desertizationn.

1968 H. N. le Hourerou in Annales Algériennes de Géographie III. vi. 5 (Summary) The author attempts to define desertization as a more or less irreversible reduction in vegetation, leading to the extension of desert lands to regions that did not show those characteristics.

1972 Science 1 Sept. 764/1 The process often called ‘savannization’ and ‘desertization’ of the tropical humid regions can very well be explained by these characteristics.

1976 Daily Colonist (Victoria, Brit. Columbia) 24 Nov. 5/4 The creation of desert by any phenomena—man-made or natural—is called desertization.

1977 A. Hallam Planet Earth 86 Removal of vegetation for firewood or by the grazing of domesticated animals exposes the soil to wind erosion, resulting in dune development and encroachment, and to the erosive action of the infrequent high intensity storms, which produce gully systems (arroyos) with alarming rapidity. These phenomena are known collectively as desertization.