Desertification (causes)

• Over cultivation

  Farm or try to grow crops too intensely that lead to infertile soil

  Many European countries use large areas of fragile land in Ghana to grow mass amounts of crops

  How does it cause? - This causes desertification, if an area of land on the edge of a desert becomes infertile then it can lead to soil erosion. Therefore the area is more likely to be desert
• Population growth

  There were 30 million people living in Sahel in 1950. Today its half a billion

  Population growth causes desertification because it cause overgrazing, and over cultivation which cause the soil to be exposed
• Soil erosion

  Overgrazing, over cultivation and removal of wood causes the soil to expose increasing erosion rates
• Removal of fuel wood
• Overgrazing

  When too many livestock graze on vegetation for too long

  Population growth increases this because more food demand is needed
• Climate change

  In Sahel temperatures are rising 15x faster than the rest of the world

  Climate change causes desertification because increasing temperatures means less rainfall which means less vegetation that leads to soil erosion
• Planting trees

  Tree roots help to stabilise and bind soil together

  Leaf litter decomposes and releases nutrients back into the soil

  Trees shade the ground
• Water and soil management

  This preserves soil quality and water supplies
• Appropriate technology can help LIC's by reducing the cost of production and increasing the efficiency of production
• Planting trees - However

  Trees can take up to 50-100 years to grow which can be a problem because desertification happens quickly
• Water/soil management - However

  There isn't enough rocks to help with this process
• Appropriate technology - However

  This will have to depend on the Charities that are providing the help and how many people want to donate.