Editing Dune (section)

==Desertification==
{{Main|Desertification}}
Sand dunes can have a negative impact on humans when they encroach on human habitats. Sand dunes move via a few different means, all of them helped along by wind. One way that dunes can move is by [[saltation (geology)|saltation]], where sand particles skip along the ground like a [[bouncing ball]]. When these skipping particles land, they may knock into other particles and cause them to move as well, in a process known as [[creep (sand dunes)|creep]]. With slightly stronger winds, particles collide in mid-air, causing [[sheet flow]]s. In a major [[dust storm]], dunes may move tens of metres through such sheet flows. Also as in the case of snow, sand [[avalanche]]s, falling down the [[slipface]] of the dunes—that face away from the winds—also move the dunes forward.

Sand threatens buildings and crops in Africa, the Middle East, and China. Drenching sand dunes with oil stops their migration, but this approach uses a valuable resource and is quite destructive to the dunes' animal habitats. [[Sand fence]]s might also slow their movement to a crawl, but geologists are still analyzing results for the optimum fence designs.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Grafals-Soto|first=Rosana|title=Effects of sand fences on coastal dune vegetation distribution|journal=Geomorphology|year=2012|language=en|volume=145-146|pages=45–55|doi=10.1016/j.geomorph.2011.12.004|bibcode=2012Geomo.145...45G}}</ref> Preventing sand dunes from overwhelming towns, villages, and agricultural areas has become a priority for the [[United Nations Environment Programme]]. Planting dunes with vegetation also helps to stabilise them.