Environmental Hazard Series: Desertification.

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Overview
Desertification is one of the major environmental hazards that's plaguing mankind and bio zone. Deserts are arid region with insufficient water moisture due to predominatly drought conditions. The varieties of crop and animal suffers in such condition and those presents possess several adaptive features.

When arid conditions stretched from their original land outwardly and affect other zones with grassland and animal population. This occurance is known as DESERTIFICATION. It can be necessiated by several causes and profound effect is that the new region affected will soon become desert when not checked.

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In the picture above, This image illustrates the effect of desertification. This is the satellite image of Lake Chad, The interboundary freshwater lake found in west Africa in Chad, bounding Nigeria and Cameroun. In 1973, as shown in the image, the blue portion is the water volume which is very high while in 1997, the volume have shrinked and decreased due to the influence of Sahara Desert. This is the good example of the occurances of this dangerous phenomena known as Desertification.

THE CAUSES OF DESERTIFICATION

There are several factors that are responsible for this ugly event. One thing is sure is that it takes one or all of these factors and the duration to be a long period of time like years to be deteriorate to this extent. These factors includes:

• Overgrazing. This is one of man-made causes of desertification. Allowing to animal to graze on a land for years. This activity will result to immediate loss of vegetation and biological componenet. When vegetation is lost, drought set in and arid region occurs. In Norte Chico, Chile, the grazing land is poorly managed and the herds are constantly grazing thereby exposing the region.
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• Deforestation. Indiscriminate cutting down of trees over time without a afforestation plans makes an area prone to be desertified. Vegetation, trees are other biomes are cleared for several purposes making the area exposed and desertification will set in. As the population keep escalating, humans needs houses and facilities to thrived on, vegetation and wildlife is been threatened regularly.

• Drought. The scarcity of rainfal over an area for long period of time. This region lacks sufficient waterr for life to thrive thereby making the area proned for desertification. The causes of drought can be numerous but its effect is unbearable and touching.

Food for Thought
Desertification can be dangerous and effect so devestating but can be managed. We will talk about its effects and control measures next part. Feel free to add your point of view because there is much to talk about.

REFERENCE: DESERTIFICATION