2. Today’s Topic …. ? ? ? ?

3. Dessertification?

4. Noooo, Desertification!

5. What is Desertification? Desertification is a type of land degradation in which a relatively dry land region becomes increasingly dry, typically losing its bodies of water as well as vegetation and wildlife.

6. Desertification Key Issues Problem: Land degradation (taking good land and making it worse) Consequences: Losing bodies of water Losing vegetation Losing habitats Losing wildlife

7. Aren’t Deserts an Ecosystem? A community of plants, animals and smaller organisms that live, feed, reproduce and interact in the same area or environment. Ecosystems have no fixed boundaries; a single lake, a watershed, or an entire region could be considered an ecosystem.(1) Aquatic ecosystem Forest Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem Human ecosystem Large marine ecosystem Littoral zone Marine ecosystem Riparian zone River ecosystem Subsurface Lithoautotrophic Microbial Ecosystem Urban ecosystem Movile Cave Desert EcosystemsExample

8. Deserts are Beautiful

9. Desertification looks like this So What Causes Desertification to Happen?

10. Cause Overgrazing - USA Solutions: Raise climate appropriate animals Reduce the numbers of animals per acre Rotate grazing areas Reduce meat consumption

11. Climate Change: Nevada Solutions: Reduce greenhouse gases Create buffer zones

12. Cause Exploitation: Argentina Solutions: Alternative fuel sources such as biomass High efficiency stoves Fees on charcoal

13. Cause Poor Agricultural Practices: USA Solutions: Crop rotation Tilling practices New plants

14. Cause Crop Selection: China (Inner Mongolia) BEFORE AFTER

15. Desertification Matters … because it takes away things we care about Aquifers(under ground water) Surface water Land for farming & grazing Plant diversity Species diversity Clean air

16. Quiz

17. Because we created a problem … we can solve it.

18. Questions?

19.  Degrade – to convert something to lesser quality  Watershed – the areas in which water flows e.g. Rock Creek is part of the Potomac River watershed  Littoral zone – part of a sea, lake or river that is close to the shore  Riparian zone – is the interface between land and a river or stream  Diversity – the range of animals or plants in an ecosystem  Aquifers – underground water  Buffer zones – areas that protect one space from other Glossary