Weighting

Assignment Brief

N/A

Notes

Word Count

150-180 words

Write a paragraph to describe two of the human causes of desertification.

1. Select information from the notes below to write your paragraph.

2. You should ONLY include information from these notes, but you do not need to include all

the information below.

3. In order to achieve a good grade, you must include the Content, Organisation and

Language as referred to in the Assessment Criteria.

Desertification = the process by which useful land, especially farmland, changes into desert (Longman,

2010)

Over-cultivation - intensive farming on marginal land → soil fertility + damage soil

structure → poor quality soil → washed/blown away + cannot keep

moisture E.g. Brazil - cultivation of soya beans

Over-grazing - Marginal grassland-supports maximum number / animals

If no. animals = too high → vegetation + soil deteriorate → desertification

E.g. Mongolia, Central Asia - sheep herders

Over-irrigation - If land = over-irrigated → salinization → impermeable + infertile crust on

surface → toxic to plants

e.g. Punjab, India - because soil = waterlogged