Why does planting trees help desertification?
Planting the trees reverses desertification by preventing soil erosion and providing nutrients for other plants and crops to grow. The tree is a native tree, it puts nutrients back into the soil, provides shelter for crops under its branches and provides fodder for livestock.
What can we do to stop desertification?
Strategies to reduce desertification
- Planting more trees – the roots of trees hold the soil together and help to reduce soil erosion from wind and rain.
- Improving the quality of the soil – this can be managed by encouraging people to reduce the number of grazing animals they have and grow crops instead.
How does planting more trees help farmers in the Sahel?
The study suggests that tree cover increases soil and groundwater recharge and thus can slow down land degradation.
Does planting more trees help drought?
Trees do this to prevent root death and retain soil moisture. In the process of redistributing water along root systems, trees filter water and make some available to plants with shallower root systems. Tree cover also prevents evaporation from rivers, reservoirs and soil, saving water for drinking and agriculture.
What benefits we get from trees?
Trees give off oxygen that we need to breathe. Trees reduce the amount of storm water runoff, which reduces erosion and pollution in our waterways and may reduce the effects of flooding. Many species of wildlife depend on trees for habitat. Trees provide food, protection, and homes for many birds and mammals.
What are the causes of desertification and how can it be controlled?
Various Causes of Desertification
- Overgrazing.
- Deforestation.
- Farming Practices.
- Excessive Use of Fertilizers and Pesticides.
- Overdrafting of groundwater.
- Urbanization and Other Types of Land Development.
- Climate Change.
- Stripping the Land of Resources.
What are causes of deforestation?
Deforestation causes can either be direct or indirect. Among direct causes are: Natural causes as hurricanes, fires, parasites and floods. Human activities as agricultural expansion, cattle breeding, timber extraction, mining, oil extraction, dam construction and infrastructure development.