| Desertification Causes
One of the main causes of desertification is unabated cutting of trees and planted. When this happens, the surface of the soil becomes dry and the top soil gets blown away by wind or washed away by floods and rainwater. |
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As a result the soil tends to become infertile, and slowly it hardens in the sun. Also, overgrazing in the same area tends to get rid of certain species of plants that are useful, while the ones that are not useful remain behind.However, when it comes to vegetation being removed, several factors come into play. Factors like using more land for agriculture, having a lot of livestock on limited land, deforestation, bad irrigation practices and using crop residue for livestock feed are all responsible for causing desertification.
The main desertification causes identified are drought, climate change, uncontrolled growth of population, poverty and governmental policies that allow too much clearing of land or expansion of forested zones for urbanization.
According to researchers, desertification actually started in the Holocene era, and has continued ever since. Today, the pace of desertification is at its peak. Desertification causes besides the ones mentioned above include forest fires, climate change, and overuse of groundwater.
Today, deserts are actually separated from surrounding non-desert areas by mountains and other types of landforms. However, the edges of the deserts can start spreading if the natural balance of the ecology is disturbed. Under normal circumstances, the edges of the deserts are transitional areas between the desert and the non-desert landforms. This transitional area has its own delicate balance of ecosystem, and if that gets disturbed by climatic changes, removal of plants to use for fuel or overgrazing, it can lead to desertification.
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Desertification Causes
