2

Desertification
Victor R. Squires
University of Adelaide
and Drought
2.1 Introduction ..........................................................................................13
2.2 Desertification ..................................................................................... 14
2.3 Drought: What Is It? How to Quantify and Assess Its Effects
and Consequences ............................................................................... 16
Aridity and Drought • Causes of Drought • Classification
of Droughts • Drought Intensity Indicators
2.4 Drought Impact and the Desertification Process ............................ 19
Drought Sequences: A Key to Assessing Its Long-Term Impacts
2.5 Causes of Land Degradation and the Links to Widespread
Desertification .....................................................................................22
2.6 Processes of Land Degradation Leading to Desertification ...........23
2.7 Summary and Conclusions ................................................................24
Author...............................................................................................................24
Further Readings ............................................................................................24

Abstract Both desertification and drought are ill-defined concepts, as will be explained here.
A significant problem militating against clearer understanding of desertification as a tangible process
relates to its confused relationship with the terms “drought,” “climatic variation,” “climate change,”
and “climatic fluctuation,” which are all used interchangeably in the literature. Some clarification
of these terms is necessary as climate is inherently variable at all scales. Confusion also arises in
the literature relating to the corresponding adaptive vegetation changes that the cyclicity of rainfall
imposes on the plant community vis-à-vis negative conditions imposed on vegetation as a result of
sustained anthropogenic activity. Both cyclical (climatic) and anthropogenic changes are evident in
most drylands worldwide. However, the difficulty of differentiating between the effects of normal
cyclical changes and anthropogenic changes has led to unreasonable attempts to exclude vegetative
indicators from studies of desertification.

2.1 Introduction
It is significant that the United Nations Convention to Desertification (UNCCD) is in reality an inter-
national convention on desertification and drought. So, to be sure of what it is that this chapter is about,
we need to define both terms. This is not a simple task though as both desertification and drought are
ill-defined, as will be explained in the following.

13
14 Handbook of Drought and Water Scarcity

2.2 Desertification
The earliest UN definition arises from the 1977 Conference in Nairobi. Desertification is defined as “the
diminution of or destruction of the biological potential of the land and can lead ultimately to desert-like
conditions.” In the 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) held in Rio de
Janeiro, desertification was formally defined as “land degradation in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid
areas* resulting from various factors, including climatic variations and human activities.” Land, in this
context, includes soil and local water resources, land surface, and vegetation or crops. Degradation implies
reduction of resources potential by one or a combination of processes acting on land. These processes
include water erosion, wind erosion, and sedimentation by these agents, long-term reduction in the
amount or diversity of natural vegetation, where relevant, and salinization and sodification [20]. Another
1992 UN Report concluded its definition of desertification with the phrase “resulting mainly from adverse
human impact” [21].
This UN definition explicitly focuses desertification on the linkages between humans and their envi-
ronments that affect human welfare in arid and semiarid regions. However, this definition does not
lend itself to easy quantification and requires elaboration. (Is it a process or a state? Are processes like
deforestation and salinization causes or symptoms? What exactly is the role of drought?) It is fair to
say that not everyone agrees with this UNCCD definition and some authors have devised variations. In
fact, more than 100 definitions of desertification have been proposed, each emphasizing unique issues
and (often) particular spatial and temporal scales of interest [12]. Initially, desertification processes
were believed to be hinged on the reduction of biological productivity. Early definitions of desertifica-
tion refer to “the diminution or destruction of the biological potential of land, leading ultimately to
desert-like conditions” [20]. The early biological-based definitions have, however, tended to confuse
the processes of desertification with natural cyclical fluctuations of vegetation growth, especially along
desert fringes. The processes of desertification are now more broadly defined as land degradation as set
out earlier. While these kinds of definitional problems have in the past led to global overestimations of
the extent of desertification by as much as 66% [18], severe dangers can arise if obvious environmental
problems are downplayed.
In addition, a significant problem militating against clearer understanding of desertification as a tan-
gible process relates to its confused relationship with the terms “climatic variation,” “climate change,” and
“climatic fluctuation,” which are all used interchangeably in the literature. Some clarification of these terms
is necessary as climate is inherently variable at all scales. Confusion also arises in the literature relating to
the corresponding adaptive vegetation changes that the cyclicity of rainfall imposes on a plant community
vis-à-vis negative conditions imposed on vegetation as a result of sustained anthropogenic activity. Both
cyclical (climatic) and anthropogenic changes are evident in most drylands worldwide. However, the dif-
ficulty of differentiating between the effects of normal cyclical changes and anthropogenic changes [15]
has led to unreasonable attempts to exclude vegetative indicators from studies of desertification. Stafford
Smith and Reynolds [15] have done much to clarify the situation, and their ideas are encapsulated in a
diagram reproduced here as shown in Figure 2.1. Desertification is, first and foremost, the outcome of
resource management failure. Resource management in drylands, in particular, has been influenced not
only by potentials of the ecosystem and skills of the peoples but also by the cultural and institutional
frameworks within which the resource management has taken place. These frameworks have posed prob-
lems for resource managers.
In practice, desertification occurs as a result of a long-term failure to balance the human demand for
ecosystem services and the amount the ecosystem can supply [10]. We can further subdivide these eco-
system services (the benefits people obtain from ecosystems) into categories. These include provisioning
services such as food and water; regulating services such as flood and disease control; cultural services

* These affected lands have come to be known collectively as “drylands” and the distinctions between them rely on climatic
factors, mainly the ratio between potential evapotranspiration and precipitation.
Desertification and Drought 15

Meteorological Ecological dimensions

dimensions
Range and crop
production Animal
production
Climate
Plant species
composition
and soil limits
Resource use Crops and natural Herd size
pattern and intensity resources and quality
Human dimensions

Rural
livelihoods
Services Trade
Resource access Cash
Education
(tenure and equity) income
Health
Shelter
Food, etc.

