Report a Violation, Land Degradation: Mechanisms and Causes of Land Degradation, Land Degradation: 9 Main Causes of Land Degradation, Mineral Resources: Useful Notes on the Types and Uses of Mineral Resources. In other words, it can be as a consequence of poor management of our natural capital (soils, water, vegetation, etc.). Degradation status of global land in crops, permanent pasture, forest, and woodlands, S.A. Moges, A.S. Gebregiorgis, in Climate Vulnerability, 2013. Desert areas cannot support life for long as the available water can hardly support life. Overgrazing and excessive fuelwood collection destroy the protective layer of plants, exposing the top layer soil to wind and water erosion. It can be prevented by formation of ridge and furrow during irrigation which lessens run off. Desertification can be measured by the loss of ecosystem productivity it causes, and ranges from slight to severe. More than 70% of the Sudano-Sahelian dry lands are degraded; of the world's population that are moderately to severely affected by desertification, more than 80% reside in this region. … According to a study conducted by Ajai et al. Headlined ‘drought,’ its main impact came through widespread crop and grazing land failure due to the reduced capability of the degraded soils to support plant growth. A Classification of agricultural land degradation in Australia A1 B Classification of agricultural regions in New South Wales B1 C The extent of land degradation in Australia C1 D Conceptual model of land degradation, farm output and profits D1 ... resources for future agricultural use. Acidification, compaction and salinization are some other causes of agricultural land degradation. CAUSES OF LAND DEGRADATION 1. Deforestation is taking place at a faster rate due to increasing demands of timber, fuel and forest products which results into degradation of land resources. Currently, increased land degradation in developing countries may be connected with rural poverty among smallholder farmers when forced into unsustainable agricultural practices out of necessity. Salinization and waterlogging lead to the destruction of vegetation cover in irrigated lands. At least 25% of the world's land area is affected by desertification to some degree. Land degradation can cause or exacerbate poverty and inequality by ... in the agricultural sector [2]. (Simulation of Nitrogen Dynamics in Arable Land) (Bradbury et al., 1993). However, the general lack of understanding and awareness about the root causes of land degradation persists, thus the slow progress in reversing the alarming trends of land degradation and land abandonment. Land degradation is the major consequences of direct interference of human activities in the natural phenomenon. With the exception of irrigation-induced land degradation, desertification usually starts with the removal of vegetation cover by humans or livestock. The causes of land degradation in PICs include: deforestation, inappropriate agricultural practices, overgrazing, mining, population pressure, land tenure issues and changing climate. Arid and semi-arid areas (or ‘dry lands’) generally receive an annual rainfall less than 600 mm, with high interannual variability. Although many of the problems grouped under the general heading of desertification are similar throughout the region (e.g., rainfall variability, growing urbanization, loss of farmland and agricultural potential, increased tourism and human population density, forest fires, soil erosion, and flooding), it is doubtful that any one approach for solving these problems will apply. (2009), out of the country's total geographical area of 328.73 million, 57% is either desertified or degraded. Land degradation here mainly refers to the loss of life-supporting land resource through soil erosion, desertification, salinization, acidification, etc. Permaculture is a design system that applies principles that are found in nature to … In the past, they have been lumped together as a downward spiral in which poverty drives land degradation and land degradation drives further poverty, but this is a gross simplification (Scherr, 2000). There are several different processes associated with the desertification phenomenon: degradation of vegetation cover; soil erosion; soil compaction; and waterlogging and salinization in irrigated lands. At about 50 percent of the total land use, agriculture is one of the biggest uses of land on our planet . Deforestation accounts for the major land degradation problem as it results in severe soil erosion, flood, and loss of fertile soil. The model includes sub models for water flow, pesticide movement, nitrogen dynamics and salinity (Wagenet and Hutson, 1989). We use cookies to help provide and enhance our service and tailor content and ads. This small amount of rainfall is concentrated within a short period known as the wet season, ranging from several weeks in arid areas to several months in semi-arid areas; dry conditions similar to desert climate persist during the rest of the year. Biosurfactants significantly affect the bioavailability and biodegradation kinetics of hydrophobic compounds (Ahmad et al., 2015). Desertification (land degradation in drylands) is the loss of biological and economic productivity, and biodiversity in arid and semiarid croplands, pastures, rangelands, and subhumid woodlands of the world. In farmers’ fields, this is seen as soil erosion, breakdown of nutrient cycling, and the loss of soil fertility and structure. Current estimates