Desertification

What causes deserts to spread?

We could say sand…. sand causes deserts to spread!

Deserts can be made up of sand or rocks though.

So where does this sand and rock come from? The beach? Well…. um maybe? But the common percieved answer is from harsh weather and erosion over very long time periods.

But what happens if desertification happens much quicker than we thought and that the weather although prominant may be enhanced by the environment rather than causing the environment to begin with. It’s noticable how not all deserts are along the equator.

Soil damage causes desertification on small and large scales. This is due to weathering through a lack of protection over the ground. Soil matters and agriculture needs to change to stop this.

Any biomass that is removed from the ground would have had ground protecting properties. We see this on large scales with agriculture and industrial de-forestation causing soil erosion and water retentive issues such as landslides.

It is necessary to change our procedures for agriculture to keep longterm food production with the thought of protecting and replacing soil content.