Effects of soil degradation by modeling the decomposition of soil organic matter dynamics, crop systems models can simulate the effects of soil nutrient depletion under lowinput extractive field management practices, as well as soil carbon sequestration under regenerative management practices. Climate change will have detrimental effects on livelihoods, final government distribution chapter 4. Effects of land use change on land degradation reflected by soil properties along mara river, kenya and tanzania. Environmental degradation caused by unsuitable land use is a worldwide problem that has raised the question of sustainability. Cause of land degradation and its impacts on livelihoods of the population in toke kutaye woreda. Oct 01, 2016 land degradation involves change in the properties of land and soil texture, color, grain size and its functions water holding capacity, infiltration, supporting plant life. Land degradation can be viewed as any change or disturbance to the land perceived to be deleterious or undesirable eswaran, 2001. It depicts the value of productive land in provision of ecosystem services and goes on to show the current rapid depletion of this valuable nonrenewable. Land degradation or improvement is an outcome of many proximate and underlying causes. Land degradation stock photos download 724 royalty free photos. The changes of land quality are the result of many highly interlinked factors including natural, socioeconomic and also policy and related agricultural practices. Read this article to learn about the meaning, factors responsible, prevention and control measures of land degradation.
There could be come detrimental effects froto the use of. So, its important to learn how land soil is being used, degraded, and conservedprotected. Land degradation intruduction 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. The emphasis on land, rather than soil, broadens the focus to include natural resources, such as climate, water, landforms and vegetation. Cause of land degradation and its impacts on livelihoods. Unplanned changes of land use and land cover have become a major problem in many parts of the word.
Pdf effects of land use change on land degradation reflected. The productivity of grassland and forest resources, in addition to that of cropland, is embodied in this definition. In turn, unsustainable land use is driving land degradation. The main outcome of land degradation is a substantial reduction in the productivity of land. 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. This will create much drier soil, which in turn is more vulnerable to erosion and runoff. Economics of land degradation in china springerlink. The precipitation or rainfall of the area, that is discharged from the area through stream channels and is thus lost without entering the soil, is called surface runoff. Paragraph 33 of the 2030 agenda for sustainable development focuses on the linkage between sustainable management of the planets natural resources and social and economic development as well as on strengthen cooperation on desertification, dust storms, land degradation and drought and promote resilience and disaster risk reduction. This loss can affect productivity and biodiversity and is thus defined as a permanent loss of the original functions. Land degradation is often linked to sustainability in terms of keeping its productivity.
Reflecting the combined expertise of the authors, the enhanced second edition of land degradation considers the impact of biophysical and social systems on land conditions and identifies principles that further the pursuit of sustainable land use. Land degradation is a process in which the value of the physical environment is affected by a. Land degradation is a change to land that makes it less useful for human beings. In this report, land degradation is defined as a negative trend 4 in land condition, caused by direct or indirect humaninduced processes. Many others worry about the effects of land degradation on the livelihoods ofrural dwell ers, particularly in the more marginal agricultural areas lfad 1992. History, nature, causes, consequences, and solutions conacher, arthur encyclopedia of life support systems eolss peoples attitudes, perceptions and knowledge, actions or inactions by government agencies, and inappropriate government policies. 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. Soil degradation is, in itself, an indicator of land degradation. The importance of land degradation in calabar south is enhanced because of its impact on food security and quality of the environments. Both extent and severity of the problem of land degradation spatial variations depending on different relief, ecology, rainfall, land use, land cover and soil. Cause of land degradation and its impacts on livelihoods of.
Year after year, huge acres of land lost due to soil erosion, contamination, and pollution. Soil erosion and land degradation through various means further affect the physical viability of the soil profile and the environment in terms of solid, water, air ratio as well as chemical and biological balances. The effect of detergents on land degradation is perhaps the least of all these diccucsed. A multistage random sampling technique was used to select six communities mostly affected by land degradation and a total of sixty respondents farmers was use for the study.
Causes and impacts of land degradation and desertification. Most of these changes occur without clear and logical. Mitigate the causes and negative effects of land degradation on the structure and. Land degradation is the major consequences of direct interference of human activities in the natural phenomenon. Hamdy and others published land degradation, agriculture productivity and food security find, read and cite all the research you need on researchgate.
