Impacts of Latent Desertification. Balasupramaniam Paramahamsa

The area has a Latent Desert: the hill. The land around the hill has much green. But less than it should be under natural conditions. The amount of botany is regressive due to human activities. Therefore the land around the hill is under the pressure of latent desertification, and not a latent desert.

      The picture 5 above, though surrounded by ocean water, is a latent desert. It is different from the desert Antarctic. Antarctic has hundreds of metres of thick ice-sheets, yet it is a desert and not a latent desert. Because the precipitation is below 250 mm per year. The picture left is at a rainfall rich tropical island. The botany has got depleted and it is forced not to set root again. The latent desertification of the spot has crossed its margin and has become a latent desert despite frequent heavy rains.

      Usage of Latent Desertification to tune climate

      At the early stages of human evolution, long time before the receding of ice-age, it was latent desertification that helped people to have relative betterment in life. In the absence of tools even fire, it is in the gaps and passages trampled and rampaged by herds of herbivores, large like elephants and small like goats, that the people made their initial dwellings, cultivations and graze pastures. In addition it gave relative safety from inter-tribal strife and safety from wild animals.

      As ages passed they discovered the use of fire. They used it to have tasty food and BQ; get rid of excess waste of botany; putrescent meat waste; to smoke and store food and beside many other usage also to encroach more land. They were able to have fields to cultivate by reducing much natural flora and pastures for domesticated animals.

      As ages went past, in the regions reduced of botany, things like stones were found and instinctively people began using it as tool for many purposes. In addition different types of soils were exposed and among them also clay. They saw the usage of clay, both when just dried in the sun and baked with fire. The life’s demands got impulse and galloped relentlessly.

      Vegetable planting and ploughing and cultivating of cereals set root with it also domestication of animals and poultry. Precarious hunting and gathering reduced itself as the organised tribal living increased. All led to increased latent desertification, but LD remained within the range of resilience.

      The clay-artisanship opened the way to metal-age. With it increased the greed, need, decadence and yearn to power and dominion. Wars had became periodic eventuality and much land were emptied of its valuable botany.

      One could easily say that latent desertification had its maximum usage at the period when Mesopotamians had their Babylon, Indus valley civilisation its Harappa and Mohenjo-daro, Pharaohs had their pyramids built, and many other civilisations in central Asia, Latin America and in Africa had their advancement. In addition the present discoveries in Northern Europe like Stonehenge, New-grange and the periods of Druids had their flowering due to the removal of Botany in vast areas. In other words, due to latent desertification

      In this less than 20 millenniums through the removal of Botany, the turn of ice-age was brought about and the loss of water storage in the lands by drying and expansion of Sahara and many other deserts resulted in sea level rise. Which has gone over 100 metres and continuing at the rate about 20 cm per century. So the usage has ended for the time being.

      But in future it will have a very important role to play. Namely, it will be through manoeuvring of latent desertification the climate can be tuned and so the sea level.

      The usage of Latent Desertification in future will be to tune climate, sea-level, maintain glaciers, deserts, manage water for agriculture plus energy and other purposes.