2013

Soil Erosion and Desertification

Idil Abdullahi
Al Sadiq Islamic English School
4/13/2013

Contents
1. Soil Erosion

2. Desertification

3. Case Study: Desertification

of China

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1. Soil Erosion
Soil erosion is a naturally occurring
process which involves the loss of the
top soil by wind and rain. This is a slow
and continuous process which has been
taking place for millions of years. The
rate of soil erosion is equivalent to the
rate of weathering of surface rocks i.e.
new soil formation from weathering of
surface rocks quickly replaces the soil
being lost. Soil erosion is a form of soil
degradation along with soil
Figure 1.1: A road side view of dramatic erosion in Eritrea,
compaction, low organic matter, loss of
Africa
soil structure, poor internal drainage,
sanitization and soil acidity. These types of soil degradation caused by human
activities (and in some cases naturally) all contribute to accelerated loss of the
topsoil which have far reaching consequences.

Causes:
Soil erosion can either be a product of
natural processes or an outcome of
human activities. Since this report is
giving an overview of the unnatural
causes of soil erosion, it is more befitting
to state and analyze the human causes of
this type of soil degradation. The
following are the main human causes of
soil erosion:
Figure1.2 woodcutters clearing forests

 Clearance of natural of vegetation (deforestation): This creates surfaces bare

of vegetation which makes the soil more vulnerable to erosion especially if
the trees on slopes are cut down. There are no tree roots to hold soil particles
in place, no tree leaves and branches to breakdown the
force of the falling rain and no obstacles such as tree
stems to restrict the flow of water down slopes.
Overgrazing: When cattle and other livestock are allowed
to graze in a pasture beyond the carrying capacity of
vegetation, patches of bare soil appear. Overtime, the
Figure 1.3 Overgrazing: see how
livestock eat the grass down to the roots and their hooves
patches of bare soil have started
to appear.
trample on the soil into a hard layer reducing the ability of
the soil to retain water as a result the rain water runs off the surface of the
soil without ever penetrating it and carrying the topsoil with it.
Over cultivation: The practice of constantly cultivating and
growing crops without letting the soil fallow to recover as
consequence the soil quality and productivity is reduced.
The worst form of over cultivation can be witnesses in area
where monoculture is practiced (growing the same crop on
the same land year after year). A reduction is soil fertility
can lead to less plant to growth therefore there will be less
plant cover and rate of soil erosion further increases.

Figure1. 4 over cultivated

farmland

Bad Farming practices: If the land is ploughed year after year especially in
sloped areas natural channels and furrows are created for rainwater to flow
down the slope carrying away the soil particles. Also, overuse of fertilizers and
leaving the land bare of any vegetation cover will increase the rate at which
the soil is eroded.

Figure1.5 shows the many causes of soil erosion and the policy arena which stimulate it

Consequences:
Soil Erosion has adverse effect on the environment which cannot be reversed or
fixed. Here is a summary of the series of chain effects soil erosion has on the
environment.
Reduction in soil quality

Overuse of Fertilizers by Farmers

Increased Eutrophication

Soil becomes Infertile

Crop Yeilds Go down

Farmers income decreases

Environment suffers from prospects of famine

Excessive soil degradation by Farmers

Desertification

Forced Migration

Additionally, most of the eroded topsoil is deposited in rivers where it will form
excessive amounts of sediments on the riverbeds as result damaging fish breeding
areas and causing rivers to overflow thus floods become more frequent.

Methods of Tackling:
Soil Erosion is a natural process which must take place for the benefit of the
environment. However, the effects of accelerated soil erosion due to human
activities on the environment are often severe and irreversible. Therefore, we
cannot inhibit soil erosion nor fix the damaging effects on the environment but
we can implement measures to avoid further damage to the environment due to
human actions. Here are some of the important and useful measures people
particularly farmers can apply into their fields:
Avoiding removal of tress in areas where soil is vulnerable to erosion, and
planting trees to aid in stabilizing the land.
Steer livestock away from grazing areas where
soil is most likely to erode.
Making terraces on hillsides if crops are to be
grown, to restrict the soil from being easily
washed away by rain water.
Adding humus e.g. animal dung, peat etc. to the
soil to make it more likely to stick together.

Figure1.6 the slopes are terraced to

reduce the soil erosion by rain

Keeping a surface vegetation cover on the soil all year, so that their roots
will hold the soil place.

2. Desertification
Desertification is process by which a region exposed to
human disturbances such as deforestation;
overgrazing or poorly managed agriculture, starts to
develop desert like conditions and if theses
disturbances escalate; the desert spreads and engulfs
area formerly carrying surface vegetation.
Desertification is in response to changes in climatic
conditions which (are occasionally natural or) are
mostly induced by human activities.

