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Assessing the costs of land degradation: a case study for the Puentes Catchment, Southeast Spain
Abstract
Whereas many studies point out the economic benefits of controlling land degradation through sustainable land management (SLM) approaches, there is often a lack of local adoption of SLM techniques. Analysis of the local impacts and costs of land degradation is critical for understanding farmers' responses to land degradation. The objective of this paper is to analyse the local costs of land degradation in the Puentes catchment in southeast Spain. This catchment has been identified as particularly vulnerable to erosion, yet farmers show a general lack of interest in applying erosion control techniques. The paper subsequently analyses land degradation processes in the Puentes catchment, the income derived from agriculture and several other ecosystem services, and the local costs of land degradation. Erosion is widespread in the catchment, comprising sheet and rill erosion as well as gulley erosion. Relatively high erosion rates are encountered in cropland. The most important source of local income is irrigated agriculture, with revenues of up to €1350/ha y−1. Dryland agriculture, hunting and herding provide additional income. The costs of erosion on cropland, calculated with a replacement method, vary from around €5/ha y−1 on slopes between five per cent and ten per cent, to around €50/ha y−1 on slopes between 30 per cent and 50 per cent. Except on the steepest slopes, these costs are relatively low for the farmers, which explains the limited application of erosion control techniques in the catchment. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
... El Serafy 1997Galeotti 2007;Ferreira et al. 2022). For instance, LDN indicators have been reported to lead sometimes to a counterintuitive degradation assessment and the possibility given to involved countries to ascribe those cases to error of 'false positive' or 'false negative' degradation may affect consistency of reporting amongst countries (Grainger 2007;Hein 2007;Sims et al. 2020). This may prompt a set of 'recommendations' to face the challenge of spatially aggregating results from local to national scales (Helldén and Tottrup 2008;Ferrara et al. 2012;Sims et al. 2019). ...
... Land resource stock in a given area is estimated assuming that land degradation will continue at constant rates up to total resource depletion (Requier-Desjardins 2006). The life expectancy of land resources is intrinsically derived from this estimation, determining a 'depletion factor' that provides an indirect evaluation of a 'production equivalent of degradation' under specific background conditions (Hein 2007). Application of this framework to paradigmatic cases has confirmed the validity of these accounting schemes. ...
... As a result of interconnected environmental pressures, land degradation shows complex linkages with representative socioeconomic variables (e.g. Conacher and Sala 1998;Briassoulis 2005;Hein 2007;Requier-Desjardins et al. 2011). Unbalanced land resources, economic polarization, and social disparities deeply affect the environmental conditions associated with land degradation, thus requiring the implementation of national strategies aimed at promoting the sustainable (and territorially balanced) development of dryland (Briassoulis 2005;Wilson and Juntti 2005;Stringer 2008). ...
Despite intense efforts, information systems for Land Degradation assessment need extensive research implementation at both regional and country scale. The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification identified critical hotspots of land degradation worldwide recognizing the joint action of drivers such as soil depletion, landscape transformations, human pressure, and climate change. Notwithstanding the relevance of this issue, only few country-scale studies have been devoted to analyse long trends over time of land degradation in the specific framework of environmental accounting. While sparse quantitative indicators have been proposed to realize a permanent monitoring of land degradation, a complete official statistical framework (integrating different data sources, in light of a purely environmental accounting perspective) is still lacking. The present study contributes to this deserving issue by proposing the Environmentally Sensitive Area (ESA) approach as an official statistics framework, quantifying the level of land vulnerability to degradation at a refined spatial scale using biophysical metrics. This monitoring approach allows a comprehensive analysis of changes over time in four components of land degradation (climate, soil, vegetation, and land management) and is integrated with a monetary evaluation of the negative impact of land degradation on income and wealth based on the User Cost Approach (UCA). By developing local-scale, diachronic estimates of land degradation, the ESA-UCA framework provides spatio-temporal outcomes that may constitute the base of environmental reporting and informative systems supporting policy decisions to contain desertification risk.
... Economic re-organization of regions and countries implies changes in land resource availability, sometimes altering ecosystem quality and biodiversity [1][2][3]. Earlier studies have recognized economic uncertainty and ecological risk as key factors at the base of land degradation processes that involve group social change, local cultures, and policy action [4][5][6]. Biophysical and anthropogenic factors at the base of ecosystem changes stimulate an increasing attention of both theoretical and applied science to land degradation [7][8][9]. ...
