Mediterranean Desertification A Mosaic of Processes and Responses

About this book

Presents the latest findings from the EU's MEDALUS project, formed to understand and manage semi-arid environments that are undergoing great change. Covers climate and land use processes and responses in the Mediterranean. First book to provide guidelines for the management of land degradation in Mediterranean environments. Based on first-hand experience of the problems by those responsible for solving them

Contents

List of Contributors.Preface.PART 1: THEMATIC ISSUES. Section I; Introduction. The Evolving Context of Mediterranean Desertification (J.B. Thornes). Section II; Climate, Processes and Responses. Extreme Climatic Events over the Mediterranean (M. Conte, et al.). Potential Effects of Rising CO2 and Climatic Change on Mediterranean Vegetation (C.P. Osborne and F.I. Woodward). Use of NOAA AVHRR NDVI Data for Climatic Characterization of Mediterranean Areas (G. Cannizzaro, et al.). Section III; Land Use, Processes and Responses. The Effect of Land Use on Soil Erosion and Land Degradation under Mediterranean Conditions (C. Kosmas, et al.). Agro pastoral Activities and Land Degradation in Mediterranean Areas: Case Study of Sardinia (G. Enne, et al.). Landscape Protection from Grazing and Fire (N.S. Margaris and E. Koutsidou). Bioengineering Principles and Desertification Mitigation (J.N. Quinton, et al.). Section IV; Physical Processes and Responses. Differing Responses of Greek Mediterranean Plant Communities to Climate and the Combination of Grazing and Fire (A. Dalaka et al). Vegetation Cover Assessment in Mediterranean Semi arid Landscapes (F. Garcia Haro, et al.). The Impact of Rock Fragments on Soil Degradation and Water Conservation (B. van Wesemael, et al.). Aridification in a Region Neighbouring the Mediterranean (A. Kertesz, et al.). Soil Salinization in the Mediterranean: Soils, Processes and Implications (L. Postiglione). Section V; Tools for Exploring Desertification. Environmentally Sensitive Areas in the MEDALUS Target Area Study Sites (A.C. Imeson and L.H. Cammeraat). Investigation on Environmental Characteristics to Underpin the Selection of Desertification Indicators in the Guadalentin Basin (L.H. Cammeraat, et al.). MEDRUSH: A Basin scale Physically Based Model for Forecasting Runoff and Sediment Yield (M. Kirkby, et al.). PART 2: REGIONAL STUDIES. Section VI; The Guadalentin Basin, South east Spain. Natural Resources in the Guadalentin Basin (South east Spain): Water as a Key Factor (F. Lopez Bermudez, et al.). Local and Regional Responses to Global Climate Change in South east Spain (C.M. Goodess and J.P. Palutikof). The Impact of Land Abandonment on Regeneration of Semi natural Vegetation: A Case Study from the Guadalentin (J.A. Obando). Lithology and Vegetation Cover Mapping in the Guadalentin Basin as Interpreted through Remote Sensing Data (M.T. Younis, et al.). Changing Social and Economical Conditions in a Region Undergoing Desertification in the Guadalentin (A. Romero Diaz, et al.). Management Plan to Combat Desertification in the Guadalentin River Basin (L. Rojo Serrano, et al.). Section VII; The Agri Basin, Southern Italy. General Description of the Agri Basin, Southern Italy (F. Basso, E. Bove and M. del Prete). The Agri Valley Sustainable Agriculture in a Dry Environment: Crop Systems and Management (F. Basso, et al.). Soil Erosion and Land Degradation (F. Basso, et al.). Social and Economic Conditions of Development in the Agri Valley (E. Bove and G. Quaranta). Characterisation of Soil Hydraulic Properties in a Desertification Context (A. Santini and N. Romano). Aspects of Forestry in the Agri Environment (A. Ferrara, et al.). Modelling Large Basin Hydrology and Sediment Yield with Sparse Data: The Agri Basin, Southern Italy (J.C. Bathurst, et al.). Section VIII; Conclusions. Emerging Mosaics (J.B. Thornes). Glossary. Index.

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