Basic Knowledge in Agriculture #65
What is Desertification?
What exactly is desertification? My simplest explanation for it is that it's land turning into desert. Of course the process itself is more nuanced but you see soil turn to dust, little by little, metaphorically, life bleeding from it. It’s a slow, dry, soil death.
What are the different causes of desertification
One of the biggest causes or reasons I know of is overgrazing. When too many goats and sheep nibble at the earth until there is nothing left. When too much firewood is harvested and none is planted back. Bad farming, perhaps growing the same thing on the same land until it is exhausted.
And there are climate factors that contribute too. The long absence of a rainy season adds to it all.
How do we ameliorate desertification?
I believe the real solution lies in our own decisions to protect lands and soil. You can have a village standing together to protect a single tree. The tree has no say and anyone can decide to abuse it with no consequences and see so no fear of abusing it. If we set and enforce laws, we get order.
We need a more intensive farming system but most importantly, farming done the right way. We should find alternative sources of energy so that every last bush isn’t uprooted. I spoke to a farmer who now grows certain types of trees in his fields. The leaves act as fertiliser, it's the little things but can create big changes.
I don't have the perfect solution. Sometimes it’s just about staving off the damage long enough for the land to heal. That’s not a solution but it’ll have to do, realistically speaking.
This soil for instance is ok, what we choose to do on it will determine whether it stays ok or becomes a wasteland in the future.
I invite @dannyben39 @whizzbro4eva @avalanch