The Sad , Sad Story Of Desertification By : Jada Bush

Once upon a time there was a land with trees and grasses.

As the population grew , more and more land was cleared for over-cultivation of crops and building cities (population growth).

Herds of cattle ate the grasses. Often the cattle ate the roots too Herds of cattle ate the grasses. Often the cattle ate the roots too. (overgrazing)

Sometimes there wasn’t enough rain so the people had to use more irrigation for their crops and this washed away the soil.

To make matters worse , Africa often has severe droughts To make matters worse , Africa often has severe droughts. The lack of water killed more plants and left the soil unprotected.

Because there were few plants to hold the soil in place , wind blew the soil away and rain washed it away. (this is called erosion)

There was no top soil so plants could not grow.

Erosion became worse because there were no plants… and there were no plants because there was poor soil… and the land that once had trees and grasses… became DESERT.

Causes Of Desertification Population Growth Overgrazing Irrigation Droughts Erosion

Questions On The Back 1. How will desertification affect the food supply? There will be no food to feed animals and us humans. 2. How will change in the food supply affect the population? a. The animal population will decrease b. The human population will decrease as well because they will not have any veggies , fruits , or any meat. 3.How will the change in the food supply and population affect the economy? The economy will decrease because the country wont have anything to sell. 4.How does desertification damage the environment? There wont be any trees left for oxygen, and food.