Rural (across Wage labor,

population scale) pensions, etc.
Rural
institutions
Policy

FIGURE 2.1 Example of a preliminary mechanistic model that emphasizes the links between, rather than the inter-
nal function of the human and environment subsystems, for rangelands/human interactions in subsistence pastoral
systems of Africa. Note that this model can be applied at various scales. Solid lines indicate driving processes, dashed
lines controlling feedbacks, and the heavier arrows (and their feedbacks) indicate where there is a close integration of
social and biophysical factors. (After Reynolds, J.F. and Stafford Smith, D.M., eds., Global Desertification: Do Humans
Cause Deserts? Dahlem University Press, 2002.)

such as spiritual, recreational, and cultural benefits; and supporting services such as nutrient cycling that
maintain the conditions for life on Earth.
Provisioning services are the products obtained from ecosystems, including genetic resources, food and
fiber, and freshwater.
Regulating services are the benefits obtained from the regulation of ecosystem processes, including the
regulation of climate, water, and some human diseases.
Cultural services are the nonmaterial benefits people obtain from ecosystems through spiritual enrich-
ment, cognitive development, reflection, recreation, and aesthetic experience, including knowledge
systems, social relations, and aesthetic values.
Supporting services are ecosystem services that are necessary for the production of all other ecosys-
tem services. Some examples include biomass production, production of atmospheric oxygen,
soil formation and retention, nutrient cycling, water cycling, and provisioning of habitat.
The pressure is increasing on dryland ecosystems for providing services such as food, forage, fuel,
building materials, and water that is needed for humans, livestock, irrigation, and sanitation. This increase
is attributed to a combination of human factors (such as population pressure and land use patterns) and
climatic factors (such as droughts). While the global and regional interplay of these factors is complex, it
is possible to understand it at the local scale.
There is a widespread consensus that the pressing issues of desertification, land degradation, and drought
(DLDD) are inadequately addressed in today’s political agenda at the global, regional, and national levels. It
is therefore of vital importance to raise awareness of the issues, not only on the negative impacts of DLDD
16 Handbook of Drought and Water Scarcity

in terms of socioeconomic development but also on the opportunities that they may create to help to guide
current and future land management practices to be more sustainable and resilient. Understanding and
evaluating the economic and social costs and benefits associated with DLDD are essential to developing
cost-effective policies and strategies for addressing DLDD and in raising this awareness [19].
Many scientists studying desertification think that the UN definition is too broad [8]. The definition
encompasses things like drought, overgrazing, and inadvisable cropping. Scientists are beginning to say
that desertification is a reduction in the productivity of the land that is not reversible or at least not within a
human life span [14,15,17]. In other words, land is desertified when it can no longer support the same plant
growth it had in the past, and the change is permanent on a human time scale. Many things can cause
desertification: drought, overgrazing, fire, and deforestation can thin out vegetation, leaving exposed soil.
If the nutrient-rich top soil blows or washes away, plants may not be able to return. Overfarming or
drought can change the soil so that rain no longer penetrates, and the plants lose the water they need to
grow. If the changing force is lifted—drought ends or livestock are removed, for example—but the land
cannot recover, it is desertified. The loss of productive land for a season or even a few years is one thing,
but to lose it effectively forever is clearly far more serious.
Much has been written about both desertification and drought and there is no real agreement about the
definition of either term. There is much more agreement about how to ascribe the consequences of both
desertification and drought. An enumeration of these symptoms can help define the terms in ways that
are less academic and more relevant to land managers and policy makers. The causes or drivers of land
degradation and desertification have been identified as being of two types: proximate and underlying [7].
Proximate causes include biophysical factors (topography, climate conditions and change, natural haz-
ards) and unsustainable land management practices. Underlying causes indirectly affect proximate causes,
for example, unsustainable land management practices are driven by land shortage, poverty, migration,
and economic pressures, which, in turn, have their own drivers.
Many studies (reviewed by [3]) suggest that although desertification is the result of a complex inter-
action of a number of factors, the direct causes are human actions—which themselves are a function
of population density, cultural traditions, land tenure, and other socioeconomic and political factors.
Although climate and soil types are important in determining the severity and rate of desertification, it is
ignorance or the force of circumstance in failing to match the use and management of the land to the soil
and prevailing climate that leads to the removal of soil. Overstocking, deforestation, wood collection, and
overcultivation usually are cited as the principal direct causes of the problem; estimates of the percent-
age of desertified land attributed to each of these factors are available [3]. However, a somewhat different
view of the causes of desertification also exists. For some Asian environments and particularly for African
environments, there is a growing body of literature that emphasizes the impact of extended droughts over
the last several decades in the desertification process or suggests that desertification has been overstated
due to a lack of adequate information.
Prince [14] and others [2,20], studying the phenomenon of desertification, have narrowed the key ele-
ments of any satisfactory definition down to two things: A clear definition of what actually qualifies as
desertification and access to long-term records of vegetation so that one of the major criteria (irrevers-
ibility) can be tested. These matters are discussed in the following.

