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Erschienen in:
2019 | OriginalPaper | Buchkapitel
Desertification and Impact on Sustainability of Human Systems
verfasst von : David Mouat, Scott Thomas, Judith Lancaster
Erschienen in: Environmental Geology
Verlag: Springer US
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Excerpt
Adaptation
Changes made by organisms, including humans, to enable them to be more suitable for different conditions or situations.
Desertification
The gradual degradation of habitable land which affects soils, flora, and fauna and reduces productivity and an ecosystem’s ability to adapt. It is caused by various factors, including natural dynamics, climatic condition, and human activities. Direct causes of desertification include wind and water erosion, deforestation, overgrazing, land conversion to crop land, irrigation leading to salinization, and other physical stressors leading to soil loss, soil compaction, loss of vegetative cover, loss of biodiversity, and degradation in ecosystem productivity. Indirect causes include climate variation, poverty, political instability, lack of education, or a combination of factors.
Drought
A period of reduced precipitation resulting in prolonged shortages in the water supply. It can have a substantial impact on the ecosystem, agriculture, and economy of the affected region.
Drylands
Include arid, semiarid, and dry subhumid areas and have a ratio of mean annual precipitation to mean annual potential evapotranspiration ranging between 0.05 and 0.65.
Ecosystem services
The benefits people obtain from ecosystems. These may be divided into provisioning (food and water), regulating (controlling floods and diseases), cultural (recreational, spiritual), and supporting services such as nutrient cycling.
Land-based natural capital
Includes the properties of the soil and geomorphological, biotic, and hydrological features that interact with each other and with climate to determine the quantity and nature of ecosystem services provided by the land.
Land degradation
A temporary or permanent lowering of the land-based natural capital and/or economic productive capacity of land, including changes to soil and vegetation.
Land degradation neutrality
A state whereby the amount and quality of land resources necessary to support ecosystem functions and services and enhance food security remain stable or increase within specified temporal and spatial scales and ecosystems.
Resilience
The ability of a system to absorb disturbance and retain essentially the same function, structure, and feedbacks.
Sustainability
(as it relates to desertification) Is the conservation of land-based natural capital and ecosystem services so that people are able to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
Vulnerability
A condition of being at risk. Being susceptible to harm or damage.