... Some examples of agricultural dynamics possibly leading to degradation of fringe Mediterranean land are illustrated in Figure 5, evidencing, from left to right, farm extensivation and land take by isolated buildings [51], greenhouse development in districts experiencing intense residential sprawl [39], as well as crop abandonment in fertile areas [87]. Policies addressing agricultural development in peri-urban regions should therefore trigger a vicious circle producing a distortion that may enhance the spatial polarization in 'favorable' and 'less favorable' districts, most severely affected by physical deterioration and monetary depletion of land resources [2]. While remaining highly dynamic and wealthy [88], peri-urban districts have more recently experienced a downward spiral degrading natural resources and creating unsustainable conditions for future development [89]. ...
... A focus on environmental-economic transitions in fringe districts is appropriate to delineate the intrinsic mechanisms at the base of complex development paths in metropolitan regions [46]. A higher (hedonic) value of fringe landscapes, and the Policies addressing agricultural development in peri-urban regions should therefore trigger a vicious circle producing a distortion that may enhance the spatial polarization in 'favorable' and 'less favorable' districts, most severely affected by physical deterioration and monetary depletion of land resources [2]. While remaining highly dynamic and wealthy [88], peri-urban districts have more recently experienced a downward spiral degrading natural resources and creating unsustainable conditions for future development [89]. ...
This commentary debates on the role of multiple socioeconomic drivers of fringe land degradation (including, but not limited to, population and social dynamics, economic polarization, and developmental policies), as a novel contribution to the desertification assessment in Southern European metropolitan regions, a recognized hotspot of desertification at the global scale. Expanding rapidly all over the world, metropolitan regions are a geographical space where land degradation drivers and processes assume typical relationships that require further research supporting dedicated policy strategies. To assure a better comprehension of the environmental-economic nexus at the base of land degradation in peri-urban areas, we provided a classification of relevant socioeconomic and territorial dimensions in both macro-scale and micro-scale degradation processes. We also identified the related (contextual) factors that determine an increased risk of desertification in metropolitan regions. Micro-scale factors, such as agricultural prices and off-farm employment, reflect some potential causes of fringe land degradation, with a mostly local and on-site role. Technological change, agricultural prices, and household income influence land vulnerability, but their impact on fringe land degradation was less investigated and supposed to be quite moderate in most cases. Macro-scale factors such as population density, rural poverty, and environmental policies—being extensively studied on a qualitative base—were taken as important drivers of fringe land degradation, although their impact still remains undefined. Regional disparities in land resource distribution, rural poverty, and unsustainable management of environmental resources like soil and water were indirect consequences of land degradation in peri-urban districts. Based on a comparative review of theoretical and empirical findings, strategies mitigating degradation of fringe land and reducing desertification risk in potentially affected metropolitan regions were finally discussed for the Northern Mediterranean basin and generalized to other socioeconomic contexts.
... To conclude, the living standards of the population are partly determined by the natural resources, in mainly agricultural regions. Agriculture can be either an aggravating factor resulting in land improvement and a mitigating factor, e.g. in areas characterized by high erosion risk (Kosmas et al., 2003;Atis, 2006;Hein, 2007). Farmers are among the first victims of LD as the natural resources such as soils and crop are the most severely affected by potential desertification. ...
... Although the debate was growing in the recent years, monetary aspects of LD risk are rarely addressed (e.g. Atis, 2006;Hein, 2007). The mitigation of desertification -and therefore the benefits of any strategy aimed at reducing it -can only be partly attributed to sector policies: measures aimed at reducing soil degradation should target several environmental pressures together. ...
... Only few studies show attempts to empirically quantify costs of the major forms of LD in southern Europe. Some of them (e.g. de Groot et al., 2002;Atis, 2006;Hein, 2007) try (i) to establish a general framework for the analysis of LD costs, and (ii) to provide a preliminary assessment of socio-economic costs of LD in specific Mediterranean areas through use of the environmental function approach. An environmental function is defined as 'the capacity of the environment to provide goods and services that satisfy human needs, directly or indirectly' (de Groot et al., 2002). ...
