Land degradation

Land degradation is a process in which the

value of the biophysical environment is

affected by one or more combination of
human-induced processes acting upon the
land.
environmental degradation is the gradual
destruction or reduction of the quality and
quantity of human activities animals activities
or natural means example water causes soil
erosion, wind, etc. It is viewed as any change
or disturbance to the land perceived to be
deleterious or undesirable.[

Measuring
There are four main ways of looking at land degradation and its

impact on the environment around it:

A temporary or permanent decline in the productive capacity of
the land. This can be seen through a loss of biomass, a loss of
actual productivity or in potential productivity, or a loss or change
in vegetative cover and soil nutrients.
A decline in the lands usefulness: A loss or reduction in the
lands capacity to provide resources for human livelihoods. This
can be measured from a base line of past land use.
Loss of biodiversity: A loss of range of species or ecosystem
complexity as a decline in the environmental quality.
Shifting ecological risk: increased vulnerability of the environment
or people to destruction or crisis. This is measured through a base
line in the form of pre-existing risk of crisis or destruction.

Causes

Land clearance, such as clear cutting and deforestation

Agricultural depletion of soil nutrients through poor farming

practices
Livestock including overgrazing and overdrafting
Inappropriate irrigation[6] and overdrafting
Urban sprawl and commercial development
Soil contamination including
Vehicle off-roading
Quarrying of stone, sand, ore and minerals
Increase in field size due to economies of scale, reducing
shelter for wildlife, as hedgerows and copses disappear
Exposure of naked soil after harvesting by heavy equipment
Monoculture, destabilizing the local ecosystem
Dumping of non-biodegradable trash, such as plastics

Effects
Accelerated soil erosion by wind and water
Soil acidification and the formation of acid sulfate soil resulting in

barren soil
Soil alkalinisation owing to irrigation with water containing
sodium bicarbonate leading to poor soil structure and reduced crop
yields
Soil salination in irrigated land requiring soil salinity control to reclaim
the land [8]
Soil waterlogging in irrigated land which calls for some form of
subsurface land drainage to remediate the negative effects [8]
Destruction of soil structure including loss of organic matter
Agricultural activities that can cause land degradation include
shifting cultivation without adequate fallow periods, absence of soil
conservation measures, fertilizer use, and a host of possible problems
arising from faulty planning or management of irrigation.

Landslide
A landslide or landslip is a
geological phenomenon which includes a wide
range of ground movement, such as rockfalls,
deep failure of slopes and shallow debris
flows, which can occur in offshore, coastal and
onshore environments

Causes
Landslides occur when the stability of a slope

changes from a stable to an unstable

condition. A change in the stability of a slope
can be caused by a number of factors, acting
together or alone. Natural causes of landslides
include:

Natural causes of landslides

include:
groundwater (porewater) pressure acting to destabilize the
slope
Loss or absence of vertical vegetative structure, soil
nutrients, and soil structure (e.g. after a wildfire)
erosion of the toe of a slope by rivers or ocean waves
weakening of a slope through saturation by snowmelt,
glaciers melting, or heavy rains
earthquakes adding loads to barely stable slope
earthquake-caused liquefaction (Soil liquefaction
describes a phenomenon whereby a saturated soil
substantially loses strength and stiffness in response to an
applied stress, usually earthquake shaking or other sudden
change in stress condition, causing it to behave like a
liquid.)
volcanic eruptions

Human causes include:

deforestation, cultivation and construction, which

destabilize the already fragile slopes

vibrations from machinery or traffic
blasting
earthwork which alters the shape of a slope, or
which imposes new loads on an existing slope
in shallow soils, the removal of deep-rooted
vegetation that binds colluvium to bedrock
Construction, agricultural or forestry activities (
logging) which change the amount of water which
infiltrates the soil.

Types

Debris flow
Slope material that becomes saturated with
water may develop into a debris flow or
mud flow. The resulting slurry of rock and mud
may pick up trees, houses and cars, thus
blocking bridges and tributaries causing
flooding along its path.

Earth flow
Earthflows are downslope, viscous flows of saturated,

fine-grained materials, which move at any speed

from slow to fast. Typically, they can move at speeds
from 0.17 to 20km/h. Though these are a lot like
mudflows, overall they are slower moving and are
covered with solid material carried along by flow
from within. They are different from fluid flows in that
they are more rapid. Clay, fine sand and silt, and
fine-grained, pyroclastic material are all susceptible
to earthflows. The velocity of the earthflow is all
dependent on how much water content is in the flow
itself: if there is more water content in the flow, the
higher the velocity will be.

Debris avalanche
A debris avalanche is a type of slide

characterized by the chaotic movement of rocks

soil and debris mixed with water or ice (or both).
They are usually triggered by the saturation of
thickly vegetated slopes which results in an
incoherent mixture of broken timber, smaller
vegetation and other debris.[2] Debris avalanches
differ from debris slides because their
movement is much more rapid. This is usually a
result of lower cohesion or higher water content
and commonly steeper slopes.

Desertification
Desertification is a type of land degradation

in which a relatively dry land region becomes

increasingly arid, typically losing its bodies of
water as well as vegetation and wildlife.

Causes
Removal of vegetation.
Drought
Climatic shifts
Overgrazing
Deforestation for fuel or construction

materials.

Countermeasures and prevention

Reforestation
Fixating the soil is often done through the use of shelter belts,

woodlots and windbreaks. Windbreaks are made from trees and

bushes and are used to reduce soil erosion and
evapotranspiration
to combine protection and restoration of vegetation with
rational use of natural resources;
Protection of vegetative cover can be a major
instrument for prevention of desertification. Maintaining
vegetative cover to protect soil from wind and water erosion is
a key preventive measure against desertification. Properly
maintained vegetative cover also prevents loss of
ecosystem services during drought episodes. Reduced rainfall
may be induced if vegetation cover is lost due to
overcultivation, overgrazing, overharvesting of medicinal
plants, woodcutting, or mining activities.