Environmental impacts of drought on desertification classification

Abstract

Desertification is an ecological and environmental issue and a slow-developing hazard. Desertification constitutes land degradation in arid, semiarid, and dry subhumid areas. Desertification results from a combination of natural and anthropogenic causes that lead to land degradation. Indeed, there are several factors contributing to desertification, such as climate, geology, soil, hydrology, physiography, biology, and human activities. Moreover, prolonged drought periods also result in soil exposure, erosion, land degradation, and, eventually, desertification. The objective of this chapter is to show a desertification classification scheme that results from drought environmental impacts. This chapter emphasizes on a two-stage methodology for the quantitative classification of severity of desertification over a region starting from drought assessment through the standardized precipitation index, followed by erosion assessment considered based on the Pan-European Soil Erosion Risk Assessment model. At the second stage, mapping of groundwater levels is conducted, which is followed by the water quality component of desertification. Finally, composite mapping of the two stages is produced, leading to the final scheme of desertification severity classification. © 2016 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.