Soil erosion is a natural process that removes soil from the land. Land degradation can be observed when the potential productivity associated with a landuse system becomes nonsustainable, or when the land within an ecosystem is no longer able to perform its environmental regulatory function of accepting, storing, and recycling water, energy, and nutrients vlek et al. It may refer to the destruction or deterioration of the health of terrestrial ecosystems, thus affecting the associated biodiversity, natural ecological processes and ecosystem resilience. The soil integrates a variety of important processes involving vegetation growth, overland flow of water, infiltration, land use and land management. Extent and rate of land degradation global assessment of land degradation is not an easy task, and a wide range of methods are used, including expert judgement, remote sensing and modeling. 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. 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.
Most of the soil is lost through the surface runoff. The map of the study area is presented on the next page. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of land degradation on agricultural land use, planning and management in kalama division, machakos. Climate change will have detrimental effects on livelihoods. Cause and effects of land degradation environmental sciences. Jun 01, 2016 major causes of land degradation greentumble soil degradation june 1, 2016 whether it is through building homes and settlements, the cultivation of crops, the harvesting of plants for food, medicine, fiber, or fuel, or by setting fires to the landscape for hunting purposes, humans have always influenced the landscape around them. However, if acted upon quickly, there is a possibility for land reclamation and reversal of desertification. The study was undertaken to examine the effect of land degradation on agricultural activities in ethiope east local government area of delta state.
As sustainability and productivity are not easy to define, degradation of land can better be described in terms of non. All of these factors will combine to create a very stable but very unproductive desert environment. Of the total, 25% of land area is highly degraded, 8% moderately or slightly degraded, 36% stable and 10% improving faostate of the worlds land and water resources for food and agriculture. Pollution of water resources from the contamination of. One of the major processes that causes l and degradation is soil degradation that can. The change in the characteristic and quality of soil which adversely affect its fertility is called as degradation. The economics of land degradation initiative eld produced this short information film on the importance of the economics of land degradation. Although land degradation is defined by reference to productivity, its effects. A general definition of land degradation is presented by wasson 1987 as.
Desertification, land degradation and drought sustainable. Any change that decreases productivity of the land land clearing poor land management practices 2 3. The condition of the soil is one of the best indicators of land degradation. The result is a loss of land productivity with impacts on livelihoods and the. This table is based on soil loss plot results from zimbabwe, on a 9% slope. Nov 12, 2015 land degradation is a serious potential threat to food production and rural livelihoods. The human dimension of land degradation and forest degradation 414.
Multiple linear regressions was deployed for this work in order to know the relationship between the anthropogenic factors of land degradation on crop productivity of rural households. Information and translations of land degradation in the most comprehensive dictionary definitions resource on the web. Due to land degradation in most developing countries, in particular, agricultural productivity showed a dramatic decline and reached the level beyond the subsistence requirement of a. Pdf effects of land degradation on agricultural land use. Farmers awareness about land degradation and their attitude. Still land degradation lingers and presents the greatest threat to the survival of the nation d. Land degradationthe deterioration or loss of the productive capacity of the soils for present and futureis a global challenge that affects everyone through food insecurity, higher food prices, climate change, environmental hazards, and the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services. Land degradation is a humaninduced or natural process which negatively affects the land to function effectively within an ecosystem. Land degradation, desertification and drought in the red sea governorate in marsa alam, egypt farmland landscape of paddock, field with dry yellow grass and storm cloud above. Land degradation, deforestation and destructive agriculture background soil salinity degradation, cracked ground. The causes of dry land degradation are complex, and may be the product of anthropogenic or climatic factors, such as the impact of drought and desiccation on ecosystems, the overgrazing of these rangelands, unsustainable land tenure rights, the undervaluation of land resources, and pricing failures, and numerous other social and economic.
Criteria for designating different classes of land degradation e. Soil quality decline is one of the main causes of land degradation and is considered to be responsible for 84% of the everdiminishing acreage. Desertification has been defined as land degradation in arid, semiarid, and dry subhumid areas resulting from various factors, including climatic variations and human activities11. Loss of natural fertility of soil because of loss of nutrients. 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. Land and soil are some of the most important resources we have on earth. Land degradation food and agriculture organization of the united. Land is a vital resource to humankind, like air and water. We will consider the effects of land degradation one by one, surface runoff and floods.
It is viewed as any change or disturbance to the land perceived to be deleterious or undesirable. It is one of the causes for the decline in agricultural production and a major constraint to agricultural development 5. The term land degradation involves both soil and vegetation degradation. These, in turn diminish the availability of nutrients and water to the plants and ultimately the productivity of the land. Land degradation causes land and soil process to stop completely or function in a stunted way. The impact of land degradation on food productivity.
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