Soil degradation refers to negative changes in the physical, chemical, and biological properties of the soil, whereas vegetation degradation is the reduction in the number of species and the vegetational composition. Urban patterns affect sediment and pollutants connectivity between sources and water bodies. Land degradation can be defined in several ways depending upon the subject that needs to be emphasized. Soil that is contaminated becomes less productive and this reduces the value of land. What is forest degradation and what are various causes of. Land degradation food and agriculture organization of the united. Desertification affects the livelihoods of millions of people, as. Depletion, degradation, desertification responses to. It thus covers the various forms of soil degradation, adverse human impacts on water resources, deforestation, and lowering of the productive capacity of rangelands. Desertification includes land degradation in arid, semiarid and dry sub humid areas resulting from various factors, including climatic variations and human activities. Land degradation is the major challenge in the rangelands of the earth. It is the spread of arid areas caused by a variety of factors, such as through climate change particularly the current global warming and through the overexploitation of soil through. The term land degradation involves both soil and vegetation degradation. Degradation definition is the act or process of degrading.
Mar 02, 2020 land degradation is the blanket term usually used to describe a number of land and soil degradation issues such as soil contamination, soil erosion, desertification, and more. The result is a loss of land productivity with impacts on livelihoods and the. As sustainability and productivity are not easy to define, degradation of land can better be described in terms of non. Desertification, land degradation and drought sustainable. Land degradation is defined as the longterm loss of ecosystem function and productivity caused by. Land degradation leads to the reduction or loss of the biological or economic productivity and complexity of land. A general definition of land degradation is presented by wasson 1987 as. In this report, land degradation is defined as a negative trend.
Desertification is the process by which a piece of land becomes dry, empty, and. Environmental degradation is the deterioration of the environment through depletion of resources such as air, water and soil. Land shortage and poverty, taken together, lead to nonsustainable land management practices, meaning the direct causes of degradation. The mismanagement of land and natural resources is contributing to. Thus land degradation due to erosion and conservation cannot be understood without studying how people use the land and the reasoning that guides their decision about land use 7. Congress and international bodies are discussing various policies to reduce carbon emissions from deforestation and forest degradation redd. In turn, unsustainable land use is driving land degradation. In this report, land degradation is defined as a negative trend 4 in land condition, caused by direct or indirect humaninduced processes including anthropogenic.
World day to combat desertification and drought 17 june. Cause of land degradation and its impacts on livelihoods. But for prince and many other scientists studying desertification, this definition is. A pure anthropogenic definition of land degradation is the loss of a sustained economic, cultural, or ecological function. Land degradation is caused by multiple forces, including extreme weather conditions particularly drought, and human activities that pollute or degrade the quality of soils and land utility negatively affecting food production, livelihoods, and the production and provision of other ecosystem goods and services. This term is used specifically to refer to damages caused by human activities rather than. Soil degradation is a serious global environmental problem and may be exacerbated by climate change. Using this resource in the wrong way would lead to a fall in its value. Soil degradation is the loss of lands production capacity in terms of loss of soil fertility, soil biodiversity, and degradation.
This article throws light upon the seven main causes of land degradation in india. The study area is found in north west central highland part of the country. Farmers awareness about land degradation and their. Forest degradation is land degradation that occurs in forest land. What is forest degradation and what are various causes of it. Land degradation is defined by fao 2000 as the loss of production capacity of land in terms of loss of soil fertility, soil biodiversity, and degradation of natural resources. The changes brought about by corrosion include weight loss or gain, material loss, or changes in physical and mechanical properties. Land degradation is a change to land that makes it less useful for human beings. Understanding and monitoring land degradation land degradation is a major factor in the progressive deterioration of african livelihoods and. Stocktaking understanding desertification, land degradation and drought dldd land is a vital resource for producing food and other ecosystem goods and services including conserving. It is defined as any change or disturbance to the environment perceived to be deleterious or undesirable. Evaluation of land use land cover changes and land degradation in dera district, ethiopia were undertaken using two remotely sensed datasets landsat 5. For reasons outlined above, poor farmers are led to clear forest, cultivate steep slopes without conservation, overgraze rangelands, make unbalanced fertilizer applications, and the other causes noted above.
The health impacts of desertification and drought pdf, 1. The worst situations can be found in africa, which is threatened because the land degradation processes affect about 46 percent of the whole continent and create a health risk to people living in the regions far beyond the affected areas. In this guide, we look at what land degradation is including the sub land and soil issues it encompasses, along with the causes, the effectsimpacts, and the potential. The absence of such relevant and reliable catchmentwide baseline information, necessary for assessing the severity and extent of degradation, has made its monitoring difficult. Land degradation is the major consequences of direct interference of human activities in the natural phenomenon. You use degradation to refer to a situation, condition, or experience which you consider. It is viewed as any change or disturbance to the land perceived to be deleterious or undesirable. Deterioration in the quality of land, its topsoil, vegetation, andor water resources, caused usually by excessive or inappropriate exploitation. Land degradation, like climate change, is an anthropogenicinduced process and poses biggest threat to sustainable livelihood security of the farming communities across the country. In drylands, land degradation is known as desertification. Land degradation is the temporary or permanent lowering of the productive capacity of land unep, 1992b. Land degradation is a process in which the value of the physical environment is affected by a. Degradation definition and meaning collins english dictionary.
Discharge of various kinds of chemicals on land adjacent to forest regions makes the environment unappealing to the survival of trees, vegetations, and animal species. Asia, on the other hand is the most severely affected continent in terms of the number of people affected by deser. The 1992 united nations conference on environment and development defined desertification as land degradation in arid, semiarid, and dry subhumid areas and as the diminution or destruction of the biological productivity of the land with land meaning soils, plants, and water resources 100. Usually land degrad ation is described in terms of the loss.