This volume includes a collection of papers presented in international conferences or other public events and sometimes published in a preliminary version. A preliminary version of chapter 1.1 was presented at the ‘Changing Cities II’ international conference held in Volos, June 2015. After extensive revision and improvement, chapter 1.2 takes inspiration from the content of a working paper presented in 2015 and published on the ‘Romanian Journal of Regional Science’. Chapters 1.3 and 1.4 develop and implement operationally two original issues in the field of regional science presented in working papers appeared on the ‘International Journal of Latest Trends in Finance and Economic Studies’. A preliminary version of chapter 2.1 was presented at the Athens 2013 international conference on cultural heritage and landscape. A summary of chapter 2.2 was presented at the Italian conference ‘Recuperiamo Terreno’ on behalf of the International Exposition 2015 held in Milan. Chapter 2.3 develops the content of a working paper presented in 2010 at La Sapienza University of Rome. Chapter
2.4 implements an original idea presented in a working paper on the journal ‘Economies’. Chapter 3.2 takes inspiration from an original investigation in the field of socio-environmental complexity presented in a working paper on the ‘Romanian Journal of Regional Science’. A preliminary version of chapter 3.3 was presented at the Pan-Hellenic Geographical Conference, 2013. Finally, chapter 3.4 takes inspiration from a preliminary study published on the ‘International Journal of Ecological and Economic Statistics’.
... Various factors intensified in the Mediterranean basin, creating pre-conditions for the appearance of early desertification signs, especially in Southern Spain, in restricted parts of Greece and, more recently in Southern Italy and Portugal [50]. As a matter of fact, specific processes leading (at least indirectly) to desertification, have been demonstrated to affect LD intensity, often involving unaffected territories up to a few decades ago [51]. Non-agricultural factors, such as infrastructural development, agglomeration economies, urbanization/industrialization, and tourism growth, among others, were increasingly documented as important factors in LD, especially since the early-1990s, suggesting a more 'holistic' role for LD taken as a non-exclusively ecological issue, while encompassing the 'socioeconomic' dimension of change [52][53][54]. ...
... As far as the policy dimension is concerned, land mitigation strategies in the Mediterranean basin are especially designed for (and applied to) rural areas [53]. However, coping with land degradation in areas that are not strictly rural needs dedicated tools and governing efforts that are difficult to implement in rapidly changing peri-urban spaces [51]. The present study suggests that land degradation hotspots, identified as effective policy targets, should be delineated both in rural districts and in peri-urban regions, and their evolution over time should be continuously monitored [54]. ...
Climate warming, agricultural intensity, and urban growth are main forces triggering land degradation in advanced economies. Being active over different spatial and temporal scales, they usually reflect—at least indirectly—the impact of additional factors, such as wellbeing, demographic dynamics, and social development, on land quality. Using descriptive statistics and a multiple regression analysis, we analyzed the impact of these three processes comparatively over a decadal scale from 1960 to 2020 at the provincial level (Nuts-3 sensu Eurostat) in Italy. We enriched the investigation with a short-term forecast for 2030, based on four simplified assumptions grounded on a purely deterministic approach. Land degradation was estimated adopting the Environmental Sensitive Area Index (ESAI) measured at the spatio-temporal scale mentioned above. Computing on multiple observations at nearly 300,000 locations all over Italy, provinces were regarded as representative spatial units of the territorial pattern of land degradation. Between 1960 and 1990, the three predictors (climate, agriculture, and urbanization) explained a relatively high proportion of variance, suggesting a modest role for any other (unobserved) factor. All of these factors were found to be highly significant predictors of land degradation intensity across provinces, the most impactful being farming intensity. The highest adjusted-R2 coefficient was observed in both 1990 and 2000, and suggests that the three predictors still reflect the most powerful drivers of land degradation in Italy at those times, with a marginal role for additional (unobserved) factors. The impact of farming intensity remained high, with the role of urbanization increasing moderately, and the role of climate aridity declining weakly between 2000 and 2010. In more recent times (2010 and 2020), and in future (2030) scenarios, the adjusted R2 diminished moderately, suggesting a non-negligible importance of external (unobserved) factors and the rising role of spatial heterogeneity. The climate factor became progressively insignificant over time, while increasing the role of urbanization systematically. The impact of farming intensity remained high and significant. These results underlie a latent shift in the spatial distribution of the level of land vulnerability in Italy toward a spatially polarized model, influenced primarily by human pressure and socioeconomic drivers and less intensively shaped by biophysical factors. Climate aridity was revealed to be more effective in the explanation of land degradation patterns in the 1960s rather than in recent observation times.
