Economic Causes and Consequences of Desertification

Author(s):  
Luca Salvati

Land degradation and desertification are composite processes that reflect how components of land capital have worsened over time, both quantitatively and qualitatively. Land degradation is intended as a truly socioeconomic issue because the idea and practice of use (and misuse) of land are socially constructed. In this perspective, soil productivity and land capacity, water consumption and landscape fragmentation, agriculture and sustainable development all reflect the vast ensemble of human-nature interactions. The intrinsic heterogeneity of land degradation processes at the global scale limits the development of mitigation actions. Comprehension of the socioeconomic processes underlying land degradation can benefit from a multidisciplinary approach that considers the intricate feedback between biophysical and economic dimensions. The mutual relationship between economic growth, social inequality, political action, and land degradation provides examples of the interplay among proximate causes and factors underlying desertification.

2008 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 87-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vinciya Pandian ◽  
Thai Tran Nguyen ◽  
Marek Mirski ◽  
Nasir Islam Bhatti

Abstract The techniques of performing a tracheostomy has transformed over time. Percutaneous tracheostomy is gaining popularity over open tracheostomy given its advantages and as a result the number of bedside tracheostomies has increased necessitating the need for a Percutaneous Tracheostomy Program. The Percutaneous Tracheostomy Program at the Johns Hopkins Hospital is a comprehensive service that provides care to patients before, during, and after a tracheostomy with a multidisciplinary approach aimed at decreasing complications. Education is provided to patients, families, and health-care professionals who are involved in the management of a tracheostomy. Ongoing prospective data collection serves as a tool for Quality Assurance.


Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 359
Author(s):  
Zhouqiao Ren ◽  
Jianhua He ◽  
Qiaobing Yue

Landscape connectivity is important for all organisms as it directly affects population dynamics. Yet, rapid urbanization has caused serious landscape fragmentation, which is the primary contributor of species extinctions worldwide. Previous studies have mostly used spatial snap-shots to evaluate the impact of urban expansion on landscape connectivity. However, the interactions among habitats over time in dynamic landscapes have been largely ignored. Here, we demonstrated that overlooking temporal connectivity can lead to the overestimation of the impact of urban expansion. How much greater the overestimation is depends on the amount of net habitat loss. Moreover, we showed that landscape connectivity may have a delayed response to urban expansion. Our analysis shifts the way to understand the ecological consequences of urban expansion. Our framework can guide sustainable urban development and can be inspiring to conservation practices under other contexts (e.g., climate change).


2020 ◽  
Vol 150 ◽  
pp. 03011
Author(s):  
Husam Al-Nussairi ◽  
Khalida Hassan

In this study, the marshlands in southern Iraq were investigated, focusing on the Hawizeh Marshlands and adjacent areas, by studying the scenario and quantities of water, in addition to the hydraulic and hydrochemical characteristics. To accomplish the objects of this study the researcher visited some fields, made interview with farmers, specialists, authorities and directorates related to this study. The results of this study indicate that there are a huge problem existed in the drainage systems with absence of natural outlets, the discharges of drainage water is towards Al- Hawizeh marsh which flow back its water into Tigris river through several canals, increasing salinity, scare of water, miss-use of land, lack of governments efforts to promote agricultural production leads to loss of soil productivity and land degradation.


2002 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 827-841 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Bredemeier

The focus in this review of long-term effects on forest ecosystems is on human impact. As a classification of this differentiated and complex matter, three domains of long-term effects with different scales in space and time are distinguished: 1- Exploitation and conversion history of forests in areas of extended human settlement 2- Long-range air pollution and acid deposition in industrialized regions 3- Current global loss of forests and soil degradation.There is an evident link between the first and the third point in the list. Cultivation of primary forestland — with its tremendous effects on land cover — took place in Europe many centuries ago and continued for centuries. Deforestation today is a phenomenon predominantly observed in the developing countries, yet it threatens biotic and soil resources on a global scale. Acidification of forest soils caused by long-range air pollution from anthropogenic emission sources is a regional to continental problem in industrialized parts of the world. As a result of emission reduction legislation, atmospheric acid deposition is currently on the retreat in the richer industrialized regions (e.g., Europe, U.S., Japan); however, because many other regions of the world are at present rapidly developing their polluting industries (e.g., China and India), “acid rain” will most probably remain a serious ecological problem on regional scales. It is believed to have caused considerable destabilization of forest ecosystems, adding to the strong structural and biogeochemical impacts resulting from exploitation history.Deforestation and soil degradation cause the most pressing ecological problems for the time being, at least on the global scale. In many of those regions where loss of forests and soils is now high, it may be extremely difficult or impossible to restore forest ecosystems and soil productivity. Moreover, the driving forces, which are predominantly of a demographic and socioeconomic nature, do not yet seem to be lessening in strength. It can only be hoped that a wise policy of international cooperation and shared aims can cope with this problem in the future.


