Desertification is a process in which fertile land becomes desert. Historically, deserts have grown and shrunk due to droughts and other natural phenomena. However, the spread of the desert in many parts of the world today appears to be caused mainly by human activities, particularly agriculture. One especially fast-growing desert area is in Africa. Here, inefficient farming methods, a dry climate, and frequent droughts have devastated huge areas of farmland.
Destructive farming methods are one of the primary causes of desertification. Herding animals, cutting down trees for fuel, and plowing farmland can all destroy plant life. Plants are a stabilizer, providing shade and holding soil and water in place with their roots. If a region’s plants are destroyed, there is nothing to hold the topsoil in place. It can blow away in the wind or wash away in floods. With the topsoil gone, there is no way for new plants to grow, and a vicious cycle of dryness and erosion continues.
As Wangari Maathai observed, poverty is both a cause and an effect of desertification. Poor farmers may focus on cash crops that deplete the soil’s nutrients and leave it barren. When this happens, the farmers are forced to move on and clear other land to farm. They may also need to cut down trees and brush for firewood. In the short term, these practices help people survive. However, in the long term, they destroy the land. As the available farmland and water supplies shrink, more and more people must compete for scarce resources. Eventually, many villagers are forced to abandon their villages for the cities.
Maathai and others witnessed the effects of desertification. They began campaigns to save the soil, primarily by planting trees. The organization that Maathai founded, the Green Belt Movement, is one of many efforts to rebuild the land while improving the lives of rural villagers. The movement has been responsible for planting over 51 million trees. These stabilize the soil, allowing it to retain water and support crops Trees are not the only way to prevent desertification. The Green Belt Movement and other organizations educate farmers about farming practices that slow or prevent erosion. In crop rotation, for example, farmers alternate high-profit crops with others that stabilize the soil and restore nutrients. In contour farming, farmers plow the land in patterns that prevent runoff. Some farmers have also begun to plant fast-growing crops such as bamboo to provide fuel for cooking, removing the need to cut trees.
Through the work of the Green Belt Movement and many other organizations, farmers are seeing their fields restored to productivity. However, the work is only beginning. Desertification is still occurring many times faster than land restoration, endangering the welfare and lives of millions of people. As Maathai pointed out, “Mother Nature is very generous, but very unforgiving. If you destroy nature, nature will destroy you.”
Which statement BEST conveys two central ideas developed over the course of the text?
A.
Planting trees helps to stabilize the soil and bamboo is a renewable resource.
B.
A lack of advocacy and dry weather patterns contribute to Africa's degradation of farmlands.
C.
Deserts are growing rapidly and their growth is caused partly by destructive farming methods.
D.
Desertification is the result of human activity and a lack of education.
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C. Deserts are growing rapidly and their growth is caused partly by destructive farming methods.
This statement best conveys two central ideas from the text: the rapid growth of deserts (desertification) and the role of destructive farming methods as a contributing factor to this issue.
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