Farmland to Deserts a Lot of Arable Essay

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Farmland to Deserts

A lot of arable land is increasingly turning into deserts nowadays. Many reasons are attributed to this tendency. According to UNESCO (2011) in a new technique to halt desert encroachment, taking a close look at China for instance, the rate of desertification has risen to world environmental organizations concern. This is because the rate of farmland deterioration has risen in china to 2460km2 per year. Among the causes of farmland deterioration to deserts are:

Intensive agriculture; overproduction from the same land is causing arable farmlands to convert to deserts as a result of nutrients in the soil being exhausted and not being replenished. The ultimate result has been the farmland becoming unproductive thus explaining desertification is on the increase.

Population pressure; UNESCO (2011) points out one this as one of the causes and effects of desert encroachment, too many people in a small piece of land results in too much pressure being exerted on the farmland in terms of farming, clearing the land for housing which turns the farmland ultimately into deserts. This has been a great contributor to desertification increase in places like China. Overgrazing; people no longer move with their animals as they used to move depending on the rainfall seasons which initially prevented overgrazing.
As a result of a settled life in one place, overgrazing has inevitably been promoted. As a result of overgrazing on one piece of land the end result has been desertification of the area thus explaining why arable farm lands are increasingly turning into deserts.

Destruction of vegetation cover; destruction of vegetation cover in dry areas is increasingly causing desertification in the world today. People are clearing vegetation to burn charcoal from arid areas which is contributing to the increase in farmlands turning into deserts. Once the vegetation cover is cleared the soil is left vulnerable and susceptible to being blown away by the wind. According to National Geographic (2011), this is one of the fastest ways of perpetuating desertification through human activity and has become one of the most difficult trends to control.

Poor irrigation management; this is worse in arid areas since it results into alteration of the soils' alkalinity and salinity as postulated by Society for Ecological Restoration (2011). This has contributed to the adverse conversion of farmlands….....

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"Farmland To Deserts A Lot Of Arable", 30 July 2011, Accessed.4 June. 2026,
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/farmland-deserts-lot-arable-51658