0000000000884505
AUTHOR
Grilli Eleonora
Adapting agroforestry to future climate scenarios: The LIFE project Desert-Adapt
Increasing scientific evidences indicate that agroforestry is a land use that can support economic, social and environmental sustainability, thus promoting resistance and resilience towards ongoing climate changes. The implementation and management of agroforestry systems still face social, economic and political barriers. Mediterranean agroecosystems suffer from increasingly negative climate change effects and urgent measures are needed to improve their rural economy while protecting soils and the environment. In this context, the LIFE Project Desert-Adapt: “Preparing desertification areas for increased climate change” (http://www.desert-adapt.it), aims to demonstrate the feasibility of in…
Land use effects on bacterial diversity in Mediterranean soils vulnerable to desertification
The soil microbiota is recognized as key player in both diversity and productivity of terrestrial ecosystems and it is mandatory to include its role in soil quality evaluation. The bacterial communities in soils vulnerable to desertification can undergo perturbations by various human activities, such as unsustainable land use and management, and by climate change. Alteration in microbial diversity and composition are sentinels of the impact of environmental changes on soil quality. Within the LIFE Desert-Adapt project we analyze the soil bacterial diversity and composition across European Soils threatened by desertification in the southern Mediterranean regions (Italy, Spain and Portugal) a…