@article {50126,
	title = {Do changes in connectivity explain desertification?},
	journal = {BioScience},
	volume = {59},
	number = {3},
	year = {2009},
	month = {March 2009},
	pages = {237-244},
	abstract = {Desertification, broad-scale land degradation in drylands, is a major environmental hazard facing inhabitants of the world{\textquoteright}s deserts as well as an important component of global change. There is no unifying framework that simply and effectively explains different forms of desertification. Here we argue for the unifying concept that diverse forms of desertification, and its remediation, are driven by changes in the length of connected pathways for the movement of fire, water and soil resources. Biophysical feedbacks exist that increase the length of connected pathways  explaining the persistence of desertified landscapes around the globe. Management of connectivity in the context of environmental and socioeconomic change is essential to understand, and potentially reverse, the harmful effects of desertification.Desertification, broad-scale land degradation in drylands, is a major environmental hazard facing inhabitants of the world{\textquoteright}s deserts as well as an important component of global change. There is no unifying framework that simply and effectively explains different forms of desertification. Here we argue for the unifying concept that diverse forms of desertification, and its remediation, are driven by changes in the length of connected pathways for the movement of fire, water and soil resources. Biophysical feedbacks exist that increase the length of connected pathways  explaining the persistence of desertified landscapes around the globe. Management of connectivity in the context of environmental and socioeconomic change is essential to understand, and potentially reverse, the harmful effects of desertification.},
	keywords = {connectivity, desertifiction, erosion, fire, vegetation dynamics},
	url = {/files/bibliography/09-007.pdf},
	author = {Gregory S. Okin and A.J. Parsons and John Wainwright and Jeffrey E. Herrick and Brandon T Bestelmeyer and Debra C. Peters and E.L. Fredrickson}
}
