desertification

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desertification The process of desert expansion or formation, which may occur as a direct consequence of climatic change (e.g. shifts in the location of the major planetary pressure and wind systems), as the result of poor land-use policy (e.g. overgrazing), or owing to some complex interaction of these factors (e.g. overgrazing leading to albedo change, favouring climatic change in the form of increased dryness).

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