Desertification reduces the ability of land to support life, affecting wild species, domestic animals, agricultural crops and people. The reduction in plant cover that accompanies desertification leads to accelerated soil erosion by wind and water.

South Africa losing approximately 300-400 million tonnes of topsoil every year. As vegetation cover and soil layer are reduced, rain drop impact and run-off increases.

Water is lost off the land instead of soaking into the soil to provide moisture for plants.
Even long-lived plants that would normally survive droughts die.
A reduction in plant cover also results in a reduction in the quantity of humus and plant nutrients in the soil, and plant production drops further. As protective plant cover disappears, floods become more frequent and more severe. Desertification is self-reinforcing, i.e. once the process has started, conditions are set for continual deterioration.
http://www.botany.uwc.ac.za/envFacts/facts/desertification.htm

_________________________________________
If you see evil in others, it is actually the reflection of your own evil feelings