2.3 Drought: What Is It? How to Quantify

and Assess Its Effects and Consequences
There is much confusion about two related but separate aspects. These two are aridity and drought.

2.3.1 Aridity and Drought

Aridity results from a combination of factors affecting the capacity of the meteorological conditions to
supply moisture to an area. These factors include the basic physics of air movement, the global pattern of
Desertification and Drought 17

insolation, and the geometry of the land and sea relative to atmospheric movements. Coastal deserts are
common off the coast of Africa and of South America, and their location is ascribed to the cold ocean cur-
rents. Other common situations where aridity is the norm are in “rain shadow” areas, where the cool moist
air rises on one side of the mountain emptying the clouds as they rise and the descending air on the other
side is dry. These situations prevail in southern Patagonia, parts of the Great Plains in North America, and
in Central Asia, including Xinjiang in far-west China. In addition to this “vertical geometry” of the land
and its interaction with the atmospheric circulation, the pattern of land and sea also contributes to global
aridity. The greater the distance from the ocean traveled by rain-bearing winds, the lesser the total mois-
ture carried. The interior of the large continents (Africa, Asia, and Australia) therefore has less potential
moisture available than most coasts. Finally, the basic seasonal global climates fueled by the solar oscilla-
tion between the tropics means that these areas receive the highest amounts of solar energy input. Much
of the massive solar energy load is used in the evaporation of any moisture on land or in the atmosphere,
but much remains to maintain a high-temperature regime that is so typical of many arid regions.

2.3.2 Causes of Drought
While the pattern of global aridity seems to be dictated by the basic global energy flux and the resultant
patterns of atmospheric circulation, drought occurs as the result of specific shortfalls in moisture avail-
ability in the face of specific demands for moisture. Drought can therefore occur in any climatic zone.
While definitions of drought vary, a general definition is as follows: “an unexpected shortage of available
moisture sufficient to cause severe hardship to human resource use in the area affected.” An expected
shortage, say from the effects of the seasonal “dry” period, would not therefore be classified as a drought,
but if the shortage occurred in the normal “wet” season or the size of the shortage was significantly greater
than in a normal “dry” season (and had serious effects on the resource use), then a drought would be said
to occur. Given the spectrum of precipitation in arid lands (from the extreme arid areas with no rain in
some years to the semiarid lands with possibly a definite wet season) and the characteristic variability of
precipitation over time and space, it is not surprising that droughts are recognized even in arid areas. The
occurrence of drought in many ways reflects the overoptimistic human appraisal of the moisture avail-
ability of an area as a component of resource potential. Such appraisals have fluctuated over time with
subsequent significance for the success of resource use.

2.3.3 Classification of Droughts
As indicated earlier, there is no clear definition of drought and opinion is divided on the terminology
surrounding drought [20]. Despite this, several main types of drought are recognized: (1) meteorological
drought (see earlier) characterized by an amount of precipitation lower than a definite percentage of the
long-term average for an area, (2) agricultural (agroclimatic) drought associated with nonuniformity of
distribution of precipitation in the critical phases of the vegetation period, (3) soil drought caused by
insufficient moisture in the soil to support plant growth, and (4) hydrological drought associated with
a deficiency of surface runoff and drying up of ponds, reservoirs, lakes, and cessation of flow in rivers.
With respect to their intensity and duration, droughts are divided into moderate, strong, and very
strong (Table 2.1).
In India, where monsoonal rains play such an important role in agriculture and commerce and the
population is huge, the incidence of drought has serious consequences and India gives an official recogni-
tion to additional categories of drought:
Socioeconomic drought: It reflects the reduction of availability of food and loss of income on account of
crop failures, endangering food and social security of the people in the affected areas.
Famine: A famine occurs when a large-scale collapse of access to food occurs that, without interven-
tion, can lead to mass starvation.
18 Handbook of Drought and Water Scarcity

TABLE 2.1 Drought Is Generally Classified according to Two Broad Criteria: (A) Water and Its Availability
and (B) Duration but Type and Severity Are Further Classified
A.1. Meteorological Drought indicates a greater or lesser
deficit in precipitation
a. Slight drought: When rainfall is 11%–25% lower than
the normal rainfall
b. Moderate drought: When rainfall is 26%–50% lower
than the normal rainfall
c. Severe drought: When rainfall is more than 50% lower
than the normal rainfall
2. Hydrological drought: Is defined as the situation of
rainfall deficit when the hydrological sources like
streams, rivers, lakes, wells dry up and groundwater
level depletes. This affects the rural community (in
particular); industry and power generation
3. Agricultural drought: This is the situation resulting from
inadequate rainfall, when soil moisture fails to meet the
water demands of the crop during growth. Thus, crop
may wilt due to soil moisture stress, resulting in a
marked reduction of yield
B. Drought onset and duration differ and allow
classification
1. Permanent drought: This is the area generally of
permanent dry, arid desert regions. Crop production is
not possible without irrigation. In these areas, vegetation
like cactus, thorny shrubs, xerophytes, etc., are generally
observed.
2. Seasonal drought occurs in the regions with clearly
defined rainy (wet) and dry climates. Seasonal drought
may occur due to large-scale seasonal circulation, e.g., in
monsoon areas.
3. Contingent drought results from irregular and variable
rainfall, especially in humid and subhumid regions. The
occurrence of such droughts may coincide with growth
periods of the crops when the water needs are greatest.
Severe reductions in crop yields may follow.