... Protecting land from degradation and ameliorating the microclimate in severe environmental conditions are the initial goals of the construction of protective forest stands [4,5]. The analysis of the costs associated with land degradation is a very important indicator for agroforestry research, since it is crucial for understanding farmers' investments in sustainable land management and the formation of appropriate policies in the fields of agriculture and land use [6]. ...
... In the dry steppe on chestnut soils, the design height of protective forest stands is about 11-12 m [38]. 6. In accordance with the regulatory documents, the maximum permissible distances between the main protective forest stands are calculated from the condition of the effective range of their impact. ...
The purpose of the study is an economic assessment of the effectiveness of agroforestry based on determining the value of ecosystem services of an afforested model land object and extrapolating the data obtained to the territory of the south of the Volga upland with identical natural and economic conditions to the model. The study presents a methodology for the economic assessment of ecosystem goods and services of forested agricultural landscapes based on the modern classification of ecosystem services: CICES. It is established that the economic value of the regional ecosystem product provided by forested lands in the dry steppe is USD 1323 per 1 ha of agroforest landscape per year (price for 2021 on average for 30 years). Of these, regulatory and maintenance services account for 52% of the total economic value, security services—45%, and cultural services—3%. The projected economic value of ecosystem services that will be provided by afforested lands in the south of the Volga upland, the price for 2025, taking into account inflation, is estimated at almost USD 20 million. This value is a sufficient justification for conducting forest reclamation works in the region and providing recommendations for their necessity for small enterprises and farms.
... Laminar and rill hydric soil erosion is one of the main threats to the sustainability of olive groves in the Iberian Peninsula [12,18]. On the one hand, soil erosion drives multiple impacts over the economic profitability of crops, with studies estimating a loss of between 5-66 € ha −1 year −1 in typical agricultural systems in Spain (i.e., horticulture, olive groves, and cereal steppes) [73]. On the other hand, erosion processes contribute to the gradual loss of soil horizons and associated soil organic matter, thus resulting in the demand for a greater quantity of chemical fertilizers to maintain production [53,60,72]. ...
... In this sense, the lepidoptera richness and diversity in the olive groves sampled in Alentejo decreased in crops with higher erosion rates and tree density (i.e., conventionally managed intensive and highly intensive olive groves). In these plots, NPK fertilizers were added to maintain stable crop production [59,[72][73][74]. The lepidoptera richness and diversity results standout as important environmental bioindicators of fauna in olive groves, especially considering the high sensitivity of these organisms to tillage practices and diffuse, terrestrial, and atmospheric pollution [83,84]. ...
Olive groves are Mediterranean socioecological systems. In Portugal (350,000 hectares of olive groves), a transition is ongoing towards intensification. Such effects may arise from the incremental use of agrochemical fertilizers. The Alentejo region, Portugal, was stratified according to the olive management systems (i.e., extensive groves managed conventionally, integrated or organically, and intensive and highly intensive farms) and erosive states. Agronomic (i.e., fertilizers) and biological (i.e., herbaceous and lepidopteran richness and biodiversity) variables were quantified in 80 plots so we could know how managements affect biodiversity. Intensive and highly intensive farms showed the highest erosion (up to 48 t ha−1 year−1) and the highest concentration of nitrates (11–16 ppm), phosphates (8–15 ppm), and potassium (169–183 mg kg−1), aligned with its lower flora (null) and fauna (0.50–1.75 species). Conventional extensive farms attained an intermediate position, and integrated and organic managements showed the lowest erosion (up to 20 t ha−1 year−1), and the lowest concentration of nitrates (5–6 ppm), phosphates (2–4 ppm), and potassium (92–125 mg kg−1) aligned with its higher flora (14–27 species) and fauna (up to 8 species). Studies aimed at characterizing the multifunctionality of olive groves are essential in Portugal, also considering how soil practices can minimize externalities driven by rapid changes in crop systems.
