Overgrazing - Degradation of Ecosystem
It refers to the condition when the grazing pressure on the vegetation is so intense that it does not recover. Ultimately, there is a loss of the soil binding cover (deforestation), and it leads to soil erosion and desertification. Deforestation and overgrazing combined make desertification intense. As vegetation retrogresses, with continued overgrazing, the crucial soil and water relationships fail, ultimately reducing the area's carrying capacity of the animals. Rate of water infiltration is proportionally related to the gazing intensity. Water infiltration is low in heavily- grazed areas and high in lightly-grazed areas.
Heavily-grazed areas also have high rates of runoffs. In the overgrazed areas, the amount of water storing capacity of the soil declines. The moisture available at a particular time is so less that it is not enough to meet with the regeneration needs of the plants that are left. All the events described above degrade the quality of soil and eventually the ecosystem.