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The now-dessicated northern strip of Africa was once green and alive, pocked with lakes, rivers, grasslands and even forests. So where did all that water go?
- Trees
This Is When Washington, D.C.'s Cherry Trees Are Predicted...
- Plants
Chimpanzees May Self-Medicate With Plants, Using the Forest...
- Ecology
More than 50 years after Bob Paine’s experiment with...
- Earth Science
Earth's Inner Core May Be Slowing Its Spin, Another Study...
- Climate Change
Meet the Rare, 'Beautiful' Birds That Thrive in Snow and Are...
- Trees
Since 5,500 14 C y.a., the climate across Africa seems to have been relatively similar to the present. An arid phase with some forest retreat is observed for around 2,600 14C y.a. in pollen records from Cameroon and some places in central Africa (Elenga et al. 1994, van Geel et al. 1996).
Desertification exacerbates climate change through several mechanisms such as changes in vegetation cover, sand and dust aerosols and greenhouse gas fluxes (high confidence).
19 sty 2024 · Here we present the first high-resolution (5 m) and continental-scale mapping of land use following deforestation in Africa, which covers an estimated 13.85% of the global forest area,...
Desertification in Africa is caused by both natural and man-made forces. Climate change, which has resulted in increased aridity and decreasing rainfall in many regions, and soil erosion, which happens naturally but can be exacerbated by human activity, are the principal natural elements that lead to desertification.
This section looks at responses of tropical trees and forests to current and future climate-change related pressures, focusing on physiological responses including growth, mortality and regeneration, fire risk and ecological vulnerability, as well as on climate effects of tropical forest loss.
From 1982 to 2015, unsustainable land use and climate change combined caused desertification of 6% of the global dryland area, while 41% showed significant greening (i.e., increased vegetation productivity), and 53% of the area had no notable change (Figure CCP3.1; Burrell et al., 2020).