are that land degradation affects 2 billion hectares (38% of world cropping area) (Eswaran et al., 2006), with soil erosion affecting 83% of the global degraded area (Bai et al., 2008). This led to the more holistic concept of ‘land husbandry,’ including all farm-level production activities, argued as being a more effective tool for delivering conservation than technical, often structural, measures such as earth bunds (contour embankments to intercept runoff and sediment). It is especially a problem in Africa, Asia, and South America. There are now a large number of environmental risk assessment models available with which a particular agricultural land use and management can be assessed from the point of view of likely damage to the environment (Plentinger and Penning de Vries, 1996). Unsustainable agricultural practices include: Land degradation and loss of biodiversity have put the world’s ecosystems under intense pressure, and their capacity to provide vital services is declining while at the same time the demand for these services is growing (Butchart et al., 2010; MEA, 2005a). Content Guidelines 2. Changes in the characteristic of soil. The European Union (EU) recently established several major projects, such as Mediterranean Desertification and Land Use (MEDALUS). In the past several decades, desertification has become a devastating problem of global concern. Consequently, biological productivity of the land drops and sand dunes start to form. Land degradation means: 1) Loss of natural fertility of soil because of loss of nutrients. Land degradation in many Pacific Island Countries (PICs) has become an emerging concern in recent years. Plant-based biosurfactants have excellent emulsification properties, although they are expensive to produce on an industrial scale. Biosurfactants play a physiological role in increasing the solubility and bioavailability of hydrophobic compounds and are involved in promoting the swarming motility of microorganism and in cellular physiological processes of signaling and differentiation (Kearns and Losick, 2003). As annual agriculture expands, the land loses the protection of vegetation, especially during the dry season, and suffers from severe wind erosion. Land degradation has many negative impacts on agriculture and environment. Agricultural land degradation and its end result of desertification have been receiving considerable attention by the international community in recent decades. It is recognized that at all of the steps within this conceptual diagram, there are a range of socioeconomic and biophysical influences that will determine the speed of the downward progress at any particular site. 45% out of the Total Geographical Area (TGA) of 328 mha, followed by 175 mha by the Ministry of Agriculture (Soil and Water Conservation Division). As the vegetation cover decreases, soil compaction occurs as a result of the livestock trampling and rain drop tapping, which increases the proportion of fine materials in the top soil, thus accelerating soil erosion. Compliance involved using research outputs such as the ‘Universal Soil Loss Equation’ which calculated rates of soil loss for various planned land uses, comparing these with a benchmark known as the ‘tolerable soil loss,’ a rate at which it was said that future production would not be jeopardized. Land degradation leads to the reduction or loss of the The desert has been unjustly thought of by some as the cause of desertification because semi-arid areas surround desert. The impact of land degradation on agricultural productivity represents an on-site cost. ScienceDirect ® is a registered trademark of Elsevier B.V. ScienceDirect ® is a registered trademark of Elsevier B.V. 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Loss of natural fertility of soil because of loss of nutrients. Figure 10. It is one of the agricultural practice in which different crops are grown in same area following a rotation system which helps in replenishment of the soil. Copyright 10. Based on the chemical characteristics of the biosurfactants, the pollutants, and the physiology of the microorganisms, both stimulating and inhibitory effects of biosurfactants have been reported (Van Hamme et al., 2006). Pollution of water resources from the contamination of soil through which water sweeps into ground or runoff to the water bodies. Another destructive agricultural practice is the ‘slashing and burning’ of natural perennial vegetation, including trees and shrubs, to clear land for annual agriculture. For example, as new EU economic policies are adopted, many pastoral and drylands farmers are being marginalized and moving to urban areas; social–economic conditions are rapidly changing, e.g., the rise of tourism, intensification of high-tech agriculture, and the shifting of populations to urban environments. Such factors include access to markets, land tenure, and local governance; external factors, such as natural disasters and conflict and war; and economic drivers, such as international policy and trade agreements. Historically, the failure to recognize and include the interdependencies of these three dimensions has slowed progress by the UNCCD in tackling the enormous problem of dryland degradation, although recent developments are encouraging. As a result, there has been a renewed emphasis on national programs of abatement in numerous Mediterranean countries. Land degradation is not a new issue in the Mediterranean. 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