Ecological drought: Ecological drought takes place when the productivity of a natural ecosystem fails
significantly as a consequence of distress-induced environmental damage, often leading to outward
migration as “ecological refugees.”
Further class classification of drought may be helpful, for instance, to distinguish between atmospheric
and soil drought. Soil drought is the condition when the soil moisture depletes and falls short to
meet potential evapotranspiration of the crop.
Atmospheric drought: It results from low humidity, dry and hot winds and leads to desiccation of plants.
This may occur even when the rainfall and moisture supply is adequate. Drought is a serious matter
in the Mediterranean basin and much work has been done to develop classification systems and
indices that are relevant [1].

2.3.4 Drought Intensity Indicators

A drought indicator is typically a single number far more useful than raw data for decision-making.
Therefore, drought indices are used to determine thresholds, the severity, the duration, the probability of
occurrence, and the spatial extent of drought episodes.
Drought intensity categories are based on five key indicators, numerous supplementary indicators
including drought impacts, and local reports from expert observers. The accompanying drought sever-
ity classification (Table 2.2) developed in the United States shows the ranges for each indicator for each
dryness level. Because the ranges of the various indicators often do not coincide, the final drought
category tends to be based on what the majority of the indicators show and on local observations. The
analysts producing the map also weigh the indices according to how well they perform in various parts
of the country and at different times of the year. Additional indicators are often needed in the West,
where winter snowfall in the mountains has a strong bearing on water supplies. It is this combination
of the best available data, local observations, and experts’ best judgment that makes the U.S. Drought
Monitor more versatile than other drought indicators. Different types of drought require different types
of drought indicators. Some indicators are better to assess agricultural drought, other hydrological
drought, and so on. The assessment of socioeconomic drought requires socioeconomic and nutritional
indicators.
Desertification and Drought 19

TABLE 2.2 Drought Sequences in Central Australia (23°42′0″S/133°53′0″E) in the Period

1886–1985 according to Their Classification into Good, Average, and Bad Years on the Basis
of Summer and Winter Rainfall
Year Sequence of Years Remarks
1886–1905 OOOOOdddOO
1906–1915 OOgOggdOdd
1916–1925 OgOOOgOOd
1926–1935 OOddddgOOd The period 1928–1935 was widely seen as an 8-year
drought despite being interspersed by “g” years.
1936–1945 OdgOOddgdd
1946–1955 OOOdgOgOdO
1956–1965 OOdOdOddOO
1966–1975 OddgOOOdgg The period 1967–1974 was widely seen as a 9-year
drought despite being interspersed by “g” years
1976–1985 OddgOgOdOO

Source: Foran, B. and Stafford Smith, M., J. Environ. Manage., 33(1), 17, 1991.
Note: “d = drought,” “O = average, ” “g = good,” overall there were 29 drought years, 51 average
years, and 20 good years in this 90-year sequence.

Integrated systems like the drought indicator developed in the United States (Table 2.3) allow us to
reunite indicators developed from different types of drought to be displayed in a graphical form as a
unique map showing the areas suffering most from drought severity.

2.4 Drought Impact and the Desertification Process

The impact of drought on natural ecosystems is measured by plant cover and biomass production and by
the disruption of food production systems. Drought reduces the number, phytomass, and ground cover
of plants and hence reduces the protection of the soil against erosion. Desertification has much more
profound and lasting effects. Desertified soils are subject to extensive water and wind erosion and there-
fore lose much of their depth and ability to store water and nutrients. In the worst cases, all perennials
are removed, and the soil surface is subjected to large-scale wind and water erosion. Without permanent
vegetation protection, the soil surface is eroded by running water, sealed and crusted by raindrop splash,
and made increasingly impervious and hence prone to more erosion. Soil surface sealing and encrustation
reduce water intake, resulting in a drier environment. Thus, a whole spiral of self-perpetuating edaphic
aridity is triggered. Eventually, all of the soft soil layers are removed, and the situation becomes irrevers-
ible. Schlesinger et al. [18] propose that not only does drought and the loss of vegetation cover lead to
desertification, but a mere shift in plant growth form dominance, as a consequence of overgrazing, may
drastically reduce productivity. Overgrazing results in the redistribution of organic matter and nutrients
may be the primary agent responsible for the current conversion of previously productive grasslands to
unproductive shrublands. Where resources within semiarid grasslands previously were homogeneously
distributed, overgrazing results in their concentration beneath shrub islands. Not only is the productivity
of the land reduced, but positive feedback processes render the changes irreversible [18].
Drought is an inherent characteristic of climatic variation and occurs in all regions of the world. It is a
consequence of a natural reduction in the amount of precipitation received over a period of time in rela-
tion to the normal. The economic, social, and ecological effects of drought depend not only on the length,
severity, and spatial extent but also on the vulnerability of society to the event. See the earlier comments
apropos India in this context.
Rangelands are likely to be prone to desertification because of their inherent fragility. For example,
the effect of climate change on plant and animal production in the Great Plains of North America was
 20

