1. Hyper-arid (PR-PET 《 0.02)3. Semi-arid (0.20 - RR-PET.pptVIP

* 1. Hyper-arid (PR/PET 0.02) 3. Semi-arid (0.20 ? RR/PET 0.5) 5. Humid (R/PET 0.65) Figure 1. Dry land areas in Ethiopia delineated on the bases of PR/PET ratio. (Source: Tamirie Hawando. 2001) Figure 2. Relationship between elevation, rainfall and evaporation. Aridity index Land area (km2 x 1000) Humid (moist) 1.25 350 Dry sub-humid 0.60 300 Semi-arid 0.38 207 Arid 0.12 300 Hyper-arid 0.03 53 DESERTIFICATION A CHALLENGE TO THE HORN OF AFRICA: AN EXAMPLE OF THE AFAR RGION Girma Taddese, g.taddesse@ and Don Peden ,d.peden@ International Livestock Research Institute P. O. Box 5689 Addis Ababa Ethiopia INTORODUCTION Manifestations of desertification include accelerated soil erosion by wind and water, increasing salinization of soils and near-surface groundwater supplies, a reduction in soil moisture retention, an increase in surface runoff and stream flow variability, a reduction in species diversity and plant biomass, and a reduction in the overall productivity in dry land ecosystems with an attendant impoverishment of the human communities dependent on these ecosystems. Additional impacts include an increase in particulate and trace gas emissions from biomass burning in dry lands and an increase in atmospheric dust loads. Desertification can generally be defined as land degradation in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas resulting mainly from adverse human impact and climate variation. This phenomenon overlaps with a number of related environmental issues such as climate change, population growth, trade and biodiversity. There is also a complex cause-effect relationship between desertification, population growth and poverty. Observation