re: #430 ggt

“Soil” includes dead plant material, yes. It becomes food for other living things, from fungi and bacteria to the worms.

As for deforestation causing desertification… there are cases to be made that human deforestation of SW Asia led to increased aridification, but that was probably also underway as the climate slowly warmed at the beginning of the Holocene.

Clearing of shrubs and native grasses, followed by plowing, is directly indicted in the American experience in the midwest and great plains that led to the dust bowl.

And so on.

And yes, it is feared that clearing the Amazon is leading to large portions of Brazil turning into a hot savannah that will be arid when lacking monsoon rains. Some studies have indicated that about 18% of the Amazon has already been lost. Very recently parts of the Brazilian government has been proposing allowing for some more clearing, supported by, of all things, the local Communist Party.

Somebody ought to ask Rohrabacher why he is endorsing a Communist proposal.