Desertification Response
What desertification is, what causes land on the edge of a desert to turn to desert, and the strategies used to slow it, seen through the Thar Desert in India and Pakistan.
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Free interactive practice at using the material, which is what the marks are for.
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When good land turns to desert
On the edges of the worlds deserts, land that once supported farming can slowly turn into desert. This is called desertification, and it puts the people who live there at risk. It has clear causes, some natural and some human, and there are practical strategies to slow it down. This module looks at the causes, the responses, and the Thar Desert.
Desertification words to know
Learn these before you sort the causes and strategies.
Causes against strategies
Every cause of desertification has a response that fights it.
Match a cause to its cure
In the exam, name a cause of desertification and then give a strategy that answers it. If trees are cut down, plant more to hold the soil. If the soil is worn out, rest it and manage it. If water is scarce, use simple, low-cost technology to trap and save it. Tie your answer to the Thar Desert to show you know a real place.
Match the cause
- falling rainfall
- over-grazing
- over-cultivation
- removing trees
- less water reaches the plants
- animals strip the land bare
- the soil is worn out by constant crops
- nothing holds the soil in place
Match the strategy
- tree planting
- water management
- soil management
- appropriate technology
- roots hold the soil together
- stores and shares scarce water
- rests fields so the soil recovers
- simple stone lines trap rainwater
What is desertification?
What does desertification mean?
- Once useful land slowly turning into desert.
- Building new towns in a desert.
- A desert getting more rainfall.
- Tourists visiting a desert.
Causes of desertification
Select the TWO human causes of desertification.
- Over-grazing by too many animals
- Cutting down trees for fuel
- Planting new trees
- Resting the soil between crops
Count the surviving trees
In a planting scheme 100 young trees are put in the ground and 40 of them do not survive. Subtract to find how many trees survive to hold the soil. What is the answer?
Order the spiral
Put the steps of how desertification takes hold in order, earliest first.
- Trees are cut down for fuel
- The bare soil is blown or washed away
- Crops fail on the poorer land
- The land turns to desert
Complete the case study
The Thar Desert lies in India and _____. On its edges, over-grazing and the removal of _____ help turn land to desert. One strategy is to plant trees whose roots hold the _____. Another is to use simple, low-cost methods known as appropriate _____.
Spot the strategies
Tap the TWO actions that are strategies to reduce desertification.
- planting trees to hold the soil
- managing water carefully
- grazing even more animals
- clearing the last trees
Cause or cure?
Read each action and choose the best label.
- Farmers keep far too many goats, which eat the plants faster than they can regrow. What is this?
- A village builds simple stone lines across a slope to trap rainwater in the soil. What is this?
- People cut the last trees for firewood, leaving the soil bare. What is this?
Explain desertification
Explain what causes desertification and describe strategies to reduce the risk, using the Thar Desert as your example.
- Say what desertification is
- Give two causes, at least one of them human
- Describe two strategies that reduce the risk