land degradation Articles
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The economic costs of desertification: a first survey of some cases in Africa
This paper presents six studies made on the economic costs of desertification and land degradation in 11 African countries. It presents the main methods used for these macro valuations and their limits. It gives the results obtained and discuss on the concrete implications, for example, in terms of rural investments of such an exercise.Keywords: desertification costs, Africa, environmental ...
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Remote sensing of land degradation: experiences from Latin America and the Caribbean
Received for publication April 6, 2009. Land degradation caused by deforestation, overgrazing, and inappropriate irrigation practices affects about 16% of Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). This paper addresses issues related to the application of remote sensing technologies for the identification and mapping of land degradation features, with special attention to the LAC region. The ...
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Land degradation in developing countries: what is the problem?
Based on a review of case studies from developing countries this paper argues that global assessments of land degradation should be interpreted with care. On the one hand, degradation is not a linear process that can easily be measured by static parameters. Positive environmental outcomes are often linked to the process of land use intensification, an outcome that depends on an interplay among ...
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Radar remote sensing of wind-driven land degradation processes in northeastern Patagonia
Received for publication February 27, 2009. Wind-driven land degradation negatively impacts on rangeland production and infrastructure in the Valdes Peninsula, northeastern Patagonia. The Valdes Peninsula has the most noticeable dunefields of the Patagonian drylands. Wind erosion has been assessed at different scales in this region, but often with limited data. In general, terrain features caused ...
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Environmental change and migration in Sub-Saharan Africa
Environmental changes are especially pronounced in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Land degradation is nowadays a major concern for 32 countries in Africa, and over 300 million people in SSA face water scarcity (UNEP, 2008). To what extent are environmental factors likely to trigger migration in SSA? To shed some light on the question, this paper provides the latest figures and information. The ...
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Environmental degradation and conflict in Karamoja, Uganda: the decline of a pastoral society
Throughout history, the Karamojong people of northeastern Uganda practiced a method of pastoralism. Limited surface water, a hot, arid climate, and a short season of torrential rains guarantee excessive soil erosion and land degradation. However, the Karamojong's mobility ensured that their herds grazed throughout the year without jeopardising future grazing. Despite their ecologically ...
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Oily waste disposal case study
The data shows that the total pounds of oil on the land farm has gradually increased from October 1983 through to March 1988. Our products were added one month later, April 1988. The graph shows that despite adverse conditions, including a dry and hot summer, the land farm degraded almost ten times the oil it had in previous years using our ...
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Evaluation of Soil Environment after Saline Soil Reclamation of Xinjiang Oasis, China
Land degradation resulting from soil salinity is a primary problem in arid farmland. This study clarifies the characteristics and regulation of reclaimed salinized farmlnd in a desert oasis. As a case study, we examined an alluvial fan oasis in the Manas River Valley using fixed position experiments, spacial substitutes, and a trend estimation model derived from principal component analysis. In ...
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Exploring sustainability in the context of land reclamation: an exercise for environmental management trainees
Reductions in the fieldwork component of many environmental curricula mean that graduates have less practical experience. This paper attempts to compensate by developing a short, intensive, highly structured field exercise that aims to connect classroom theory to field realities in the context of the management of reclaimed coal-land. A self-paced field trail guides learners, first to examine ...
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Biotechnological approach for ecosystem restoration of mine spoil dump in India
Mine-degraded land (mine spoil dumps) has been restored through plantation in India by eco-friendly and cost-effective approach. This technology involves selection of suitable native plant species, isolation and inoculation of site-specific nitrogen-fixing microbial strains and nutrient mobilising vesicular arbuscular mycorrhizal species in combination with organic amendments to control the ...
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A 'laboratory' of landscape degradation: social and economic implications for sustainable development in peri–urban areas
The present paper debates on human–derived landscape degradation (LD) and sustainable development reviewing the main factors of soil and land degradation in northern Mediterranean peri–urban areas, taken as paradigmatic cases for Europe and the Mediterranean basin. Population growth and urban sprawl were found as the most important factors determining soil sealing, land consumption, biodiversity ...
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Implementing contour bank farming practices into the J2000 model to improve hydrological and erosion modelling in semi-arid Western Cape Province of South Africa
Contour bank farming is a well-known agricultural management technique in areas which are characterised by intensive and erosive rainfalls. Contour banks are designed to reduce the flow velocity of overland flow and to intercept water before it concentrates in rills, thereby reducing the risk of soil erosion and land degradation. By their structure, contour banks noticeably impact surface ...
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The direct and indirect impacts of EU policies on land
The 2011 Roadmap to a resource efficient Europe states, in its milestone of actions to address land as a resource, that 'By 2020, EU policies take into account their direct and indirect impact on land use in the EU and globally …' (EC, 2011d). This report presents a methodology for the assessment of European Union (EU) policies in terms of their land-related implications in Europe and ...
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Greenhouse gas reduction through social inclusion in Brazil
With the objective to offer contributions to resolve ecological, social and economic problems in Amazonia, Brazil's sustainable production of palm oil legislation has the specific goal of mobilising public administrations, private business, social aid agencies and family farmers with the following overall objectives: create employment and increase income by means of palm cultivation; reforest ...
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Farmers' willingness to pay for rehabilitation of degraded natural resources under watershed development in Ethiopia (case study in Dejen Woreda)
This study goes to identify factors that affect farmers' WTP and estimating the TEV. The Bivarite Probit model is used for the estimation of the parameters using 185 sample size. The mean WTP from DBDCV is 28.48 ETH Birr per annum; is higher than the open ended CVM (i.e., 24.8 Birr). The TEV is estimated to be 105,148.16 ETH Birr. Education, fertiliser expenditure and land per capita are ...
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Assessing the impact of climate change on water resources, crop production and land degradation in a semi-arid river basin
The semi-arid regions of Iran have experienced severe water resources stress due to natural (e.g., drought) and anthropogenic (e.g., depletion of water in various sectors) factors. Assessing the impact of climate change on water resources and crop production could significantly help toward better water management and hence prevention of land degradation in this area. A hydrological model of ...
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A case study in land and water regeneration to reduce the impact of climate change by soil bio-sequestration of atmospheric carbon
The whole of landscape regenerative processes are being studied to determine their effect upon carbon bio-sequestration in agricultural soils. The Mulwaree Ponds drainage system, south of Sydney, shows the effects of overgrazing by fine wool sheep over the past 160 years and the resultant loss of perennial groundcover causing nutrient leaching into Sydney's drinking water catchment. Natural ...
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Prediction of Soil and Nutrient Losses in A Highland Catchment
Highland catchments in tropical regions are frequently subjected to soil erosion and the transport of chemicals downstream. Any drastic changes in land use will increase the severity of these processes of land degradation. A simulation study using GLEAMS (Groundwater Loading Effects of Agricultural Management Systems) was conducted at a catchment presently under tea farming in Cameron Highlands, ...
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Prediction of Soil and Nutrient Losses in A Highland Catchment
Highland catchments in tropical regions are frequently subjected to soil erosion and the transport of chemicals downstream. Any drastic changes in land use will increase the severity of these processes of land degradation. A simulation study using GLEAMS (Groundwater Loading Effects of Agricultural Management Systems) was conducted at a catchment presently under tea farming in Cameron Highlands, ...
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Drought Hits the Caribbean
Water management strategies like desalination and water reuse can be harnessed to produce potable water The Barbados-based Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology (CIMH) has warned that, due in part to a weak El Niño, drought conditions will likely continue in many Caribbean nations through July and into September. The ABC islands of Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao — along ...
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