Search results for "Desertification"
showing 10 items of 39 documents
Multi-temporal Forest Cover Change and Forest Density Trend Detection in a Mediterranean Environment
2015
The loss of forests along with the various types of shrubs in the Mediterranean region is seen as an important driver of climate change and has been repeatedly related with the observed land degradation and desertification in the region. Nevertheless, the extent of woody perennial vegetation cover (WPVC) and its density remain largely unclear. Here, we apply a series of algorithms and methods operationally used in Australia for large-scale WPVC mapping and monitoring and demonstrate their applicability in the Mediterranean region using a Spanish area as the trial site. Five Landsat TM and ETM+ images from various dates spanning 14 years are used to map changes in the extent of WPVC and to i…
Olive Yield and Future Climate Forcings
2013
Abstract The rainfall reduction and the temperature increase forecasted for Mediterranean regions would likely increase the vegetation water stress and decrease productivity in rainfed agriculture. Olive trees, which have traditionally been grown under rainfed conditions, are one of the most characteristic tree crops from the Mediterranean not only for economical importance but also for minimizing erosion and desertification and for improving the carbon balance of these areas. In order to simulate how climatic change could alter soil moisture dynamics, biomass growth and fruit productivity, a water driven crop model is used in this study. The model quantitatively links olive yield to climat…
Soil degradation and its impact on desertification: A research design for Mediterranean environments
1988
Summary Much is said but little is known of the processes and linkages of soil degradation with desertification. With particular emphasis on South-East Spain, a research design is proposed to characterize the processes, their dynamics and effect on productivity. Through detailed monitoring of plot experiments at three slope positions, changes in soil physical and chemical parameters and analyses of runoff and eroded sediments will be related to induced destruction of the vegetation. Knowing the cause and process will lead to the identification of management techniques that may protect vulnerable Mediterranean environments.
LAND USE CHANGE DETECTION AS A BASIS FOR ANALYSING DESERTIFICATION PROCESSES: A CASE STUDY IN TABERNAS (ALMERIA, SPAIN)
2006
12 paginas, 5 figuras, 1 tabla. Proceedings of the NATO Mediterranean Dialogue Workshop on Desertification in the Mediterranean Region. A Security Issue -- Part III. Assessing land use change relative to anthropogenic and natural cause. Valencia, Spain 2-5 December 2003
Impact of Rocky Desertification Control on Soil Bacterial Community in Karst Graben Basin, Southwestern China
2021
Microorganisms play critical roles in belowground ecosystems, and karst rocky desertification (KRD) control affects edaphic properties and vegetation coverage. However, the relationship between KRD control and soil bacterial communities remains unclear. 16S rRNA gene next-generation sequencing was used to investigate soil bacterial community structure, composition, diversity, and co-occurrence network from five ecological types in KRD control area. Moreover, soil physical-chemical properties and soil stoichiometry characteristics of carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus were analyzed. Soil N and P co-limitation decreased in the contribution of the promotion of KRD control on edaphic properties. T…
Does fragmentation of wetlands affect gene flow in sympatric Acrocephalus warblers with different migration strategies?
2015
Wetlands are naturally patchy habitats, but patchiness has been accentuated by the extensive wetlands loss due to human activities. In such a fragmented habitat, dispersal ability is especially important to maintain gene flow between populations. Here we studied population structure, genetic diversity and demographic history of Iberian and North African populations of two wetland passerines, the Eurasian reed warbler Acrocephalus scirpaceus and the moustached warbler Acrocephalus melanopogon. These species are closely related and sympatric in our study sites, but the reed warbler is a long-distance migrant and widespread bird while the moustached warbler is resident or migrates over short d…
NDVI seasonal amplitude and its variability
2008
NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) is a remotely sensed index of vegetation greenness. Its yearly cycle gives information on vegetation type or health, and monitoring its temporal evolut...
Assessing land condition as a first step to achieving land degradation neutrality : A case study of the Republic of Srpska
2018
Abstract Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) is a key voluntary and aspirational target of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 15 which urges countries to protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss. A first and critical important step in the implementation of LDN is assessing the current land condition using not only active restoration of degraded land, but also targeting land degradation drivers behind the land degradation process. In a first step to achieve these goals, countries were provided a global dataset for three sub-indicators of land degra…
Bacterial diversity in soils vulnerable to desertification
2019
Introduction Mediterranean soils are experiencing increasingly negative effects of climate change due to drought and extreme weather phenomena that negatively affect agriculture, already suffering social and economic constraints. 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 sustainable agronomic management. The LIFE Project DESERT-ADAPT - Preparing desertification areas for increased climate change - (http://www.desert-adapt.it/) focuses on agricultural adaptation measures aimed at reverting ongoing desertification trends (while improving the socioeconomic conditions of farmers). In or…
Sensitivity to desertification risk of Sicilian forests
2017
Sicilian forests can be considered at high decay risk because of more and more frequent wildfires and, even more, because of climate change effects, like floods, draught, heat waves, snow and wind storms. They are worrying processes, contributing at making ecosystems weaker and intensifying the potential desertification risk in Sicily, one of the most threatened of Italian regions by this form of soil degradation. The most effective approach to mitigate the effects of the climate change has been developed through the following action: cartographic identification, on a regional and landscape scale, of the forest areas subject to desertification risk.