitation and availability of water reduces to an extreme level. This condition is generally spotted in the dry sub humid areas and it is the climatic extremities that bring about such deteriorations. Chiefly the man made activities give rise to desertification in an area.

The obvious causes of desertification are over exploitation of ground water, deforestation, over grazing, salinity and bareness of land and excessive consumption of water in an area due to the increase of industries and population. The climates of the deserts are always extreme and mainly two types of deserts are found in the world namely the cold desert and the hot desert. Both plant and animal life is ill developed in the deserts. Desertification is a growing concern in the world today because more and more of land is loosing the nutrients and is turning out to be infertile. It is highly risky to allow the progression of desertification as these areas are nothing but waste lands.

Planting of trees would not only prevent soil leaching and salinity but also stop soil erosion. Methods of subsistence farming or slash and burn should be stopped. The green police urge that overgrazing should be avoided. Man made water supplying systems should be used instead of underground pumps. Desertification is considered to a serious threat to the biodiversity. Therefore the slaughter of trees should be the primary thing for mass scale reduction. Artificial enrichment of the soil is necessary in these extreme situations.