NEET BIOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -Desertification is the process by which the biological productivity of drylands (arid and semiarid lands) is reduced due to natural or manmade factors.

Detailed explanation-2: -Desertification is a problem that those living in the Sahel Region have faced for many years. Desertification is when areas of viable land for farming dry up and are absorbed or transformed into a more desert-like climate. The Sahel Region spans 10 African countries including Burkina Faso, Chad and Cameroon.

Detailed explanation-3: -The economies, agriculture, livestock and human populations of much of Mauritania, Mali, Chad, Niger and Burkina Faso (known as Upper Volta during the time of the drought) were severely impacted.

Detailed explanation-4: -This overgrazing causes a loss of vegetation-when herds of animals eat all the grass on a piece of land, the soil underneath is left vulnerable and unable to grow back quickly enough to meet the grazing demand of the livestock.

Detailed explanation-5: -Since the 1970s, the Sahel has experienced drought conditions on a regular basis. This is down to physical and human factors: Overgrazing and deforestation on marginal land can lead to desertification . With less vegetation there is less transpiration and evaporation from the soil, causing less rainfall.