What is land degradation? Explain causes for land degradation.
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Answer:
Land degradation is a process in which the value of the biophysical environment is affected by a combination of human-induced processes acting upon the land.[1] It is viewed as any change or disturbance to the land perceived to be deleterious or undesirable.[2] Natural hazards are excluded as a cause; however human activities can indirectly affect phenomena such as floods and bush fires.
This is considered to be an important topic of the 21st century due to the implications land degradation has upon agricultural productivity, the environment, and its effects on food security.[3] It is estimated that up to 40% of the world's agricultural land is seriously degraded.[4]
According to the Special Report on Climate Change and Land of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change: "About a quarter of the Earth’s ice-free land area is subject to human-induced degradation (medium confidence). Soil erosion from agricultural fields is estimated to be currently 10 to 20 times (no tillage) to more than 100 times (conventional tillage) higher than the soil formation rate (medium confidence).
CAUSES : Land degradation is a global problem largely related to agricultural use, deforestation and Climate Change. Causes include:
Land clearance, such as clearcutting and deforestation
Agricultural depletion of soil nutrients through poor farming practices
Livestock including overgrazing and overdrafting
Inappropriate irrigation[8] and overdrafting
Urban sprawl and commercial development
Vehicle off-roading
Quarrying of stone, sand, ore and minerals
Increase in field size due to economies of scale, reducing shelter for wildlife, as hedgerows and copses disappear
Exposure of naked soil after harvesting by heavy equipment
Monoculture, destabilizing the local ecosystem
Dumping of non-biodegradable trash, such as plastics
Invasive Species
Climate Change
Loss of soil carbon.
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Land degradation is caused by multiple forces, including extreme weather conditions particularly drought, and human activities that pollute or degrade the quality of soils and land utility negatively affecting food production, livelihoods, and the production and provision of other ecosystem goods and services.