AS FOUR-wheel drives replace camels in deserts around the world, they are leaving the deserts’ fragile surfaces scarred, eroded and blowing in the wind. Fifty years of satellite imaging reveals that dust storms originating in areas such as the Sahara have increased tenfold.
“Desert surfaces have been stable for thousands of years because they usually have a thin layer of lichen or algae, or gravel from which the fine sand has blown away,” says Andrew Goudie of the University of Oxford. But increasing use of Toyota Land Cruisers and similar vehicles – a trend Goudie has dubbed “Toyota-isation” – is scarring this protective surface layer. “Once…
