Natural Recovery of Soils and Vegetation Following Human Disturbance

Humans have disturbed desert soils and vegetation since man began to occupy arid lands. These disturbances were usually restricted to areas adjacent to towns or villages and resulted from tillage, mining, or access trails and roads. With increasing population, development of off-road vehicles (ORVs), and over-grazing, ever larger areas of the desert have been affected. These disturbed areas usually are partially or totally denuded and the soils compacted, causing an acceleration of the natural erosion rate. As the demand for use of these lands changes, disturbed areas are commonly abandoned to recover as best they can. An important management consideration for desert areas is the amount of time required for disturbed areas to recover naturally, because artificial reclamation techniques are very expensive and prone to failure when applied to large arid areas (Chapters 15 through 17).