TABLE 2.3 Drought Severity Classification in United States

Palmer Drought USGS Weekly Standardized Objective Drought
Severity Index CPC Soil Moisture Streamflow Precipitation Index Indicator Blends
Category Description Possible Impacts (PDSI) Model (Percentiles) (Percentiles) (SPI) (Percentiles)

Going into drought:

• Short-term dryness slowing
planting, growth of crops or
pastures
D0 Abnormally dry −1.0 to −1.9 21–30 21–30 −0.5 to −0.7 21–30
Coming out of drought:
• Some lingering water deficits
• Pastures or crops not fully
recovered
• Some damage to crops, pastures
D1 Moderate drought • Streams, reservoirs, or wells −2.0 to −2.9 11–20 11–20 −0.8 to −1.2 11–20
low, some water shortages
developing or imminent
• Voluntary water use
restrictions requested
• Crop or pasture losses likely
D2 Severe drought • Water shortages common −3.0 to −3.9 6–10 6–10 −1.3 to −1.5 6–10
• Water restrictions imposed
D3 Extreme drought • Major crop/pasture losses
• Widespread water shortages −4.0 to −4.9 3–5 3–5 −1.6 to −1.9 3–5
or restrictions
• Exceptional and widespread
crop/pasture losses
D4 Exceptional • Shortages of water in −5.0 or less 0–2 0–2 −2.0 or less 0–2
drought reservoirs, streams, and wells
creating water emergencies
Handbook of Drought and Water Scarcity
Desertification and Drought 21

modeled and results showed a reduction in plant nitrogen content during summer grazing and decreased
animal production because of an increased ambient temperature and decreased forage quality. Carrying
capacities would need to drop to maintain 90% confidence of not overstocking. Desertification causes the
soil to lose its ability to support rainfed crops. It inevitably results in emigration as the land cannot sustain
the original inhabitants. There are indications that as much as 3% of the African population has been
­permanently displaced, largely as a result of environmental degradation [22].
Desertification is often confused with drought or desiccation. Desiccation refers to longer-term (decadal
order) deficits in rainfall that seriously disrupt ecological and social patterns and require national and
global responses. Recovery after desiccation is much slower, for trees may have died and vegetation may
then take years to recover. Responses include management of population movements and the develop-
ment of alternative livelihood systems. However, it does not necessarily follow that drought or desic-
cation per se will give rise to or cause desertification in dryland areas. Much depends on the resource
management in these areas. When human misuse or mismanagement of land weakens the natural system,
drought and desiccation often lead to desertification.
While the latter should not be confused with drought and desiccation, the definition provided by
UNCED in 1992* cites climate variation as a direct causal factor and implicitly links desertification with
climatic variation or climate change. Climatic variation or climate change refers to short-term climate
variability and longer-term climatic trends or shifts caused by natural mechanisms or by human a­ ctivity.
Climate change does cause global warming often through greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Natural
­climate change, which typically operates at a slow pace, is not a problem. Climate has been changing
constantly for hundreds of millennia. As a result of the slow advance of natural processes, the planet has
warmed and cooled, passing from ice ages to warm, interglacial periods. These gradual transitions, often
spanning thousands of years, have allowed life on earth to adjust relatively smoothly to each new climatic
equilibrium. Nonetheless, during these transitions, the boundaries of ecological communities have shifted
and the associated human cultures have flourished and, occasionally, disappeared. However, something
important has changed recently. During the last few decades, the natural greenhouse effect has become
the “greenhouse problem.” In the foreseeable future, rising concentrations of GHGs threaten to induce
rapid shifts in global and regional climate regimes, disrupting economic systems and inflicting significant
economic damage on the affected societies.

2.4.1 Drought Sequences: A Key to Assessing Its Long-Term Impacts

More still needs to be known about the biological responses of the land to stocking pressure, especially
in and after drought periods. Droughts, and what to do about them, have bedeviled farmers, politicians,
bureaucrats, and scientists alike. A number of strategies for drought mitigation have been tried, but
drought has tended to be regarded as an aberration. Today, however, drought is increasingly accepted as a
normal part of the farming system and not as a “crisis.” Many farmer groups no longer wish to be beholden
to a drought declaration and subsequent drought subsidies and are asking for more technical information
and for the financial freedom to deal with drought as individual enterprises.
At the same time, many so-called droughts are being recognized as carrying capacity crises brought on
by inappropriate stocking policies. Uncertainties of climate, markets, and financial returns pose complex
problems and stresses for the management, managers, and resource base of arid pastoral systems. Pastoral
lands have a highly variable climate. For example, each year of the historical sequence 1886–1985 for Alice
Springs, Australia (23°42′0″S/133°53′0″E), was classified by Foran and Stafford Smith [7] as good, average,
or dry on the basis of effective summer and previous winter rainfall (Table 2.2).
Good, average, and dry years (defined in terms of production rates below average) occur randomly
with an approximate probability of 0.25, 0.50, and 0.25, respectively, in central Australia. When these
were separated into individual 10-year sequences, they provided 10 decades of “real” rainfall sequences

