Abstract
Land degradation is a significant issue in many areas of sub-Saharan Africa, including in Eritrea and Djibouti. This study presents and interrogates different environmental data sets, including rainfall, dust flux and land use/land cover change, over the period 2001–2017, that can help evaluate land degradation in this region. From these data, patterns of water and wind erosivity can be calculated. Results show that spatial variations in erosivity reflect climate forcing upon a topographically diverse landscape. The potential for addressing land degradation risk is also influenced by issues such as development of conservation agriculture techniques, training and institutional support for farmers and land tenure. Successful adaptation will most likely be determined by these social and political factors rather than any future changes in climate, which, however, remains a key factor in land degradation projections.
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Knight, J., Abd Elbasit, M.A.M., Adam, E. (2022). Land Degradation in Eritrea and Djibouti. In: Billi, P. (eds) Landscapes and Landforms of the Horn of Africa. World Geomorphological Landscapes. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-05487-7_9
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