Causas, consequências e métodos atribuídos para prevenir a desertificação na caatinga / Causes, consequences and methods attributed to prevent desertification in caatinga

Abstract

Desertification is a phenomenon that results from the combination of natural factors, mainly the episodic droughts; and anthropogenic factors, such as overgrazing, deforestation and removal of vegetation cover, together with agricultural activities that take place above the carrying capacity of the environment. In Brazil, the Caatinga biome is the most affected, second only to the Atlantic Forest and the Cerrado. It is estimated that 80% of the vegetation is completely modified, due to extractivism and agriculture, with most of these areas in early or intermediate stages of ecological succession. However, the objective of this bibliographical research was to show the causes and consequences of desertification in the Caatinga and the methods that are attributed to prevention. It should be noted that the physical and chemical restrictions of soils, the scarcity of water in the semi-arid Northeast, as well as the intensive exploitation of natural resources and overgrazing make the Caatinga vulnerable to desertification and the threat of extinction of species of fauna and flora native to the region, however, this process can be controlled, avoided, and even reversed, as long as there is the involvement of the population and that government bodies propose solutions, together with communities and schools and the whole society to resolve, or to the less, seek sustainable alternatives, offering technical assistance for the management of these areas and encouraging environmental preservation so that there is no overload of problems in risk areas. In places where the desertification process has already taken place, investments are needed for its containment; however, the cost is in the order of billions of dollars.

O Sistema Nacional de Unidades de Conservação da Natureza (SNUC) e a preservação da caatinga

“…Segundo Demartelaere et al (2021), o maior núcleo de desertificação brasileiro ocorre na região Nordeste, mais precisamente no interior do semiárido, em uma área aproximada de 788 mil quilômetros quadrados. No geral, essa área suscetível à desertificação localiza-se quase que inteiramente na Caatinga.…”