... ha, localizada en el sureste de la Península Ibérica (Figura 1). Presenta un clima semiárido, caracterizado por una precipitación con registros que van desde los 300 a los 700 mm por año y con una evapotranspiración potencial anual que oscila entre 800 y 1300 mm (Hein, 2007;Llamas, 2007). Los suelos son en su mayoría pobres, poco profundos y con baja fertilidad y escasa materia orgánica, compuestos principalmente por litologías de margas y calizas (Romero Díaz et al., 1992). ...
... Los cultivos de cereales, especialmente la cebada y el trigo, representan los principales cultivos herbáceos anuales de secano, aunque su producción está actualmente en declive y depende en muchos casos de los subsidios de la UE. Por último, la producción de almendros y olivos, que eran en gran parte el tipo dominante de agricultura en la región, están perdiendo cada vez más producción en favor de las actividades hortícolas de regadío (Hein, 2007 ...
El sureste de la Península Ibérica se caracteriza por una trascendental escasez de agua, cada vez más agravada por los efectos del cambio climático. Para valorar sus consecuencias, se elaboró un análisis combinado de 30 cuencas mediante el modelo hidrológico del programa de evaluación de servicios ecosistémicos InVEST. La metodología empleada se basó en escenarios de concentración de gases de efecto invernadero, representados en niveles de fuerza de radiación de condición intermedia (RCP4.5) y extrema (RCP8.5); y proyectados para dos periodos, a corto plazo (2020-2050) y medio plazo (2070-2100). Los resultados mostraron unas tendencias de cambio en los escenarios analizados, con descensos promedio respecto a los registros actuales del 15% en precipitación, y aumentos promedio del 5% en la evapotranspiración de referencia. La reducción en la disponibilidad hídrica de las cuencas, proporcionaron tasas de variación negativas entre el 30 y 50% para los escenarios más realistas (RCP45 2050 y RCP45 2100). Los efectos en la disminución de los recursos hídricos debidos al cambio climático son evidentes, siendo necesarias soluciones urgentes relacionadas con la gestión del agua y sus demandas futuras.
Water scarcity characterizes the environments of the southeast of the Iberian Peninsula, and it is expected to increase due to the effects of climate change. An analysis of 30 basins was perform to assess their consequences through the hydrological model of the ecosystem services assessme nt InVEST. Scenarios of concentration of greenhouse gases were used, that represent intermediate and extreme conditions in the level of radiative forcing values (RCP4.5 and RCP8.5), projected for two periods, short term (2020 - 2050) and medium term (2070 - 2 100). In the analyzed scenarios, the results indicated some trends of change, showing average decreases of 15% in precipitation, and average increases of 5% in potential evapotranspiration, regarding current values. Water yield showed a decrease, with nega tive variation rates between 30 and 50% for the most realistic scenarios (RCP45 2050 and RCP45 2100). The effects on the decrease of water resources due to climate change are visible, therefore solutions related to water management and future services will be demanded.
... One estimate suggests that one fifth of the land in the country is vulnerable to turning into deserts whereas another report states that 31.5% of the total land area is already affected by desertification.* The Guadalentin river basin in southeastern Spain is an area that is prone to severe land degradation in many of its areas such as the Torrealvilla Catchment as well as the puentes Catchment area (ISIRC 2011;Hein 2007). ...
... Agricultural practices such as frequent tillage, increase in irrigation, as well as general overexploitation of aquifers, increase in population, tourism and land use subsidies are the important drivers of land degradation (ISIRC 2011). *Anderson (2007) (2011) and Hein (2007) India also is affected by land degradation. Harmonized estimates of degraded and wastelands in India reveal an area of approximately 120.72 M ha, covering both arable land and open forests. ...
... In a contribution to a better understanding of sustainable development paths in remote (rural) districts, Chapter 2 assumes that Mediterranean mountainous regions provide essential ecosystem services, such as water regulation, soil fertility, and biodiversity conservation Yang & Wu, 2010). Monitoring landscape evolution ensures the continued provision of such services (Antrop, 2000), now even more relevant under the increasing impact of climate change (Ribeiro Hoffmann et al., 2024)-that includes altered precipitation patterns, increasing aridity, and rising (air and soil) temperatures (D'Odorico et al., 2013;Hein, 2007;Yan & Cai, 2015). Using fieldwork, aerial photographs, and remote sensing data, some key ideas and interpretative frameworks guiding the readers in assessing the long-term development of mountainous regions prone to natural hazards and degradation are presented and discussed in Chapter 2. In this perspective, a case study in the Montes de Málaga rural region in Spain was established, where water scarcity is a significant issue and local communities are directly dependent on the environment quality for their livelihoods (Oñate & Peco, 2005;Zambon et al., 2019). ...
