/di zerr'teuh fi kay"sheuhn/ , n. Ecol.
1. the processes by which an area becomes a desert.
2. the rapid depletion of plant life and the loss of topsoil at desert boundaries and in semiarid regions, usually caused by a combination of drought and the overexploitation of grasses and other vegetation by people.
Also, desertization /dez'euhr teuh zay"sheuhn/ . Cf. aridification .
[ 1970-75; DESERT 1 + -I- + -FICATION ]