* The UNCED, also known as the Earth Summit, took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from June 2 to 14, 1992.
22 Handbook of Drought and Water Scarcity

for a third appreciation of the different management strategies (assessed on the basis of financial
returns). Within a management time frame of 10 years, there are 59,049 (310) possible combinations
of these three year types. First, the three strategies were run through all 59,049 (310) possible 10-year
sequences to assess the overall expected mean and variance of financial return. Second, the ability
of each strategy to cope with drought was examined in more detail by running the strategy through
drought sequences of 1–5 years, followed by a recovery sequence of average years up to year 20. The
first year of a dry sequence resulted in “poor” biological rates, and subsequent years in that sequence
obtained “bad” rates.
Three management strategies commonly found in central Australia were evaluated. The average enter-
prise ignores drought in the hope that the rains will soon come. The high-stock enterprise accepts the risk
of drought, running 33% more stock on the same land resource than the “average” strategy, but responds
aggressively to the first indications of drought by selling all male stock and the older cows from the herd.
The low-stock enterprise avoids drought as much as possible, by carrying only two-thirds of the stock
numbers on the average property and maintaining high biological rates for the herd by superior animal
husbandry, plant introduction, and water harvesting techniques.

2.5 Causes of Land Degradation and the Links

to Widespread Desertification
Land degradation is a continuous phenomenon; it implies a decline in crops, a deterioration in vegetation
cover, an exacerbation of external dynamics of the land surface, a qualitative and quantitative regression
of water resources, and a degradation of soils and pollution of the air. Degradation is a point of evolution
that leads to a reduction of resource potential. The word desertification can be used when degradation
reaches an irreversible degree on a human time scale (see earlier). The degree can be considered irrevers-
ible when the soil is degraded to such a point that the seeds in soil cannot germinate because the soil has
lost its ability to conserve humidity. Drought can exacerbate the effects of land degradation and this effect
has been dubbed “the crucible of drought.” It is the added stress imposed by drought that can create a tip-
ping point when ecosystems are put under increased strain. It is this stress that can shift land degradation
to desertification.
Understanding, assessing, and combating desertification can be facilitated by differentiating causes,
processes (or manifestations), and consequences or status, which means degrees of severity of reduction
of resource potential.
The causes of land degradation can be classified as
1. Natural, which means climatic—deficient rainfalls with droughts but may also include excessive
rainfall with destructive floods and landslides
2. Anthropogenic, which includes socioeconomic aspects with negative feedback—desertified land
with a reduction of potential leading to a greater pressure on land users who increase the destruc-
tion of the land; a vicious circle or downward spiral
Four major anthropogenic causes of land degradation have been described:
1. Overstocking, overgrazing, and all types of vegetation clearing that leave the soil bare of cover and
induce physical processes of degradation. Worldwide water erosion is a cause of loss of soil through
water erosion on 25,000 million ha.
2. Soils repeatedly worked over with heavy equipment that causes physical damage of the soil’s water
holding capacity.
3. Intensive cropping regimes without rotation or nutrient inputs. This deprives the soil of carbon and
its essential mineral elements.
4. Poor irrigation practices and badly drained soils resulting in salinization because water pumped
over the fields evaporates and the dissolved salts collect on or near the soil surface.
Desertification and Drought 23

2.6 Processes of Land Degradation Leading to Desertification

Adaptation to drought and desertification has challenged pastoralists, ranchers, and farmers for centuries.
Pastoralists and ranchers have drought-evading strategies and farmers have drought-enduring strategies.
Drought-enduring strategies include the adoption of a light stocking rate that preserves the dynamics of
the ecosystems and their ability to recover after drought and the utilization of agroforestry techniques,
whereby fodder shrubs and trees that can store large amounts of feed over long periods of time are planted
in strategic locations in order to provide an extra source of feed when drought occurs. These provide and
thus encourage a more permanent rather than nomadic existence even when the rangeland is dry and
parched.
In dryland environments, formidable challenges exist for implementing sustainable development.
Among these are unpredictable and severe drought, desiccation due to persistent drought, and dryland
degradation or desertification. Because these problems overlap in their effects on the ground, often those
who seek sustainable development for the drylands tend to view the problems as one and the same. Yet to
facilitate the development of appropriate and effective mitigating measures, it is important that the differ-
ences and interrelationships be clearly understood.
In arid and semiarid lands, human activities like overgrazing, coupled with the degradation of the
natural vegetation can lead to changes in particular climatic parameters. Initially, surface albedo could
rise by roughly 5% increasing by 10% ± 15% under conditions of desertification. Reduced vegetation cover
and increased surface albedo may, however, result from naturally occurring periods of drought. Reduced
vegetation cover also increases dust emission in arid and semiarid lands due to intensified degradation
and thus contributes to the anthropogenic particle emission, one-third of which is due to land use deg-
radation. However, because arid and semiarid lands are climatically determined, any changes in climate
that result in an expansion or contraction will alter the extent of the area in which desertification can be
expected to occur, but deciding its precise contribution is problematic.
Hulme and Kelly [9] and Williams and Balling [30] have provided an extensive discussion on the
interactions of desertification and climate, with a fairly comprehensive review of the existing literature
on climate and human impact on dryland environments.
That climate change does occur is now an established fact (Figure 2.2).
Determining the precise contribution of climate change to the problem of desertification is not an easy
matter. One can generalize in the light of recent research findings that there is a causal link between the
two. A key question is at what point though should long-duration drought be reclassified as climate change
and its land-degrading consequences be included within the umbrella of desertification. While the relative
contribution of climate change (often manifest as more frequent and severe droughts) is difficult to deter-
mine, there is little doubt that it can aggravate the problem, especially where resource management failure

