Desertification in environmental degradation research in the Brazilian semiarid region: a systematic integrative literature review

Abstract

Environmental degradation is a problem arising from natural causes and human actions despoiling under the Earth's surface. Between the arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid climatic zones of planet Earth, a type of environmental degradation in an advanced stage can occur: desertification. In Brazil, this can occur in the semi-arid territory, given the seriousness of the problem and the socio-environmental configuration of this space, and studies that reveal its state of degradation are important. In this sense, this paper aims to identify the treatment given to desertification in approaches to environmental degradation in the Brazilian semi-arid region. To this end, an integrative systematic review of the literature was carried out, based on a search protocol supported by the specialized literature on scientific methodology, criteria for analyzing theses, dissertations and scientific articles present in the Portal de Periódico Capes and Base Digital Brasileira de Teses e Dissertations. Thus, the data resulting from the systematic review demonstrated that, although there is a diversity of approaches, a significant part of the studies on the degradation of the brazilian semi-arid region establish a direct and indirect relationship with desertification, as only a minority focuses on the study of desertification in its objectives, which demonstrates the need to study desertification in the Brazilian semi-arid region.