[di-zur-tuh-fi-key-shuh
n] 
| 1. | the processes by which an area becomes a desert. |
| 2. | the rapid depletion of plant life and the loss of topsoil at desert boundaries and in semiarid regions, usually caused by a combination of drought and the overexploitation of grasses and other vegetation by people. |
| de·sert·i·fi·ca·tion (dĭ-zûr'tə-fĭ-kā'shən) n. The transformation of arable or habitable land to desert, as by a change in climate or destructive land use. |