Desertification
Desertification is the process by which fertile land becomes desert through drought, overgrazing and unsustainable farming.
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Desertification is the process by which fertile land becomes desert through drought, overgrazing and unsustainable farming.
- Occurs on desert margins
- Tree planting helps stop it
- Affects food supplies
🧠 Quick quiz
Three questions. Score 2 or more to complete the topic.
What is Desertification?
Within Earth & Environmental Science, which covers our planet, its resources and ecosystems, and how people can protect the environment, this topic explains Desertification. Earth and environment topics show how the planet’s systems shape landscapes, climate and life, with models that make these processes visible.
Check that you can explain Desertification in your own words and give one example from everyday life. If you can do that, you have understood the core idea.
Understanding Desertification helps you explain the environment around you and weigh up how people can protect it.
Desertification in detail
Desertification is the process by which fertile land becomes desert, usually in dry regions (drylands) on the edge of deserts, such as the Sahel in Africa. It is caused by a combination of climate change, droughts and human activities such as overgrazing, overfarming, deforestation and poor irrigation.
The loss of vegetation exposes soil to wind and water erosion, reducing productivity and leading to poverty, famine and migration. Solutions include planting trees and drought-resistant crops, the Great Green Wall initiative, managing grazing, water harvesting, soil conservation and sustainable farming, with local community involvement. The UN has a Convention to Combat Desertification.
How the interactive helps you understand Desertification
Watch the globe in the interactive. Use any sliders or buttons it offers to change the values and see how the globe responds.
Before you change anything, predict the result. Then change one value at a time and check whether your prediction was right. This is a quick way to build a correct mental model of Desertification.
Real-life uses and examples
- Link Desertification to a real environmental problem and a possible solution.
- Use a diagram of Desertification to describe the steps of a process in order.
- Discuss how human activity changes Desertification, using a named example.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Presenting one cause as the only cause of an environmental change.
- Describing a process without the timescale it works over.
- Learning the definition without testing it. Use the quiz and the interactive to check that you can apply the idea.
Frequently asked questions about Desertification
What is Desertification?
Desertification is the process by which fertile land becomes desert through drought, overgrazing and unsustainable farming.
What are the most important points about Desertification?
The main points are: Occurs on desert margins; Tree planting helps stop it; Affects food supplies.
Why is Desertification useful?
Understanding Desertification helps you explain the environment around you and weigh up how people can protect it.
How can I practise Desertification?
Open the interactive at the top of this page and change the controls one at a time. Predict the result before each change, then take the three-question quiz. A score of two or more marks the topic as complete on this device.
Which topics are related to Desertification?
Related topics in Earth & Environmental Science include Population and the Environment, Natural Hazards and Disasters, Tsunamis.