Land Degradation Essay

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CHAPTER ONE
GENERAL INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study Land degradation is a slow deleterious environmental process which it sometime takes place (for example from the onset of the rains to several years) before exhibiting its observable bad symptoms in the field and hence undetected until it becomes quietly advanced. In the course of its development, it leaves a track of damages which may be very difficult to eradicate and may incur much money to mitigate. Some examples of the destruction include eutrophication (the water ecosystem’s response to the addition of artificial or natural nutrients, mainly Phosphate, through agricultural fertilizers, sewage and etc.) through nutrient leaching, inhibition of plant growth from …show more content…

Land degradation has been incorrectly conceptualized in many parts of Somalia and it is therefore important to have a clear understanding of its concept before deeply go to the study. Understanding its concept is not meant to give a new definition, but is only to make a clear explanation of its concepts. The most important thing is to know that ‘land degradation’ is not an event but it is a process or change. It is a slow negative environmental process which involves one or a combination of processes. These processes include soil erosion by water or wind, sedimentation, long term reduction of the amount and/or diversity of the natural vegetation, decline of soil nutrients, increase of aridity, and salinization, acidification or sodification and etc. Another important aspect is that land degradation affects human beings and it is accelerated by the activities of humans themselves. It affects men through its impacts from reduction of food production potential, environmental deterioration for human habitation, destruction of road network through gully erosion, among others. It is accelerated by the activities of men through the overexploitation of land resources and mismanagement of

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