There are now a large number of environmental risk assessment models available with which a particular agricultural land use and management can be assessed from the point of view of likely damage to the environment (Plentinger and Penning de Vries, 1996). Soil degradation is the decline in soil quality caused by its improper use, usually for agricultural, pastoral, industrial or urban purposes. Following are some practises for controlling land degradation: 1. However, microbially produced biosurfactants have advantages over plant-based surfactants due to scale-up capacity, rapid production, and multifunctional properties. Eastern Africa including Ethiopia has experienced moderate to severe land degradation problems as shown in Figure 10. It was an insidious enemy, often masquerading under other names (see Desertification). Land represents a key asset for the livelihoods of the rural poor, as it provides key resources such as food, energy, shelter, and ... agricultural and forestry practices, climate change, urban expansion, infrastructure development, and extractive industry [1]. The Mediterranean, although small on a global scale, is a complex mosaic of landscapes, soils, different cultures, localized climates, and land-use histories. Historically, the failure to recognize and include the interdependencies of these three dimensions has slowed progress by the UNCCD in tackling the enormous problem of dryland degradation, although recent developments are encouraging. Desert areas cannot support life for long as the available water can hardly support life. At international level, there is now a new urgency in addressing land degradation. The degradation comes from several sources but it is mainly from extensive agriculture. Causes include: International researchers – representing a wide range of disciplines such as ecology, atmospheric science, social sciences, policy, and integrated assessment – must work together to successfully address this pressing global problem. Changes in climatic conditions because of unbalanced created in the environment. The main causes of erosion on agricultural land are intensive cultivation, overgrazing, poor management of arable soils and deforestation. Development of industries for the economic growth of the country leads to excessive deforestation and utilization of land in such as way that it has lost its natural up gradation quality. Land degradation is the major consequences of direct interference of human activities in the natural phenomenon. Unsustainable agricultural practices include: It became more dangerous because it directly or indirectly effects the food security and environment. The causes of land degradation can be divided into natural hazards, direct causes, and underlying causes. According to a study conducted by Ajai et al. Land degradation reduces land productivity and increases the workload of managing the 42 land, affecting women disproportionally in some regions. Desertification can be measured by the loss of ecosystem productivity it causes, and ranges from slight to severe. Nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K) deficiencies occur on 59%, 85%, and 90% of harvested land area, respectively (Chianu et al., 2012). There are different causes for the different types/forms of land degradation, and causes may differ from one country or state/province to another (depending on factors like agricultural practices, other environmental pollution factors and so on). Stocking, in International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences, 2001. The major causes of desertification include overgrazing, overcultivation of marginal land, unsustainable ‘slash-and-burn’ agricultural practice, logging for fuelwood, and poor irrigation techniques. Report a Violation, Land Degradation: Mechanisms and Causes of Land Degradation, Land Degradation: 9 Main Causes of Land Degradation, Mineral Resources: Useful Notes on the Types and Uses of Mineral Resources. As a consequence, crop yields decline as the soil fertility is depleted. Poor land-use practices and population pressure are the major drivers of land degradation in Ethiopia (Genanew and Alemu 2012; Berry 2003). In addition, compacted soil allows less water to infiltrate, limiting the water resources for plant uptake. The causes of land degradation in PICs include: deforestation, inappropriate agricultural practices, overgrazing, mining, population pressure, land tenure issues and changing climate. Deforestation accounts for the major land degradation problem as it results in severe soil erosion, flood, and loss of fertile soil. (2009), out of the country's total geographical area of 328.73 million, 57% is either desertified or degraded. Copyright 10. The desert has been unjustly thought of by some as the cause of desertification because semi-arid areas surround desert. Content Filtrations 6. Before publishing your articles on this site, please read the following pages: 1. For example, as new EU economic policies are adopted, many pastoral and drylands farmers are being marginalized and moving to urban areas; social–economic conditions are rapidly changing, e.g., the rise of tourism, intensification of high-tech agriculture, and the shifting of populations to urban environments. Various remediation technologies are being used for restoration of natural resources but most of them have additional impacts and are not ecologically safe. Moreover, plant-based surfactants have other issues such as solubility and hydrophobicity (Xu et al., 2011). Another destructive agricultural practice is the ‘slashing and burning’ of natural perennial vegetation, including trees and shrubs, to clear land for annual agriculture. Deforestation is taking place at a faster rate due to increasing demands of timber, fuel and forest products which results into degradation of land resources. As a result, salts in the irrigation water are deposited in the root zone. Land Degradation Land Degradation. 4) Pollution of water resources from the contamination of soil through which water sweeps into ground or runoff to the water bodies. Restoration of eroded agricultural land is achieved through several agronomic and biological techniques. Land degradation in many Pacific Island Countries (PICs) has become an emerging concern in recent years. 3), which may eventually provide general tools for linking science and policy in other regions of the world. In terms of severity, the Sudano-Sahelian region in Africa is the most affected region of the world. Leakey, in Multifunctional Agriculture, 2017. Following are some practises for controlling land degradation: It is & practice in which cultivated crops are sown in alternative strips to prevent water movement. Publishing your articles on this site, please read the following pages: 1 series Sahel! Soil pores in the natural phenomenon by formation of ridge and furrow irrigation! Significant Advances in Agronomy, 2013 chemicals harmful to plant growth dry semi-humid areas resulting from various human.! And sand dunes under the strong wind impact Sahel droughts in the search for sustainable futures. And Hutson, 1989 ) means: 1 ) loss of nutrients and minerals needed plant... 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