Editing Soil (section)

===Desertification===
[[File:Soil erosion, Southfield - geograph.org.uk - 367917.jpg|thumb|Desertification]]

[[Desertification]], an environmental process of ecosystem degradation in arid and semi-arid regions, is often caused by badly adapted human activities such as [[overgrazing]] or excess harvesting of [[firewood]]. It is a common misconception that [[drought]] causes desertification.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Le Houérou |first=Henry N. |year=1996 |title=Climate change, drought and desertification |journal=[[Journal of Arid Environments]] |volume=34 |issue=2 |pages=133–185 |doi=10.1006/jare.1996.0099 |bibcode=1996JArEn..34..133L |url=http://www7.nau.edu/mpcer/direnet/publications/publications_l/files/LeHouerou_1996.pdf |access-date=5 September 2021}}</ref> Droughts are common in arid and semiarid lands. Well-managed lands can recover from drought when the rains return. [[Soil management]] tools include maintaining soil nutrient and organic matter levels, reduced tillage and increased cover.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Lyu |first1=Yanli |last2=Shi |first2=Peijun |last3=Han |first3=Guoyi |last4=Liu |first4=Lianyou |last5=Guo |first5=Lanlan |last6=Hu |first6=Xia |last7=Zhang |first7=Guoming |year=2020 |title=Desertification control practices in China |journal=[[Sustainability (journal)|Sustainability]] |volume=12 |issue=8 |pages=3258 |doi=10.3390/su12083258 |issn=2071-1050 |doi-access=free|bibcode=2020Sust...12.3258L }}</ref> These practices help to control erosion and maintain productivity during periods when moisture is available. Continued land abuse during droughts, however, increases [[land degradation]]. Increased population and livestock pressure on marginal lands accelerates desertification.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Kéfi |first1=Sonia |last2=Rietkerk |first2=Max |last3=Alados |first3=Concepción L. |last4=Pueyo |first4=Yolanda |last5=Papanastasis |first5=Vasilios P. |last6=El Aich |first6=Ahmed |last7=de Ruiter |first7=Peter C. |year=2007 |title=Spatial vegetation patterns and imminent desertification in Mediterranean arid ecosystems |journal=[[Nature (journal)|Nature]] |volume=449 |issue=7159 |pages=213–217 |doi=10.1038/nature06111 |pmid=17851524 |bibcode=2007Natur.449..213K |hdl=1874/25682 |s2cid=4411922 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/232801317 |access-date=5 September 2021}}</ref> It is now questioned whether present-day climate warming will favour or disfavour desertification, with contradictory reports about predicted rainfall trends associated with increased temperature, and strong discrepancies among regions, even in the same country.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Wang |first1=Xunming |last2=Yang |first2=Yi |last3=Dong |first3=Zhibao |last4=Zhang |first4=Caixia |year=2009 |title=Responses of dune activity and desertification in China to global warming in the twenty-first century |journal=[[Global and Planetary Change]] |volume=67 |issue=3–4 |pages=167–185 |doi=10.1016/j.gloplacha.2009.02.004 |bibcode=2009GPC....67..167W |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/229103975 |access-date=5 September 2021}}</ref>