From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishdesertificationde‧sert‧i‧fi‧ca‧tion /dɪˌzɜːtɪfɪˈkeɪʃən $ -ˌzɜːr-/ noun [uncountable] technical the process by which useful land, especially farmland, changes into desert
Examples from the Corpus
desertification• Thus we do not intend to provide evidence here of frightening rates of soil loss and desertification throughout the world.• There may be, too, a sottovoce challenge to the received wisdom that it is people who cause desertification.• There is considerable dissension in the literature as to what precisely constitutes desertification.• If desertification continues to spread, the dust bowl will not only undermine the economy but also trigger a huge migration eastward.• In many instances this is too late to obviate desertification and soil erosion.• One of the first environmental hazards to be studied was that of desertification.• Farming is leading to the desertification of large areas of the planet.From Longman Business Dictionarydesertificationde‧sert‧i‧fi‧ca‧tion /dɪˌzɜːtəfəˈkeɪʃən-ɜːr-/ noun [uncountable]FARMING when useful land, especially farm land, becomes dry and gradually turns into a desert 