Q.1
Dams have been built on a number of major rivers to increase the amount of water available for drinking and agriculture. How can artificial irrigation increase desertification?
  • It causes rapid soil erosion
  • It causes salinisation of the soil
  • It causes soil contamination
  • It causes sheet erosion
Q.2
Which of the following is a way that planting trees will help reduce desertification?
  • By acting as a wind-break to reduce the amount of sand being blown away
  • By producing water as rainfall in the immediate area
  • By providing a source of sustainable fuel
  • By protecting the remaining soil and allowing a leaf litter layer to develop
Q.3
Which of the following is a possible strategy to reduce desertification?
  • Havesting branches rather than complete trees for fire wood
  • Controlled burning of grasslands to reduce the spread of wildfires
  • Reducing the number of livestock animals
  • Developing national parks and reserves where local people aren't permitted
Q.4
Which of the following is a physical cause of desertification?
  • Overgrazing
  • Irrigation
  • Changing farming practices
  • Climate change
Q.5
How can plant science help increase the amount of vegetation in areas and so slow, or even reverse desertification?
  • By developing or discovering more drought resistant versions of crops such as millet and cotton
  • By creating new crops from varieties such as algaes and cactus
  • By changing the ground in specific ways to suit the water-intensive crops that are required
  • By developing treatments and medicines to help the crops survive times when there is little water
Q.6
In areas under threat from desertification, people are forced to use marginal lands. How are these marginal lands defined?
  • Lands along the edges of a desert or a lake
  • Lands that form the boundary between two tribal areas. Grazing here can lead to tribal conflict
  • Lands that have little or no potential for profit. They often have poor soils or other undesirable characteristics
  • Lands that are at the edges of cities and may be heavily contaminated
Q.7
How can rainfall be made more reliable in areas under threat from desertification?
  • Better weather forecasting
  • Damming of rivers
  • Better crop selection
  • Cloud Seeding
Q.8
Magic stones are a project in which piles of stones are placed across slopes. How do these help reduce desertification?
  • The stones prevent soil blowing away by holding it down
  • The stones slow surface water run-off and soil erosion
  • The stones stop goats and other grazing animals destroying the vegetation
  • The stones remind people that the soil needs to be protected
Q.9
Which of the following is a disadvantage of afforestation?
  • Trees lock up carbon dioxide
  • Newly planted trees prevent other plants from getting water
  • Trees prevent windblown sand moving to form sand dunes
  • Trees become a source of firewood that will be used in stoves by local people
Q.10
Which of the following is a human cause of desertification?
  • Increased flock and herd size
  • Seasonal rainfall being unreliable
  • Climate change
  • Certain crops going extinct
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