“Salinization” occurs when soil in an arid climate has been made available for agricultural production using irrigation. The water evaporates quickly off the newly irrigated land, leaving residues of salt lying in the earth. Over time this causes the land to become infertile. This process is known as “salinization.”

Even though North America is a developed region, it is not safe from desertification. Nearly 74% of North America's drylands are affected by desertification. The increasing rate and intensity of wildfires in the western part of North America is due to how climate change is affecting this region.

Africa does struggle with the affects of desertification and is just behind North America with 73% of drylands affected. Though there is less land affected, the economic toll for some countries in Africa is much greater.

Certain parts of Asia are also very affected by desertification. However, it is on a much smaller scale in the vast expanse of this region.

Europe and South America are the least affected by desertification.

Deforestation is the destruction of forest or forested areas  by human or natural means. Some notable human-based causes are slash and burn agriculture and production of forest products (i.e logging). Desertification can also lead to deforestation. 

Solar energy production is not directly linked to deforestation, and is in fact a form of sustainable, renewable energy.

The term “swidden” is used to describe land that has been cleared for agricultural use using slash-and-burn techniques. By “slash-and-burn” we mean that the land has cleared through burning of existing plants and is then used for agricultural purposes by the local community for a few years before they move on to “slash-and-burn” another piece of land.

“Slash-and-burn” agriculture involves burning a portion of forest so that the soil there can be used for agricultural purposes. The community then uses this land for a short time, possibly a few years, and then moves on to a new area, which is, in turn, burned for agricultural use. This practice of agriculture is defined by a constant process of moving from one plot of land to another and is known as “shifting cultivation.”

Wetlands provide many services.  They filter water to make it cleaner, they absorb water from storms and decrease the probability of flooding in the surrounding area. They also tend to give a home to many different organisms. Destruction of wetlands impedes all of these services. Therefore, the correct answer must be  "increased resistance to storms and flooding." 

The primary advantage of “slash-and-burn” agriculture is that it allows for somewhat sustainable farming in relatively small tropical societies. The soil in many tropical climates is relatively weak in nutrients and so must be constantly recycled. Through a controlled system of “slash-and-burn” agriculture tropical soil is given enough time to recover and tropical vegetation is allowed the opportunity to regrow.

Goats, sheep, and camels all originated in southwest Asia and are one part of the reason why many of the earliest agricultural societies and human civilizations arose in this part of the world. Throughout the history of civilization goats and sheep have been important for sustaining and clothing human populations, and camels have been vital to facilitating trade and long-distance travel.

America is a very large and significant producer of wheat and corn. American wheat exports, for example, account for a quarter of the world’s supply of wheat. Wheat is a vital crop to maintaining the human population in its current numbers. Most of these important crops are grown in the “Great Plains” states such as Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Oklahoma, and parts of Texas.

Although now grown in tropical climates around the world, particularly in Central America, bananas originated in Southeast Asia. Bananas are one of the most widely consumed foods in the world and are a staple of diets in regions as diverse as the Andean mountains, the jungles of southeast Asia, and the urban areas of the developed world.