Local Natural
Feedback change
factors

Management The
Desertification Desiccation
failure oceans

External Greenhouse Anthropogenic

change gases change
Causal relationships about which we are confident
Key
Causal relationships about which there is uncertainty

FIGURE 2.2 Desertification and its linkages. Some relationships and feedback loops in the interaction between
desertification and dessication induced by drought. (Redrawn from Hulme, M. and Kelly, M., Environment,
35(6), 4, 1993.)
24 Handbook of Drought and Water Scarcity

has occurred or where, as a result of natural or anthropogenic disturbances, prevailing management sys-
tems of land use in arid and semiarid lands reach their resilience thresholds. The so-called crucible of
drought can apply intense pressure on plants, livestock, and land users.

2.7 Summary and Conclusions

Local foci of desertification processes appear in innumerable new places every year, and it is most effi-
cient to deal with them and the causes of their development as they arise. Left unattended because of lack
of commitment, concern, political will, technology, or financial resources, these spots of desertification
expand, sometimes at an accelerating rate. The task of dealing with the multifaceted aspects of deserti-
fication and drought (and their interactions) is not easy. Some aspects often appear as a by-product of
some usually important life-sustaining human activity, especially in the drylands in developing coun-
tries. Yet desertification and drought (especially when they are concurrent) in the long run destroy the
­all-important resource base on which an ever-increasing population must increasingly depend. There are
few other environmental issues that deserve a global focus of attention as urgently as does the impact of
drought and desertification, now adding to the life-threatening pressures on inhabitants of drought-prone
regions in particular.

Author
Victor Squires is an Australian who, as a young man, studied animal husbandry and rangeland ecology.
He has a PhD in rangeland science from Utah State University, United States. He is former dean of the
Faculty of Natural Resource Management at the University of Adelaide, where he worked for 15 years
after a 22-year career in Australia’s CSIRO. He is the author/editor of 13 books, including Combating
Desertification in Asia, Africa and the Middle East: Proven Practices (Springer, 2014) and Rangeland
Ecology, Management and Conservation Benefits (2015) and numerous research papers on aspects of
rangeland ecology/livestock relations. Dr. Squires was a visiting fellow in the East–West Center, Hawaii.
Since retirement from the University of Adelaide, he works as an adjunct professor at the University of
Arizona, Tucson, and at the Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou, China. He has been a consultant
to the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, and various UN agencies in Africa, China, Central Asia,
and the Middle East.
He was awarded the 2008 International Award and Gold Medal for International Science and Technology
Cooperation and, in 2011, the Friendship Award by the government of China. The gold medal is the high-
est award for foreigners. In 2015, Dr. Squires was honored by the Society for Range Management (United
States) with an Outstanding Achievement Award.

Further Readings
1. Aghrab, A., Boubabid, R., and Elalouli, A. C. 2008. Drought characterization using drought indi-
ces in two areas of the Mediterranean basin: Meknes, Morocco and Cordoba, Spain, Options
Mediterraneeness Series A, 80: 191–198.
2. Anyamba, A. and Tucker, C. 2005. Analysis of Sahelian vegetation dynamics using NOAA-AVHRR
NDVI data from 1981–2003, Journal of Arid Environments, 63: 596–614.
3. Bullock, P. and Le Houerou, H. 1996. Land degradation and desertification, in: Working Group II
Contribution to the Second Assessment Report of the IPCC, Available at: https://www.ipcc-wg2.gov/
publications/SAR/SAR_Chapter%204.pdf, Chapter 4, Accessed on July 28, 2016.
4. CIHEAM/ICARDA/FAO. 2008. Drought management: Scientific and technological innovations,
Proceedings of the First International Conférence “Drought Management” MEDROPLAN Project and
MEDA Water Programme, CIHEAM/ICARDA/FAO, Zaragoza, Spain, 429pp.
Desertification and Drought 25

