Desertification • Every country in North Africa is affected in some capacity

by the Sahara Desert.

DesertificationDesertification – is the change of fertile (good farm land) land that is too dry or damaged to support life.

Main Causes

Overgrazing- animals eat to much

Over farming- farmers over use the soil

Drought- there is nothing to hold down the good soil since all of the plants are dried up

Desertification

• Topsoil is the top layer of ground that has the nutrients/food to help plants grow.

Desertification

Desertification is threatening the way of life of many West African farmers.

Solutions – Need to repair topsoil

1. Stop overgrazing or over farming fertile land.

2. New irrigation projects.

3. Pray for more rain.

The Sahel

• The word Sahel means “shore” in Arabic.

• Why is this an appropriate word to describe the Sahel?

• Why would it be bad if the Sahara Desert is expanding?

The Sahel- Where desert meets savanna

Sub Sahara Africa- 2010’s

Land Desertification Facts: Sub Sahara

• An estimated 485 million Africans (65 percent of the entire African population) are affected by desertification.

• Approximately 22 percent of vegetated land (almost 500 million hectares) of Africa has been lost. 

• About 11 percent of total African land area (332 million hectares) is drylands affected by human/climate-induced desertification.

Dust Bowl United States 1930’s

Dust Bowl United States 1930’s

Dust Bowl Facts: United States

• By 1934, because of years of repeated dust storms, approximately 100 million acres of farmland no longer had enough topsoil to grow crops.

• In 1934, only 14.5 inches fell, which caused corn yield crops to drop by 75%.

• Poor farming practices contributed to the Dust Bowl. These included: over planting crops and overgrazing, as well as massive plowing under of natural grasses and replacing them with crops that weren’t drought resistant

Dust StormsA massive dust storm 2 miles high traveled 2,000 miles before hitting the East Coast on May 11, 1934. For five hours, a fog of prairie dirt enshrouded landmarks such as the Statue of Liberty and the U.S. Capitol, inside which lawmakers were debating a soil conservation bill.

Solutions

1. Irrigation of the land

2. Crop rotation

3. Planting of drought resistant crops

4. limit grazing of animals