June 17 – World Day to Combat Desertification

nPostednon June 17, 2016

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nAsnyou may already have guessed, “desertification” doesn’t havenanything to do with turning things into yummy sweet desserts.nInstead, it means turning land into deserts.

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Deserts,nas I am sure you know, can be cold or hot, low-lying ornhigh-altitude, but what makes them deserts is that they are generallynvery dry. In some deserts, the very infrequent rains that occur allncome at once in violent downpours that cause flash floods. That meansnthat most of the water falling on the land doesn’t get to seep intonthe land and add to an underground water table—but instead rushesnoff to other places. Some deserts are dotted with oases, places withnunderground springs and therefore a riot of plant and animal life.

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nMostndeserts are home to quite a few animals and plants that have adaptednto living in dry places, but life is more sparse – more spaced out.nIt is harder to grow crops in deserts, although irrigation channelsnor underground pipes can bring needed water from far away rivers andnreservoirs. It is harder to raise animals in deserts, although againnranchers can ship in food and water to supplement whatever is therenin the environment.

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nBasically,nwe humans don’t particularly want MORE deserts. Even though they cannbe unbelievably beautiful, it’s hard to live in the desert.

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nButnsome things that people do cause more deserts or desertlike lands to form! How is thatnpossible?

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Whennpeople chop down forests, the fertile soil that used to be held byntree roots quickly erodes away, the cycles of life from the fallen leaves andninsects and decomposers are disrupted or eliminated, and rainfall runs off faster. The productivity of the land can be sondiminished that desertlike land is created even if rainfall levelsndon’t change, but rainfall levels often do change because trees are an important part of the water cycle!

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nThensame thing can happen when people farm poorly and eliminate all thenminerals and organic materials from the soil, or when peoplenovergraze land. When soil chemistry is changed, its ability to holdnwater is also changed.

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nAlso,nas you may have guessed, global climate change can create desertsnwhere their used to be rich farmland or lively forests, becausenweather patterns are changed.

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Whatnhappens when lands go through desertification is a whole slew of badnthings. Naturally, the plants, animals, and other organisms that makenup the old ecosystem are lost, but also people are no longer able tonuse their land either to grow and raise their own food nor to producenfood to sell. When people can no longer feed their families, theynmigrate to urban areas or even to other nations. More than half ofnthe world’s refugees are fleeing lands degraded by desertification!

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nInlive in the U.S. There is quite a bit of talk in my country aboutn“illegal aliens” – people coming to the U.S. from Mexiconwithout the usual legal paperwork. It turns out that many of thenillegal immigrants are fleeing badly degraded lands. According to thenNatural Heritage Institute, about 60% of Mexico can be consideredndegraded!

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nHowncan people prevent or reverse desertification?