Figure 2.1 Desertification of an area previously

covered with vegetation.

Causes:
Desertification is a product of a number of factors involving human activities,
natural processes and population rise. Its causes can be closely linked to that of
soil erosion since soil erosion inevitably leads to desertification. The following are
the causes of desertification which are under two sub-headings:
Natural Causes;
Climatic Shift- Climatic shifts such as a decline in rainfall leads to drought
which initiates a regression in vegetation cover. As a result the soil is
vulnerable and its structure is destroyed by the various types of soil
degradation. Eventually the sand become dry as well as
sandy and is blown away by the wind or washed away by
rain leaving the infertile lower soils layers exposed which
then bake in the sun and become unproductive hot pans.
Desertification then takes place.
Human Activities;
Overgrazing- Increase in demands for food due to an increasing human
population forces pastoralists to graze more cattle and other
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livestock in pastures where the livestock exceeds the carrying capacity of

vegetation thus patches of bare soil appear. Overtime, the livestock eat the
grass down to the roots and their hooves trample on the soil into a hard
layer reducing the ability of the soil to retain water
as a result the rain water runs off the surface of
the soil without ever penetrating it and carrying
the topsoil with it. Ultimately, the infertile lower
soils layers are exposed which then bake in the sun
and become unproductive hot pans.
Desertification then takes place.

Figure 2.2 Overgrazing is one of the

principal causes of desertification. When
the herds are too numerous compared to
the available vegetation, the vegetation is
unable to regenerate

Over cultivation- The rising demands for food due

to the ever-growing population force farmers to
put pressures on the environment. Farmers
respond by constantly cultivating and growing crops without letting the soil
to recover. As a consequence the soil quality and productivity is reduced. A
reduction is soil fertility can lead to less plant growth therefore there will
be less plant cover as a result the soil is vulnerable and its structure is
destroyed by the various types of soil degradation. Farmers further react by
overusing fertilizers. This causes more adverse effects and any hope for soil
recovery is diminished as all the nutrients leach out of the soil by rain.
Finally, the sand become dry as well as sandy and is blown away by the
wind or washed away by rain leaving the infertile lower soils layers exposed
which then bake in the sun and become unproductive hot pans.
Desertification then takes place.
Employment of inappropriate irrigation methods- Any water used for
Irrigation contains dissolved salts to some extent therefore soil salinisation
( the process by which top soil becomes concentrated with salt) is
inevitable. However, salinisation is increased by poor water drainage and
the use of salt water for irrigation. The increase in soil salinity reduces the
ability of plants to absorb water from the soil as a result impending plant
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growth as well as a leading reduced to vegetation cover therefore land

productivity is reduced. The farmers react by using more irrigation water on
the plants. This causes minerals to leach out of the soil and to some degree
contributes to the erosion of the top soil. The land is left behind and
eventually, the topsoil become dry as well as sandy and is blown away by
the wind or washed away by rain leaving the infertile lower soils layers
exposed which then bake in the sun and
become unproductive hot pans. Desertification
then takes place.
Deforestation-The demand for fuel and fire
wood is one of the main causes of
desertification in tropical arid areas. In order to
sustain the increasing population trees are cut
down to provide space as well as wood for
Figure 2.3 Mato Grosso in Brazil: extensive
domestic purposes. However, the soil in tropical
deforestation to the north of Cacres
rainforest quickly become infertile if the
vegetation is removed; the soil becomes exposed to erosion. The top soil is
then blown or washed away leaving the infertile lower soils layers exposed
which then bake in the sun and become
unproductive hot pans. Desertification
then takes place.

Figure 2.4 Katiola in the Cte dIvoire: diamond mines or

precious metal open quarries are a cause of desertification.
Large surfaces are cleared and turned upside down hundreds
of meters into the ground. When the mines are then
disaffected the environment is totally destroyed rendering
land rehabilitation almost impossible.

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Consequences: Desertification arises from rigorous erosion of the soil.

