Today’s Topic ….

?? ??

Dessertification?

Noooo, Desertification!

What is Desertification?

Desertification is a type of land degradation in which a relatively dry land region becomes increasingly dry, typically losing its bodies of water as well as vegetation and wildlife.

Desertification Key Issues

Problem: Land degradation (taking good land and making it worse)

Consequences:• Losing bodies of water • Losing vegetation• Losing habitats• Losing wildlife

Aren’t Deserts an Ecosystem?

A community of plants, animals and smaller organisms that live, feed, reproduce and interact in the same area or environment. Ecosystems have no fixed boundaries; a single lake, a watershed, or an entire region could be considered an ecosystem.(1)

• Aquatic ecosystem• Forest• Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem• Human ecosystem• Large marine ecosystem• Littoral zone• Marine ecosystem• Riparian zone• River ecosystem• Subsurface Lithoautotrophic • Microbial Ecosystem• Urban ecosystem• Movile Cave• Desert

Ecosystems Example

Deserts are Beautiful

Desertification looks like this

So What Causes Desertification to Happen?

Cause Overgrazing - USA

Solutions:• Raise climate appropriate animals• Reduce the numbers of animals per

acre• Rotate grazing areas• Reduce meat consumption

Climate Change: Nevada

Solutions:• Reduce greenhouse gases• Create buffer zones

Cause Exploitation: Argentina

Solutions:• Alternative fuel sources such as

biomass• High efficiency stoves• Fees on charcoal

Cause Poor Agricultural Practices: USA

Solutions:• Crop rotation• Tilling practices• New plants

Cause Crop Selection: China (Inner Mongolia)

BEFORE

AFTER

Desertification Matters …because it takes away things we care about

• Aquifers(under ground water)

• Surface water• Land for farming

& grazing• Plant diversity• Species diversity• Clean air

Quiz

Because we created a problem … we can solve it.

Questions?

Questio

ns

Degrade – to convert something to lesser quality Watershed – the areas in which water flows e.g.

Rock Creek is part of the Potomac River watershed

Littoral zone – part of a sea, lake or river that is close to the shore

Riparian zone – is the interface between land and a river or stream

Diversity – the range of animals or plants in an ecosystem

Aquifers – underground water Buffer zones – areas that protect one space from

other

Glossary