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The Epic Interactive Encyclopedia 1998
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Epic Interactive Encyclopedia, The - 1998 Edition (1998)(Epic Marketing).iso
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D
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Desertification
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INFOTEXT
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1992-09-02
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The creation of deserts by changes in
climate, or by human-aided processes such as
overgrazing, destruction of forest belts, and
exhaustion of the soil by too intensive
cultivation without restoration of fertility;
all usually prompted by the pressures of
expanding populations. The process can be
reversed by special planting (marram grass,
trees) and by the use of water-absorbent
plastic grains (a polymer absorbent of 40
times its own weight of water), which, added
to the sand, enable crops to be grown. About
135 million people are directly affected by
desertification, mainly in Africa, the Indian
subcontinent, and South America.