Desertifications effects are akin to those of soil erosion as it has a series of chain
effects. The following diagram illustrates the severe effects of desertification.
Reduced Rainfall
Reduction in river flow and underground water level
Drought
Increase in Irrigation
Increase in soil Salinity
Soil becomes infertile
Reduced crop yield
Formation of Sand Dunes

Loss of Biodiversity
Reduced food output

Decline in cash crop for exports

Poverty
Famine
Increase in food security
Conflicts for resources
Migration

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Figure 2.5 Summary of the causes, consequences and effects of desertification

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Methods of Tackling:
Desertification occurs naturally over a period of time. Nevertheless, human
influences on the environment have aided in speeding up this process.
Therefore methods of tackling these causes, postponing and even reversing
desertification have been discovered and developed. The following table is
mentioning them:

Cause

Method Of Tackling
Use Good Farming practices
Use Higher yielding, drought
resistant seeds
Use Crop rotation year after year
Use Manure instead of Fertilizers
Fence off young Trees to prevent
grazing by animals
Control amount of cattle grazing
in grazing land
Rotate grazing land
Reduce number of cattle by using
higher-yielding breeds
Implement Afforestation and
replant tree especially in shelter
belts
Alternatives to fuel wood, for
example , biogas plants
Use good irrigation practices
Make sure not to pump out to
much underground water

Over cultivation

Overgrazing

Deforestation

Poor Irrigation

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3. Case Study: Desertification in China

China is a developing country with a large population. The country has to bear the
responsibility of feeding 22% of the worlds
population with only 7% of the worlds arable land.
Population pressures have forced the government
to clear more forests and marginal lands for
cultivation. Farmers are compelled to over cultivate
lands and herders are forced to allow their livestock
to overgraze pastures in order to feed the rising
population. Increasing demands for water has
instigated the government to order the massive

Figure 2.6 An area of Inner Mongolia before

desertification

withdrawal of underground water for agricultural,

industrial and domestic purposes. All of these activities
have lead to an increase in soil salinity, a decrease in soil
fertility which has brought severe drought hence the
expansion of old deserts and the formation of new ones.
Desertification is a pressing environmental issue in China
which has been suffering from desert related problem
Figure 2.7 An area of Inner Mongolia after
desertification
for these past few decades. The expansion of deserts
and desertified land had destroyed villages, buried railways and roads, engulfed
croplands together with grasslands and is a threat to the people along with the
livestock.
Desertification occurs mostly in western part of north eastern China, north part of
northern china, most parts of northwest China, in areas near shelter belts and
places bordering deserts.
Desertification in China is severe and the rate of desert formation is faster in
China than anywhere else in the world with old deserts constantly expanding and
new ones being continually created.
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Land desertification by wind erosion totals 1533 million kilometres square and
that by rain erosion totals 1794 million kilometres square and is concentrated on
the Loess Plateau (which is the most severely eroded area in China and probably
the whole world) located in the middle and upper reaches of the Yangtze River.
The annual expansion of desertification of land increased from 1600 kilometres
square in 1970s to 2100 kilometres square during the 1980s. Furthermore, about
an area of 3,600 square kilometres was lost per year in the 1990s and due to
numerous successful model projects the rate has slowed down to 300 kilometres
square in 2002.
Among all the deserts in China, the Gobi desert expanded the most by covering an
area of 52400 kilometres square between 1994 and 1999. Nowadays, it expands
at a rate of 3,600 kilometres per year. Additionally, the huge Takilmakan and
Kumtag deserts in western China are expanding at such a rate that, these deserts
are expected to merge in the near future.
Desertification in China has left the land in a critical condition. It has impacted
about 27% of Chinas total land territory and has affected about 400 million
people in the past few decades. Moreover, desertification has created powerful
sand storms with its intensity increasing every year. Added to that, farmers have
been forced to abandon their fields and the levels of rural poverty have been
escalating. What's more is that the desertification of China is also affecting
neighbouring countries such as Japan, North Korea, and South Korea.
The hardest areas in China, are poor and dry provinces such as Ningxia and
Qinghai where populations shrank from 6.3 million to 5.63 million. Chengdu plain,
one of Chinas primary grain growing areas is threatened by sands from the
defamed Ruoergoi grasslands. Warnings about the development of dustbowls
have been issued due to the overgrazing of the plain. Wells have already dried up
and emergency grains supplies have to be brought in to prevent starvation and
death due to malnutrition. The conditions became so grave that people were
encouraged to move to more hospitable places.

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Future prospects:
Chinas administration spends billons every year combating deforestation. In
1978, the government launched the largest ecological project called The Green
Wall of China which aims to increase the human-made tree cover from 5% to
15% of the countrys landmass. Additionally China aims to restore 40,000 and
70,000 kilometres square of desertified land through planting new trees and
rejuvenating old forests. Finally, efforts to support poor farmers, train them and
educate them on good agricultural practices have been put into effect in the
recent years.
The government envisioned that by 2050 these projects would spawn forests that
would stretch four million kilometres square of the countrys north.

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