Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
however, bring with them the high likelihood of crop failure and famine. Agriculturally, the steppe
realm is
marginal land,
meaning that it's on the fringe (or margin) of that portion of Earth that is suit-
able for crops.
In contrast, the raising of livestock on the natural grasses has long been a principal activity. Accord-
ingly, traditional pastoral nomads are associated with steppe environments, as are cowboys and cattle
drives of the United States and
gauchos
(cowboy-like herdsmen) of South America. Nowadays, each
of these is much more in the realm of lore than life, thanks to economic and political forces that have
turned stock-raising into a rather sedentary endeavor. But raising livestock on steppe is risky. Wise
resource management is essential, lest too many animals feed on the grasses, resulting in overgrazing
and potential
desertification
— the conversion of non-desert lands to desert.
Applied Geography: Drought mitigation
Droughts have long been a source of human misery and death. The most horrendous
ones typically occur in regions of steppe climate when the characteristic dry season is
drier than usual and just won't quit. Areas to the south of the Sahara Desert have been
particularly prone to these occurrences in recent decades. Adding to their devastation is
the relative remoteness of this region, which hampers awareness of the drought in the
outside world, thus inhibiting the ability of relief agencies to mount an effective response.
Thanks to
remote sensing,
the use of satellite imagery to monitor Earth's surface, it's now
possible to monitor the onset of drought as it happens. This is made possible by satellite-
based infrared imaging, which is somewhat like picture taking. Lush, healthy vegetation
has lots of chlorophyll, which is an excellent reflector of the infrared energy that is a part
of sunshine. In color infrared imaging, such vegetation registers as bright red. In con-
trast, dry vegetation (which is low on chlorophyll) appears as brown. Thus, when the dry
season ends and the rainy season begins, the landscape rather immediately changes
from brown to red, at least as far as an infrared sensor is concerned. If however, brown
persists, then that means that the rains have not arrived, possibly indicating the onset of
drought.
Enjoying
the
In-between:
Humid
Mesothermal
Climates
