Abstract
The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification defines ‘land degradation’ as a reduction or loss of the biological and economic productivity resulting from land-use mismanagement, or a combination of processes, such as soil erosion, deterioration of soil properties, and loss of natural vegetation and biodiversity. Land degradation is hence an interactive process involving multiple factors, among which climate, land-use, economic dynamics and socio-demographic forces play a key role. Especially in the Mediterranean basin, joint biophysical and socioeconomic factors shape the intrinsic level of vulnerability of both natural and agricultural land to degradation. The interplay between biophysical and socioeconomic factors may become extremely complex over time and space, resulting in specific patterns of landscape deterioration. This paper summarizes theoretical expectations and empirical knowledge in the field of soil and landscape degradation in Mediterranean Europe, evidencing the intimate relationship between agriculture and socio-demographic factors of growth (or decline) of rural areas. Understanding spatio-temporal trends of each factor underlying land degradation and the related background context is a key tool in the assessment of the spatial distribution of vulnerable and critical land to degradation. Empirical results of a permanent monitoring of land degradation contributes to delineate more effective conservation policies through identification of target areas requiring specific actions for biodiversity and landscape protection. With increasing human pressure on rural environments, a diachronic evaluation of patterns and processes of land degradation reveals particularly appropriate in a both positive and normative perspective, prefiguring new actions for soil conservation and landscape valorization under global change.
Highlights
With globalization, technological and cultural integration among countries and regions have enlarged the role of economic and financial targets when designing criteria of development, production and consumption [1,2]
The present study proposes a brief reflection on the intimate complexity of land degradation processes in Southern Europe, elaborating an integrated framework spanning from operational definitions to permanent assessment, in line with the framework illustrated in
Despite the extensive use of the ESAI in environmental monitoring, the definition of areas exposed to land degradation and the identification of locations where the level of land vulnerability has increased over time, requires the joint use of biophysical indicators and variables assessing human-induced pressure and ecological disturbances
Summary
Technological and cultural integration among countries and regions have enlarged the role of economic and financial targets when designing criteria of development, production and consumption [1,2]. By integrating biophysical and socioeconomic disciplines, the study of land degradation processes is an example of a ‘land science’ based on substantive knowledge This emerging discipline encourages a comprehensive investigation of landscapes, identifying the constituting elements of complex systems and classifying them into homogeneous (functional) groups, aggregates or types [14]. Biophysical settings and landscape issues are key components of complex systems experiencing land degradation processes In these regards, Southern Europe is considered representative of the socio-ecological complexity typical of local contexts affected by land degradation. An integrated discussion of land degradation complexity from both positive and normative perspectives was proposed in Section 8, giving specific suggestions for future theoretical and practical studies
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