In this contribution, we reviewed recent findings in rural development and regional sustainability focusing on both environmental issues and socioeconomic dynamics with a specific focus on Southern Europe. Assuming territorial disparities as a basic engine of unsustainable development paths in the area, we discussed key ecological, social, and economic factors (e.g., population growth, urban sprawl, coastalization, agricultural intensification, and land abandonment) shaping physical quality and monetary value of land resources. According to this knowledge ground, we highlighted the intimate relationship between social processes, rural poverty, and territorial disparities based on complex dynamics of environmental and geo-economic drivers of change. The lack in multitarget and multiscale policies approaching together sustainable development, environmental quality, and territorial disparities was finally debated as an original contribution to the study of Mediterranean rural systems.
... Earlier studies have considered land quality and degradation as composite notions, and contributed to describe how one or more components of natural capital has (have) deteriorated overtime, either quantitatively or qualitatively (Barbier & Hochard, 2018;Barbier et al., 2016;Hein, 2007). Moreover, in recent years there seems to be an increasing interest in more systematic investigations of the socioeconomic factors that interact with natural capital (mainly soil and water) and that determine its possible degradation, through the use of both theoretical and empirical approaches (Huang et al., 2020;Wang et al., 2006). ...
The notion of “land capital” reflects multiple knowledge processes based on the kaleidoscopic interpretation and assessment of land resources that ecological and social sciences routinely develop in several theoretical assessments and operational exercises. Earlier studies have considered land quality and degradation as composite notions, and contributed to describe how one or more components of “land” capital has (have) deteriorated overtime, either quantitatively or qualitatively. Moreover, in recent years there seems to be an increasing interest in more systematic investigations of the socioeconomic factors that interact with natural capital (mainly soil and water) and that determine its possible degradation, through the use of both theoretical and empirical approaches. However, despite some scientific contributions, the relationship between sustainable rural development, land disparities and global changes (climate, soil, landscape) still appears to be underexplored. Based on these premises, we contribute the recent literature by (1) commenting on the distinctive development–environment relationship in different ecological and economic contexts, and (2) discussing the positive and normative importance of (rapidly changing) economic structures and selected socio-demographic characteristics at the base of this relationship. Assessing the drivers of socioeconomic convergence and divergence processes at the regional scale and evaluating the possible impact on the increasing spatial disparities in selected ecological backgrounds seem to be a valuable contribution to the environmental economics discipline with implications to sustainable development strategies. In this perspective, developmental policies are demonstrated the urgent need to incorporate measures reducing the impact of volatile changes in the economic base of a district—especially when a shift from traditional rural systems with low population density and limited accessibility to service-oriented, high-density territories is observed.
... Assuming the territory is a synergic and rapidly evolving system, where different productive, institutional, and contextual aspects act on environmental conditions, can significantly contribute to geographic information on environmental degradation indicating, through a multi-temporal approach, latent trends in soil depletion, since the predisposing factors act on generally different time scales [26]. For instance, human pressures generally act more rapidly than changes in climate, soil composition, vegetation, and landscape characteristics [42]. ...
