0000000000134831
AUTHOR
Fernando Pulido
Soil Quality Characterization of Mediterranean Areas under Desertification Risk for the Implementation of Management Schemes Aimed at Land Degradation Neutrality
Soil is a key component of ecosystems as it provides fundamental ecosystem functions and services, first of all supporting primary productivity, by physical, chemical and biological interaction with plants. However, soil loss and degradation are at present two of the most critical environmental issues. This phenomenon is particularly critical in Mediterranean areas, where inappropriate land management, in combination with the increasingly harshening of climatic conditions due to Climate Change, is leading to significant land degradation and desertification and is expected to worsen in the future, leading to economic and social crisis. In such areas, it is of fundamental importance to apply …
Critical range of soil organic carbon in southern Europe lands under desertification risk.
Soil quality is fundamental for ecosystem long term functionality, productivity and resilience to current climatic changes. Despite its importance, soil is lost and degraded at dramatic rates worldwide. In Europe, the Mediterranean areas are a hotspot for soil erosion and land degradation due to a combination of climatic conditions, soils, geomorphology and anthropic pressure. Soil organic carbon (SOC) is considered a key indicator of soil quality as it relates to other fundamental soil functions supporting crucial ecosystem services. In the present study, the functional relationships among SOC and other important soil properties were investigated in the topsoil of 38 sites under different …
Support for a colleague.
As collaborators of Anders Pape Moller, we were shocked and surprised to read that he was accused of data fabrication (“Ecologists roiled by misconduct case,” G. Vogel, F. Proffitt, R. Stone, News of the Week, 30 Jan., p. [606][1]). We have never had cause to be concerned about any aspect of
Evaluation of benefits and limitations of a Desertification Adaptation Model framework for sustainable land management in areas under desertification risk
The LIFE project Desert-Adapt (LIFE16 CCA/IT/000011) has designed a Desertification Adaptation Model (DAM) framework of land management to respond to two of the most critical problems experienced by farmers, public land and communities of the Mediterranean Basin, given the need to adapt to current Climate Change and reduce or counteract the increasing phenomenon of land degradation and desertification risk. These two issues are interrelated, as land degradation often characterizes fragile areas where the co-occurrence of climatically unfavourable conditions, mostly prolonged aridity and high temperatures, and inappropriate land management, leads to loss of ecosystem quality, biodiversity, p…