Grassland degradation, also called vegetation or steppe degradation is a biotic disturbance in which grass struggles to grow or can no longer exist on a piece of land due to causes such as overgrazing, burrowing of small mammals, and climate change. Since the 1970s, it has been noticed to affects plains and plateaus of alpine meadows or grasslands, most notably being in the Philippines and in the Tibetan and Inner Mongolian region of China where 2460 km2 of grassland is degraded each year. Across the globe it is estimated that 23\% of the land is degraded. It takes years and sometimes even decades, depending on what is happening to that piece of land, for a grassland to become degraded. The process is slow and gradual but at the same time so is restoring degraded grassland. Initially only patches of grass appear to die and appear brown in nature; but the degradation process, if not addressed, can spread to decimate many acres of land , which in the most severe cases is merely bare, black soil bereft of any usefulness . As a result, the frequency of landslides and dust storms increases; the degraded land’s less fertile ground cannot yield any produce nor can animals graze in these fields any longer; a dramatic decrease in plant diversity in this ecosystem ; and more carbon and nitrogen are released into the atmosphere. These results can have serious effects on humans such as displacing herders from their community; a decrease in vegetables, fruit, and meat that are regularly acquired from these fields; and a catalyzing effect on global warming.
Grassland degradation, also called vegetation or steppe degradation is a biotic disturbance in which grass struggles to grow or can no longer exist on a piece of land due to causes such as overgrazing, burrowing of small mammals, and climate change. Since the 1970s, it has been noticed to affects plains and plateaus of alpine meadows or grasslands, most notably being in the Philippines and in the Tibetan and Inner Mongolian region of China where 2460 km2 of grassland is degraded each year. Across the globe it is estimated that 23\% of the land is degraded. It takes years and sometimes even decades, depending on what is happening to that piece of land, for a grassland to become degraded. The process is slow and gradual but so is restoring degraded grassland. Initially only patches of grass appear to die and appear brown in nature; but the degradation process, if not addressed, can spread to many acres of land . As a result, the frequency of landslides and dust storms may increase. The degraded land’s less fertile ground cannot yield crops nor can animals graze in these fields . With a dramatic decrease in plant diversity in this ecosystem , more carbon and nitrogen may be released into the atmosphere. These results can have serious effects on humans such as displacing herders from their community; a decrease in vegetables, fruit, and meat that are regularly acquired from these fields; and a catalyzing effect on global warming.
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