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Desertification in Africa
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Desertification • Every country in North Africa is affected in some capacity
by the Sahara Desert.
DesertificationDesertification – is the change of fertile (good farm land) land that is too dry or damaged to support life.
Main Causes
Overgrazing- animals eat to much
Over farming- farmers over use the soil
Drought- there is nothing to hold down the good soil since all of the plants are dried up
Desertification
• Topsoil is the top layer of ground that has the nutrients/food to help plants grow.
Desertification
Desertification is threatening the way of life of many West African farmers.
Solutions – Need to repair topsoil
1. Stop overgrazing or over farming fertile land.
2. New irrigation projects.
3. Pray for more rain.
The Sahel
• The word Sahel means “shore” in Arabic.
• Why is this an appropriate word to describe the Sahel?
• Why would it be bad if the Sahara Desert is expanding?
The Sahel- Where desert meets savanna
Sub Sahara Africa- 2010’s
Land Desertification Facts: Sub Sahara
• An estimated 485 million Africans (65 percent of the entire African population) are affected by desertification.
• Approximately 22 percent of vegetated land (almost 500 million hectares) of Africa has been lost.
• About 11 percent of total African land area (332 million hectares) is drylands affected by human/climate-induced desertification.
Dust Bowl United States 1930’s
Dust Bowl United States 1930’s
Dust Bowl Facts: United States
• By 1934, because of years of repeated dust storms, approximately 100 million acres of farmland no longer had enough topsoil to grow crops.
• In 1934, only 14.5 inches fell, which caused corn yield crops to drop by 75%.
• Poor farming practices contributed to the Dust Bowl. These included: over planting crops and overgrazing, as well as massive plowing under of natural grasses and replacing them with crops that weren’t drought resistant
Dust StormsA massive dust storm 2 miles high traveled 2,000 miles before hitting the East Coast on May 11, 1934. For five hours, a fog of prairie dirt enshrouded landmarks such as the Statue of Liberty and the U.S. Capitol, inside which lawmakers were debating a soil conservation bill.
Solutions
1. Irrigation of the land
2. Crop rotation
3. Planting of drought resistant crops
4. limit grazing of animals