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Desertification: Causes and Countermeasures

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Life on Land

Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals ((ENUNSDG))

Definition

Desertification is widely debated in the scientific community with respect to its definition, causes, consequences, measurement indicators, monitoring mechanisms, and prevention. Lavauden (1927) was the first to use the term “desertification” to describe the low productivity of rangelands in Tunisia. Aubréville (1949) later described the transformation of forested regions in West Africa into desert-like regions as a result of human activities (Glantz 2005; D’Odorico et al. 2013), highlighting the phenomenon in regions with an annual rainfall level of 700–1500 mm. Since then, numerous definitions have been proposed, creating some confusion around the concept of desertification. A consensual definition to desertification was proposed by the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD 1994), as follows: “land degradation in arid, semiarid and subhumid areas, resulting from various factors including climatic variations and human activities”. However, D’Odorico et...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto Interamericano de Tecnología y Ciencias del Agua– Red Lerma, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México, Toluca, Mexico

    Rocio Becerril-Piña

  2. Instituto Interamericano de Tecnología y Ciencias del Agua, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México, Toluca, Mexico

    Carlos Alberto Mastachi-Loza

Authors
  1. Rocio Becerril-Piña
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  2. Carlos Alberto Mastachi-Loza
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Rocio Becerril-Piña .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. European School of Sustainability, Hamburg University of Applied Sciences, Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany

    Walter Leal Filho

  2. Center for Neuroscience & Cell Biology, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal

    Anabela Marisa Azul

  3. Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, Passo Fundo University Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, Passo Fundo, Brazil

    Luciana Brandli

  4. Istinye University, Istanbul, Turkey

    Pinar Gökcin Özuyar

  5. International Centre for Thriving, University of Chester, Chester, UK

    Tony Wall

Section Editor information

  1. Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal

    Anabela Marisa Azul

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Becerril-Piña, R., Mastachi-Loza, C.A. (2020). Desertification: Causes and Countermeasures. In: Leal Filho, W., Azul, A., Brandli, L., Özuyar, P., Wall, T. (eds) Life on Land. Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71065-5_81-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71065-5_81-1

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