Desertification - an unstoppable process?

1. Population

1.1. people need more food, which leads to further deforestation to make room for more space for agriculture. After a certain period of using the land for agriculture the soil loses all of its neutrinos which means that it is very hard to reforest this land. (soil erosion)

1.1.1. increase of creating deep wells because drinking water level sinks

1.1.2. accessability of water is decreasing throughout the years, which is very bad for the rising population

1.1.3. crop failure leads to severe famine, nomads have to move more often

2. Countermeasures

2.1. Drainage for seepage control

2.2. techniques focus on two aspects: provision of water, and fixation and hyper-fertilizing soil

2.3. building soil walls is one possibility for combatting soil degradation

2.4. Fixating the soil is often done through the use of shelter belts, woodlots and Fixating Windbreaks. Windbreaks are made from trees and bushes and are used to reduce soil erosion and evapotranspiration.

3. Erosion / Degradation

3.1. transportation: moving of soil due to wind, water or human activities

3.2. accumulation: adding of different material to the soil -> salinisation

3.3. degradation: loss of arible soil due to lack of regenaration time between uses -> fallow years

3.4. Effects regarding soil: very great risk of salinisation

4. Land use

4.1. utilisation pressure

4.2. over grazing

4.3. high population pressure

5. Unfavourable conditions

6. excessive an inappropiate land use

6.1. increasing numbers of lifestock

7. Deforestation: Overexploitation of vegetation resources causes the land to lose moisture and unable to keep moisture. This causes aridity.

7.1. tree clearing for production of wood charcoal destroys natural organism

8. Poverty and Lack of alternatives: due to the people of Sahel being poor they can not stop practicing their unsustainable live style because that’s the only way to survive

9. Climate change: Sahel is a region very vulnerable to climate change. Experiencing prolonged periods of drought and erratic rainfalls patterns. Climate change intensifies the aridity and temperatures of the region leading to soil degradation and reduced vegetation cover.