Using descriptive and inferential techniques together with simplified metrics derived from the ecological discipline, we offer a long-term investigation of the Environmental Sensitive Area Index (ESAI) as a proxy of land degradation vulnerability in Italy. This assessment was specifically carried out on a decadal scale from 1960 to 2020 at the province (NUTS-3 sensu Eurostat) level and benefited from a short-term forecast for 2030, based on four simplified assumptions grounded on a purely deterministic (‘what … if’) approach. The spatial distribution of the ESAI was investigated at each observation year (1960, 1970, 1980, 1990, 2000, 2010, 2020, 2030) calculating descriptive statistics (central tendency, variability, and distribution shape), deviation from normality, and the increase (or decrease) in diversification in the index scores. Based on nearly 300 thousand observations all over Italy, provinces were considered representative spatial units because they include a relatively broad number of ESAI measures. Assuming a large sample size as a pre-requisite for the stable distribution of the most relevant moments of any statistical distribution—because of the convergence law underlying the central limit theorem—we found that the ESAI scores have increased significantly over time in both central values (i.e., means or medians) and variability across the central tendency (i.e., coefficient of variation). Additionally, ecological metrics reflecting diversification trends in the vulnerability scores delineated a latent shift toward a less diversified (statistical) distribution with a concentration of the observed values toward the highest ESAI scores—possibly reflecting a net increase in the level of soil degradation, at least in some areas. Multiple exploratory techniques (namely, a Principal Component Analysis and a two-way hierarchical clustering) were run on the two-way (data) matrix including distributional metrics (by columns) and temporal observations (by rows). The empirical findings of these techniques delineate the consolidation of worse predisposing conditions to soil degradation in recent times, as reflected in a sudden increase in the ESAI scores—both average and maximum values. These trends underline latent environmental dynamics leading to an early desertification risk, thus representing a valid predictive tool both in the present conditions and in future scenarios. A comprehensive scrutiny of past, present, and future trends in the ESAI scores using mixed (parametric and non-parametric) statistical tools proved to be an original contribution to the study of soil degradation in advanced economies.
... Cost-benefit analysis is one of those methods and it estimates the cost of converting agricultural land to forest or pasture as well as the cost of soil conservation methods such as terracing, diversion ditches, drainage tiles buffer strips or planting layouts especially in sloping areas etc. (Kuhlman et al. 2010;Bizoza and de Graaff 2012;Posthumus et al. 2015). Replacement cost, which calculates the cost of fertilisers used to reduce the productivity loss due to soil erosion, is one of the other different methods (Dixon et al. 1994;Bojo 1996;Hein 2007;Möller and Ranke 2006;Panagos et al. 2018). LPL is obtained by dividing severely eroded areas by total agricultural land, and CPL is found by multiplying the LPL value by the crop yield and crop planting area. ...
Soil erosion in vineyards in semi-arid lands is one of the major problems affecting crop productivity, and this issue is becoming crucial in Turkish vineyards with vulnerable structures in the Mediterranean region. Although there are several studies on viticulture, there are no studies evaluating the condition of the productivity of the vineyards in terms of soil erosion. In this study, the main goal is to estimate the land productivity loss (LPL) caused by water erosion and the consequent crop productivity loss (CLP) for agricultural fields and vineyards, which is significant with hazardous consequences. For this purpose, soil loss data derived by the revised universal soil loss equation (RUSLE) from the Water Erosion Atlas of Türkiye (2018) and land use data from CORINE (2018) were used. According to the study results, the country had a loss of an estimated 0.92% of land productivity due to water erosion, which is approximately 1.84 times higher than that in European Union countries. The LPL in vineyards was estimated at 1.07%, and those results highlight the significant estimation of the crop productivity loss in vineyards of around 9.4 million dollars annually.
... Land degradation costs (Sartori et al., 2019) are generally estimated considering productivity loss due to soil erosion. This 'first-order' cost evaluation derives from the land productivity loss (in-site effect) (Martínez-Casasnovas and Ramos, 2006;Erkossa et al., 2015;Hein, 2007) and is estimated by the product of loss in crop production (tonnes) and the average market price ($/tonnes). This approach neglects the 'second round', which considers other effects beyond the primary resource (off-site effects) such as the transport and deposition of eroded particles and associated nutrients. ...
The relevant erosive effects of extraordinary rainfall events due to climate change require establishing soil conservation strategies to prevent damages due to hydrogeological instability. The "tolerable" soil loss, i.e., the maximum soil loss compatible with sustainable soil use, represents a quantitative target to establish the effectiveness of actions to control soil erosion. In this paper, a new approach to defining the condition corresponding to a tolerable soil loss is proposed. At first, using the statistical analysis of the measured annual values of the rainfall erosivity factor, the cover and management factor C T , for which the maximum tolerable soil loss is equal to the annual soil loss of given return period T, is defined. Then, for the Sicilian region, a relationship between the C T factor obtained for T = 1000 years and the mean annual value of the rainfall erosivity factor, R, is established. For a given value C of the cover and management factor, this relationship allows for the establishment of the corresponding mean annual rainfall erosivity factor, named R land-use. The result C ≤ C T for T = 1000 years is obtained for areas with R ≤ R land-use , and the compliance with soil loss tolerance is then assured. Conversely, for areas characterized by R > R land-use , the reduction of C to a value less than C T for T = 1000 years is required to obtain a tolerable soil loss condition. Finally, for the Sicilian region, the overlay between the C spatial distribution for arable lands (mainly cereals and legumes) and areas covered by vineyards, derived from the land use map, and the C T spatial distribution allowed to define areas in which tolerable soil loss conditions occur or soil conservation strategies are required.
