The Measurements of Desertification
“Drought and desertification threaten the livelihood of over one
billion people in more than 110 countries” warned general Kofi in 2001
(Kovach,2003). Desertifications definition is highly disputed but it
is generally the shift of arid or semi-arid regions to desert-like
conditions, which support: little vegetation, a low soil fertility and
high evaporation rates (Haggett, 2001). This work will overlook how
deserts are measured by a variety of different means.
To measure the growth of deserts characteristics need to be obtained.
By creating set indicators for deserts the spread of desertification
can be gauged. Climate (Anderson,2001) is one of the larger indicators
of the spread of deserts: as you can see from appendix 1B, the worlds
deserts are in general located in and around the equatorial region and
the tropics. Due to this they are influenced heavily by the movements
of the inter-continental convergence zone (ITCZ) which generates
areas of high pressure over deserts such as the Sahara desert and due
to this there is little precipitation for the whole year (below 25mm)
(Berrahmouni, 2001). Desert zones receive little rain during a year
but when they do it is heavy and sporadic and causes much soil erosion
(Sharma,1997). So by gauging precipitation levels around arid and
semi-arid regions meteorologists can approximate as to how ‘at risk’
the area is. As without a decent supply of precipitation, soil
infrastructure and fertility will decline due to a lack of moisture
and the denaturing of the surrounding biota i.e. roots and nutrient
cycles (Sharma,1997). National monthly rainfall index (NMRI...
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Pullen, S. (2004) The Desert biome,
http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/glossary/gloss5/biome/deserts.html
Carstanjen, H (1992) Managing fragile ecosystems: combating
desertification and drought,
http://www.unccd.entico.com/english/chapter12.htm#d
Division for sustainable devt. (UN) (2004) Managing fragile
ecosystems: combating desertification and drought – Indicators,
http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/natlinfo/indicators/indisd/english/chapt12e.htm
Berrahmouni, N and Burgess N. (2001) Sahara desert,
http://www.worldwildlife.org/wildworld/profiles/terrestrial/pa/pa1327_full.html
Kovach, K and McGuire B (2003) Guide to Global Hazards, Philips,
London
Haggett, P (2001), Geography – A Global Synthesis, Prentice hall
Richard Rodriguez bravely addresses three controversial sub-topics under one topic full of debate. His essay, “Desert Religions” aired in 2002, highlights the shame and violence that has been associated to religion. The essayist discusses human sexuality under the interpretation of religion, the role war and terrorism play, and the masculine and feminine roles in religion.
Desert Solitaire aims to draw attention to the activities of a man voluntarily isolated in nature. It seeks to identify the strife that Abbey faces with modern day human’s treatment of his nature. As such, the argument that Abbey poses in one his earlier chapters Rocks is, that the Modern Day man is destructive and cannot be trusted to preserve nature as is.
In the poem Desert Places by Robert Frost, the author describes the scenery in which he came across with. It was on a winter day, and the day was turning into a night. As he went across a field, he saw that the ground was almost all covered in snow. But then he noticed a few weeds and stubble on the ground.
His expertise may attract an array of readers, both newcomers and old-timers. It seems that his intended audience might be those who share his love of the desert and also those who want to know more. The essay is quasi-organized like an educational brochure or an expert interview with an inveterate desert denizen. An unintended audience of course might include the fledgling environmental activists who were emerging in the 1960s to fight for the protection of wilderness. Because of its focus on natural history, the article and the anthology, Desert Solitaire, in which it was published, might...
The critical thinking assignment for this week entails two questions, describe the hydrologic cycle and apply it to where I live, and secondly choose a landscape either glacial or desert and describe how it forms, as well as the landscape features found on it. I will use this essay to answer both questions. I will be using my hometown of Napa California to answer the first question and I have selected the Mojave Desert landscape to answer the second question.
In short, agriculture reliant purely on levels of sufficient rainfall was destined for failure in the Negev desert region, which is characterized by its low precipitation and high evaporation. Moreover, facing the Negev’s unpredictable and sporadic yearly precipitation patterns with “local [rains that] affect[ed] small areas of several km2”, effective farming required a more proactive approach to subsistence
In the article, “The Great American Desert”, Edward Abbey (1977) is trying to convince the general public that the desert is not a place for humans to explore. He talks a lot about the dangers of the desert and tries to convince the readers that the desert is not worth wasting your time and going and visiting. I disagree with Abbey. Anyone who has some knowledge about the desert and takes a class or is accompanied by an expert who knows a lot about the desert should be able to venture out in the many great American deserts.
The normality and lavishness of the yearly Nile River surge, combined with semi-disconnection gave by deserts toward the east and west, took into account the improvement of one of the world's extraordinary human advancements. A brought together kingdom emerged around 3200 B.C., and a progression of lines ruled in Egypt for the following three centuries. The last local tradition tumbled to the Persians in 341 B.C., who thusly were supplanted by the Greeks, Romans, and Byzantines. It was the Arabs who presented Islam and the Arabic dialect in the seventh century and who ruled for the following six centuries. A neighborhood military station, the Mamluks took control around 1250 and kept on representing after the success
Ethiopia is located in the Eastern region of Africa. According to the Embassy of Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Ethiopia lies between the geographical coordinates of 3’ and 14. 8’ latitude and 33’and 48’ longitude. Ethiopia encompasses a majority of the area known as the Horn of Africa. The CIA World Factbook states that Ethiopia is approximately 1,104,300 square kilometers (686,180 miles). To give a better perspective of the sheer size of this country, it is about twice the size of the state of Texas. The CIA World Factbook also states that Ethiopia’s area ranks 27th when compared to the area size of all other countries in the world.
First of all, one climate’s change is due to the drying of the marshes in Iraq. The marshes is a wetland area located in southern Iraq. Today, less than 10% of the original marsh remains. While some of the marsh declines can be traced to dams built upstream in Turkey, Syria and Iran, the decline accelerated dramatically in the early 1990s.Due to a massive drainage project. Lately, the past government shut all of the dams on the waterways, bringing on desertification of the area. There is an absence of Horticulture and Fisheries in the Iraq district. For this situation, the administration must open the dams to water all the area and dispose of desertification.
The Namib Desert The Namib Desert is a parched and rippled desert, an endless expanse. It stretches along the southwest coast of Africa from Angola in the north. through Namibia, into South Africa. The name Namib means “emptiness.”
Climate change. Retrieved from:http://www.ipcc.ch The Land Learn, NSW (n.d). Climate change and its impact. Retrieved from: http://www.landlearnnsw.org.au/sustainability/climate-change/agriculture/livestock/impacts The National Drought Mitigation Center(n.d).
Nowadays it is common to read articles in newspapers and magazines regarding biodiversity issues. Human beings have been knowingly and unknowingly destroying biodiversity since their existence. Biodiversity is the measure of the variety of species of animals living in an area. Forests are usually areas with high biodiversity while deserts are the opposite. Human beings have always destroyed biodiversity either by deforestation, or by some other means. Biodiversity depletion is a natural phenomenon. But the present levels of biodiversity depletion are many times higher than the natural rate. Recently the levels of loss in biodiversity have started causing global concern. Some of the main causes for loss in biodiversity are alteration of habitats, increasing levels of pollution and human population growth.
Dregne, H. E. "DESERTIFICATION OF ARID LANDS." Physics of Dersertification (1986). Ciesin.columbia.edu. Web. 16 Nov. 2013.
One of the main problems that are happening to the Sahara desert is the continuing development of the boundaries of the desert. This is known as desertification. As global warming continues to increase, the probability of more desert regions becoming bigger is more likely.