Urban soils are subject to sealing, compaction, erosion and contamination. This is being further aggravated by environmental degradation, population growth and climate change. May, 2020 land degradation is damage to land that makes it less economically useful and less biologically diverse. The annual loss of land is expected to go up to 10 million hectares by 2000 a. Soil degradation causes include agricultural, industrial, and commercial pollution. Degradation definition and meaning collins english. Land degradation neutrality implementation concept 46. Mar 28, 2018 a new international report makes for bleak reading on the state of the worlds soils. Environmental degradation what you need to know and its. Soil degradation is a complex phenomenon derived by interaction between natural and socio economic factors.
It predicts that land degradation will displace up to 700 million people worldwide by midcentury. Loss of natural fertility of soil because of loss of nutrients. The causes of land degradation in this category will require immediate. Soil degradation is, in itself, an indicator of land degradation. It is estimated that 2535% of drylands are already degraded, with over 250 million people directly affected and about one billion people in over one hundred countries at risk. Urbanization changes the hydrological processes and degrades water quality. Chapter 2 types of land degradation food and agriculture. Causes and impacts of land degradation and desertification. Corrosion and material degradation corrosion or degradation involves deterioration of material when exposed to an environment resulting in the loss of that material, the most common case being the corrosion of metals and steel by water. The combination of the two gives an idea of the overall level of land degradation, allowing for some preliminary analysis of the main causes and also to define a. A new international report makes for bleak reading on the state of the worlds soils. The principal aim of this study was to explore the impacts of desertification, degradation and drought on both the natural resources. The condition of the soil is one of the best indicators of land degradation.
Degradation definition of degradation by medical dictionary. Land degradation is a process in which the value of the biophysical environment is affected by one or more combination of humaninduced processes acting upon the land. Desertification definition and meaning collins english. Soil degradation is the loss of land s production capacity in terms of loss of soil fertility, soil biodiversity, and degradation. Chapter 6 causes of land degradation food and agriculture. Rangeland degradation is occurring as a result of no grazing management plans, removal of vegetation for fuel wood and no. Learn more about the causes and outcomes of environmental degradation in this article. The degradation or deterioration of soil may be caused by the following factors. Land pollution can mean the misuse of land by human beings. The indicator intends to measure the amount of land affected. The soil integrates a variety of important processes involving vegetation growth, overland flow of water, infiltration, land use and land management.
Land degradation is often linked to sustainability in terms of keeping its productivity. Desertification, a phenomenon referring to land degradation in arid, semiarid and dry subhumid regions as a result of climatic variations and human activities, is considered as one of the most severe environmental and socioeconomic problems of recent times. Land pollution one of the calamitous effects of land pollution is the destruction of nearby forests together with its ecosystems. Degradation definition of degradation by the free dictionary. Land degradation is a process in which the value of the biophysical environment is affected by a combination of humaninduced processes acting upon the land. Pdf land degradation control and its global environmental. Land degradation is defined as the temporary or permanent decline in the productive capacity of the land, and the diminution of the productive potential, including its major land uses e. Desertification is the degradation of land in arid, semiarid and dry subhumid areas.
Land degradation soil degradation is the decline in soil quality caused by its improper use, usually for agricultural, pastoral, industrial or urban purposes. This can lead to unsustainable agricultural practices, further land degradation, exacerbated urban sprawl, and sociopolitical problems. The change in the characteristic and quality of soil which adversely affect its fertility is called as degradation. A landslide is often viewed as an example of land degradation in action it changes the features.
Land degradation as the land use section earlier in this chapter shows, demands on the land for economic development and pressures from a burgeoning population are leading to unprecedented land use change. The united nations official definition says desertification is land degradation in typically dry areas resulting from various factors, including climatic variations and human activities. Indias population of over million people is more than that of. Land degradation, soil erosion and soil conservation pmf ias. It encompasses physical soil erosion, chemical salinity and alkalinity, pollution and biological deterioration pollution and. Land degradation is a process in which the value of the biophysical environment is affected by. The three degradation terms, environmental degradation, land degradation, and soil degradation, are defined as any change or disturbance to the environment, land, or soil perceived to be. Degradation definition of degradation by merriamwebster.
University of cape town press, cape town, south africa. Land degradation has accelerated during the 20th century due to increasing and combined pressures of agricultural and livestock production overcultivation, overgrazing, forest conversion, urbanization, deforestation, and extreme weather events such as droughts and coastal surges which salinate land. Information and translations of land degradation in the most comprehensive dictionary definitions resource on the web. An assessment of land degradation in the save catchment of. Environmental degradation has a harmful effect to human beings. It is caused primarily by human activities and climatic variations. This book is an accessible summary of a technical report on land degradation and also discusses the impact of apartheid land division policies on the country as a whole. Article pdf available in land degradation and development 162. Deforestation is the conversion of forest to nonforest land and can result in land degradation. Identification of the cause of land degradation is important in return influence the sustainability of the life and helps to take appropriate measurement to halt it. Land degradation is, usually, the result of complex interrelationships between biophysical and socioeconomic issues which affect many people and their land, specially in the tropics and developing countries. Read this article to learn about the meaning, factors responsible, prevention and control measures of land degradation.
1133 384 171 108 214 165 844 1343 940 40 645 1370 1279 45 161 774 133 864 1236 1231 655 1146 836 1344 807 930 170 1066 5 412 940 1295 651 741