2021 ◽  
Vol 51 (2) ◽  
pp. 102-112
Author(s):  
Cornélio Alberto ZOLIN ◽  
Eduardo da Silva MATOS ◽  
Ciro Augusto de Souza MAGALHÃES ◽  
Janaína PAULINO ◽  
Rattan LAL ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Soil, water, and nutrient loss by water erosion are among the main factors leading to land degradation, decreasing soil productivity and the provision of ecosystem services. The Cerrado-Amazon ecotone in western Brazil has suffered rapid land-use cover changes with impacts on soil erosion and land degradation. Despite the importance of the region for Brazilian agriculture and environmental conservation, studies on soil, water, and nutrient loss are still scarce. We tested integrated crop-livestock-forestry (ICLF) as a sustainable agriculture management system for the Cerrado-Amazon ecotone region. A field experiment was established in the north of Mato Grosso state to quantify total soil, water, carbon and nitrogen loss during the rainy season in 2012-2013 in plots of integrated crop-forestry (ICF), pasture (PAST), eucalyptus plantation (EUC), no-tillage crop succession (CS) and bare soil (BS). Total soil, water, carbon and nitrogen losses in BS were, on average, 96.7% higher than in ICF, EUC, PAST, and CS. ICF had significantly lower water loss than CS, EUC and PAST. Total loss of carbon (4.3 - 428.2 kg ha-1) and nitrogen (0.3 - 29.2 kg ha-1) differed significantly among treatments. The production systems with tree components (EUC and ICF) and PAST showed reduced soil and nutrients loss compared to CS. Our results demonstrated that ICLF can avoid soil quality loss and thus improve agriculture sustainability in the Cerrado-Amazon ecotone.


Author(s):  
Nicholas Yassoglou ◽  
Christos Tsadilas ◽  
Costas Kosmas

2018 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 206-219 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Grey ◽  
Michelle O’Toole

This paper explores the symbiotic relationship between place and identity. On one hand, it asks what role place plays in the formation of identity. On the other hand, it asks how place itself is invested with meaning by actors. This theoretical concept of “place-identity” is analyzed through the case of volunteer lifeboaters in the Republic of Ireland, to illustrate how place itself is socially constructed so as to acquire a range of social meanings which interact in a recursive relationship with identity over time. The particularity of dangerous maritime places is shown to shape identity, while those places are shown to be bound up with a mosaic of other factors (such as history, family, and community) which make them meaningful. The paper theorizes a more social, temporal, and dynamic relationship between place and identity than is offered by extant literature and offers refinements to the concept of place-identity.


Author(s):  
JAN STUCKATZ

How important is the workplace for employees’ political donations? Contrary to research on workplace political mobilization, existing work assumes that most individual donors contribute ideologically. I link donations of employees and Political Action Committees (PACs) from 12,737 U.S. public companies between 2003 and 2018 to show that 16.7% of employee donations go to employer-PAC-supported candidates. I investigate the dynamics between employee and PAC donations within firm–legislator pairs over time and find that both rank-and-file employees and executives contribute more dollars to company-supported politicians. Firm–employee donation alignment is stronger on powerful and ideologically moderate politicians with high value for the employer. Results from a difference-in-differences design further show modest changes in the partisan composition of employee donations after swift changes in the partisan donations of corporate PACs. The results suggest investment-related rather than ideological motives for alignment and highlight the importance of corporations for money in politics.


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