Historic desertification
Historic desertification is the study of the
Causes of desertification
The
However, failure of development aid projects raised doubts about the validity of the historic desertification issue. For example, a project aiming to reduce sedimentation and erosion at the King-Talal-dam close to Jerash in Jordan could not achieve its goals, which became clear when a heavy rainstorm led to massive sedimentation into the dam despite the newly constructed soil conservation devices. As well, the expected positive effects of the reforestation could not be observed. On the contrary, a high fire risk emerged since pine trees are easily flammable, and the grazing pressure was moved towards more sensitive areas in the desert belt. The evergreen trees also reduced groundwater recharge.[2]
Research
A number of running research projects in Jordan found that the erosion of the main agricultural soil, the
The discussion about the impact of
References
- ^ Lowdermilk, W (1944). Palestine – land of promise. London.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ Grove, A; Rackham, Oliver (2003). The Nature of Mediterranean Europe: an Ecological History.
- .
- ^ Lucke, B (2007). "Demise of the Decapolis. Past and Present Desertification in the Context of Soil Development, Land Use, and Climate".
Further reading
- Beaumont, P., 1985. "Man-induced erosion in northern Jordan." Studies in the History and Archaeology of Jordan 2, 291-296.
- Cordova, C., Foley, C., Nowell, A., Bisson, M., 2005, "Landforms, sediments, soil development and prehistoric site settings in the Madaba-Dhiban Plateau, Jordan", Geoarchaeology, Vol. 20 No. 1, 29-56.
- Dracup, J., 1987, "Climatic Change, Hydrology, and Water Management in Arid Lands"", in: Berkofsky, L., Wurtele, G. (Hg.), 1987, Progress in Desert Research, Totowa, 217-228.
- Dregne, H., 1983, "Desertification of Arid Lands", Advances in Desert and Arid Land Technology and Development, Vol. 3, London.
- Field, J., Banning, E, 1998, "Hillslope processes and archaeology in Wadi Ziqlab, Jordan", Geoarchaeology, Vol. 13, No. 6, 595-616.
- Hazan, N., Stein, M., Agnon, A., Marco, S., Nadel, D., Negendank, J., Schwab, M., Neev, D., 2005, "The late Quaternary limnological history of Lake Kinneret (Sea of Galilee), Israel", Quaternary Research 63, 60-77.
- Lamb, H., 1982, Climate, History and the Modern World, London.
- Maher, L., 2005, The Epipaleolithic in context: paleolandscapes and prehistoric occupation in Wadi Ziqlab, Northern Jordan, Dissertation, University of Toronto.
- Migowski, C., Stein, M., Prasad, S., Negendank, J., Agnon, A., 2006, "Holocene climate variability and cultural evolution in the Near East from the Dead Sea sedimentary record", Quaternary Research 66 (3), 421-431.
- Müller, J., Bolte, A., Beck, W., Anders, S., 1998, "Bodenvegetation und Wasserhaushalt von Kiefernforstökosystemenen (Pinus sylvestris L.)", Verhandlungen der Gesellschaft für Ökologie 28, 407-414.
- Rosen, A., 2007, Civilizing Climate. Social Responses to Climate Change in the Ancient Near East. New York City.