Influencing factors:

Ecological
Footprint: It is Rate of population
growth, Level of
a measure of
consumption of
the mark that
resources per person, The global distribution
humans make type of technology
on the natural of Fragile environments
world. is most influenced by
the impact of 3
processes:
(1) Desertification
It considers how much land (2) Deforestation
and sea are required to (3) Climate change
provide us with the water, 7.1 Fragile
energy, raw materials, food Environment (2)
(1)
and waste disposal, we need
to support our lifestyles. Pg 184
(3)

Fragile: It is a term used to describe those

natural environments that are sensitive to,
and easily abused by, human activities.
Wilderness: uncultivated /neglected or
abandoned area
Climate Change

Desertification: It is the
term used to describe
how once productive
land gradually changes
into a desert like Deforestation
landscape

It is the cutting down of trees. Freshly sawn

tree trunks
It usually takes place in semi-arid land on the edges of It is most severe in the deciduous and burnt
existing hot deserts. forest of the warm temperate of saplings
Europe, China and the USA. suggest recent
Main characteristics of Desertification:
action.
 Absence of surface water. Yet the coniferous forests of the
 Dried up watercourses and ponds. cold temperate regions of North Large fields
 Lowering of the water table America and Eurasia remain used to grow
 Vegetation becomes degraded or completely lost. relatively untouched. crops
 Increase soil erosion as bare soil exposed to wind. surrounded by
Speed of deforestation in Tropical
 Increase in salt content of the soil. a fringe of
rainforest has alarmed scientists
 Soil becomes less usable. surviving trees
and conservationist.
 Increasing presence of dry, loose sand. indicate it has
taken place
long ago.
 Causes of
desertification
Human causes
and
deforestation

Natural Causes
 Sahel Region
Case study:
Desertification of
Sahel Africa
Countries included: Rainforest
Mauritania, Mali,
Niger, Chad, Sudan,
Ethiopia, Somalia

Problem:

* Temperatures are always hot and there is a long dry season from June through to January.
* There is just enough rainfall for grasses to grow, as well as some shrubs and trees in this harsh environment.
* The Sahel region is classified as savanna. It is a mixture of grassland, trees and shrubs. On the margins if the hot
desert, the savanna is nothing more than thin grass land.
* It is these areas on the margin of the present desert which are among those most at threat from desertification.
Large herds of wild animals like wildebeest, antelope and zebra are found.
* On the drier desert edges there is far less wildlife.

Climate change is one case of desertification. Desertification is also speeded up by human activity. Due to increase in
population more and more trees were felled to provide fuel and building materials. This was a possible reason for the
climate becoming drier and drier.

As this was happening, people tried to grow the same crops and rear the same number of animals. This quickly led to
over-cultivation and overgrazing and much ground was laid bare. The absence of vegetation meant no humus was
added to the soil. Without humus, soil was not able to hold water. As the soil dried out, it was quickly eroded by wind
and occasional flash floods.

Due to this crop failures have become almost an annual event. Over 100 000 people have died of starvation. Even
more people have migrated to less arid areas. Millions of animals have died.

Solution:

One successful method of catching rain when it falls is a simple technique set up by Oxfam in Burkina Faso.

Small stone walls are built following the slope of the land, which then act as dams when the rain falls; this stops
surface water run-off and allows water to sink into the soil. This simple, inexpensive method can increase crop ields by
up to 50%.