What term is used for the process where fertile land becomes desert as a result of climate change or human activities?

Desertification refers to the process by which fertile land becomes increasingly arid and unproductive, typically leading to desert-like conditions. This phenomenon can occur due to various factors, including climate change, which alters precipitation patterns and increases temperatures, and human activities such as deforestation, overgrazing, and unsustainable agricultural practices that degrade the land's natural resources and soil quality.

The significance of understanding desertification lies in its profound effects on ecosystems, agriculture, and communities, particularly in arid and semi-arid regions. Efforts to combat desertification often focus on sustainable land management practices, restoring vegetation, and addressing climate change to maintain the fertility and health of the land.

Other terms like afforestation relate to increasing forest cover, deforestation pertains to the removal of forests, and reclamation often refers to restoring degraded land to a usable state, but none of these terms accurately describe the specific process of fertile land degrading into desert, making desertification the appropriate term for this phenomenon.