5. Eslamian, S. S., Khatoonabadi, S. A., Shahidi Hamadani, A., and Nazari, R. 2003. Water resources
mismanagement and desertification of a semiarid region, Gahavand Plain, Seventh International
Conference on Dry Land Development: Sustainable Development of Dry Lands in the 21st Century, The
International Dry Lands Development Commission (IDDC), Tehran, Iran.
6. Eslamian, S. S., Khajedin, S. J., and Amiri-Maleki, A. 2002. Role of dam construction in develop-
ing desert regions of arid zone climates, Eighth International Conference on Understanding Future
Dryland Environmental Changes from Past Dynamics, Yazd University, Yazd, Iran.
7. Foran, B. and Stafford Smith, M. 1991. Risk, biology and drought management strategies for cattle
stations in central Australia, Journal of Environmental Management, 33(1): 17–33.
8. Geist, H. J. and Lambin, E. F. 2004. Dynamic causal patterns of desertification, Bioscience, 54:
817–829.
9. Herrmann, S. and Hutchinson, C. 2005. The changing contexts of the desertification debate, Journal
of Arid Environments, 63: 538–555.
10. Heshmati, G. A. and Squires, V. R. 2013. Combating Desertification in Asia, Africa and Middle East:
Proven Practices, Springer, Dordrecht, the Netherlands, 476pp.
11. Hulme, M. and Kelly, M. 1993. Exploring the links between desertification and climate change,
Environment, 35(6): 4–45.
12. Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. 2005. Ecosystems and Human Well-Being: Synthesis, Island
Press, Washington, DC.
13. Nicholson, S. E. 2000. Land surface processes and Sahel climate, Reviews of Geophysics, 38: 117–139.
14. Prince, S. 2004. Mapping desertification in southern Africa, in: Gutman, G., Janetos, A., Justice, C.
O., Moran, E. F., Mustard, J. F., Rindfuss, R. R., Skole, D., and Turner, II, B. L., eds., Land Change
Science: Observing, Monitoring, and Understanding Trajectories of Change on the Earth’s Surface,
Kluwer, Dordrecht, the Netherlands, pp. 163–184.
15. Prince, S. D., Wessels, K. J., Tucker, C. J., and Nicholson, S. E. 2007. Desertification in the Sahel: A
reinterpretation of a reinterpretation, Global Change Biology, 13: 1308–1313.
16. Reynolds, J. F. 2001. Desertification, in: Levin, S., Reynolds, J. F., and Stafford Smith, D. M., eds.,
Encyclopedia of Biodiversity, Vol. 2, Academic, San Diego, CA, pp. 61–78.
17. Reynolds, J. F. and Stafford Smith, D. M., eds. 2002. Global Desertification: Do Humans Cause
Deserts?, Dahlem University Press, Berlin, Germany.
18. Schlesinger, W. H., Reynolds, J. F., Cunningham, G.L., Huenneke, L.F., Jarrell, W.M., Virginia, R. A.,
and Whitford, W.A. 1990. Biological feedbacks in global desertification, Science, 247: 1043–1048.
19. Squires, V. R. 1995. Drought in Australia with special reference to pastoralism: Lessons learned or
experience wasted, Secheresse, 6(1): 127–134 (in French).
20. Squires, V. R. 2007. Detecting and monitoring impacts of ecological importance in semiarid rangelands,
in: El-Beltagy, A., Mohan, C., Saxena, C., and Wang, T., eds., Human and Nature—Working Together for
Sustainable Development of Drylands (Proceedings of the Eighth International Conference on Development
of Drylands, February 25–28, 2006, Beijing, China), ICARDA, Alleppo, Syria, pp. 718–723.
21. Stafford Smith, D. M. and Reynolds, J. F. 2002. Desertification: A new paradigm for an old problem,
in: Reynolds, J. F. and Stafford Smith, D. M., eds., Global Desertification: Do Humans Cause Deserts?
Dahlem Workshop Report 88, Dahlem University Press, Berlin, Germany, pp. 403–424.
22. Stiles, D. 1997. Linkages between dryland degradation and migration: A methodology, Desertification
Control Bull. No. 30, UNEP, Nairobi, Kenya, pp. 9–18.
23. Thomas, D. S. G. 1993. Sandstorm in a teacup? Understanding desertification, The Geographical
Journal, 159: 318–331.
24. Thomas, D. S. G. and Middelton, N. J. 1994. Desertification: Exploding the Myth, John Wiley,
Chichester, U.K., 194pp.
25. Tucker, C. 2005. Analysis of Sahelian vegetation dynamics using NOAA-AVHRR NDVI data from
1981–2003, Journal of Arid Environments, 63: 596–614.
26 Handbook of Drought and Water Scarcity

26. UNCCD. 2013. White Paper 1 economic and social impacts of desertification, land degradation and
drought, Second UNCCD Science Conference, April 9–12, 2013, Bonn, Germany, 79pp.
27. Middleton, N. J. and Thomas, D. S. G., eds. 1992. World Atlas of Desertification (United Nations
Environment Programme), Edward Arnold, London, U.K., 69pp.
28. UNEP/UNCOD. 1977. United Nations Conference on desertification round-up, plan of action and
resolutions, Available at: http://www.ciesin.org/docs/002-478/002-478.html, Accessed July 14, 2016.
29. UNSO. 1992. Assessment of desertification and drought in the Sudano-Sahel Region 1985±1991,
United Nations Sudano-Sahelian Office, New York.
30. Williams, A. J. and Balling, Jr., R. C. 1996. Interactions of Desertification and Climate, WMO and
UNEP, Nairobi, Kenya.