... Estimation of land degradation costs [27] is generally carried out considering productivity loss due to soil erosion. This 'first-order' cost evaluation focuses simply on agricultural production losses [28][29][30] and the economic value of land productivity loss is estimated by the loss in crop production (tonnes) multiplied by the average market price ($/tonnes). This approach neglects the 'second round' which takes into account other effects beyond the primary resource as the land factor. ...
Soil erosion by water, and the consequent loss of a non-renewable resource, is a relevant environmental issue which has economic, ecologic, and social repercussions. In the context of the European Green Deal, the increasing awareness of soil Ecosystem Services is leading to give the due relevance to this problem. Notwithstanding the recent soil conservation strategies adopted by the Common Agricultural Policy had positive effects, the concern regarding this topic is drastically increasing for the normalization of extraordinary rainfall events due to climate change. Recent events occurred in Europe demonstrated that landscape protection is often inadequate and interventions to prevent damages due to hydrogeological instability are scarce.
The determination of a “tolerable” soil loss TSL is useful to establish a quantitative standard to measure the effectiveness of strategies and techniques to control soil erosion. However, soil conservation strategies/works designed by the mean annual value of the climatic variable, as the rainfall erosivity factor R, are not appropriate for some erosive events which produce intolerable sediment yield values. Therefore, the adoption of an adequate TSL, which could help to ensure the protection of soil functions and a sustainable soil use, should be a primary goal to reach for policy makers.
In this paper, a new method to define the tolerable soil loss is proposed. This approach is based on the statistical analysis of the measured annual values of R and leads to the determination of the cover and management factor for which the maximum tolerable soil loss is equal to the annual soil loss of given return period. The analysis demonstrated that to limit soil erosion to the tolerable soil loss, interventions to change land use, reduce field length or apply support practices can be carried out.
... The value of arable land is determined by its fertility rate and ability to provide nutrients for crop growth (Capra et al., 2015). According to the public opinion and numerous studies, the fertility factor is found in the three elements nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium (Gulati and Rai, 2014;Hein, 2007). These elements enable soil chemical reactions, allowing for food exchange and the absorption of other elements in plants. ...
Improper use of chemical fertilizers has led to land degradation. Organic crops, which are farmed using organic fertilizers to reduce the negative environmental effects, are considered an alternative solution to develop the ecosystem health and improve the soil. There are different sources of organic fertilizers. This research aimed to study the feasibility of reusing the sediments of the Latian Dam reservoir in Iran as an organic fertilizer to revitalize agricultural soil on a commercial scale. The correlation of elements to sediments was first demonstrated using the regression method. The Mann-Kendall trend test was then used to examine the data trend. The use of a time series method to predict the five-year sediment amount and its NPK (nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium) content allowed for the creation of a sample year for future research. Finally, the economic value of the elements was calculated using the replacement cost method, and cost-benefit analyses were also carried out. The results indicated that the reuse of dam reservoir sediments not only leads to considerable profits but also makes it possible to save foreign exchange by restricting imports and increasing the inflow of foreign exchange through the export of organic fertilizers.
... In addition, carbon runoff of median 107 kg ha −1 yr −1 and 72 kg ha −1 yr −1 in maize and wheat fields might add additional costs through nutrient replacement efforts such as manure application. On a global scale, the relative fertiliser replacement costs might be too low to incentivise farmers to introduce soil conservation measures, but they can be considerably higher for vulnerable areas (Hein, 2007). ...
Water erosion can degrade soils and reduce agricultural productivity. Global modelling studies are increasingly used to explore the potential impacts of environmental change, especially climate change, on crop yields. Despite its impact on crops and its direct link to the climate system, water erosion has not previously been considered in projections of the impacts of climate change on global crop yields. Similarly, global water erosion assessments have not considered how water erosion affects crops, and vice versa. This thesis identifies a method to estimate global water erosion patterns and evaluates it using a global database of erosion measurements. It then examines the global potential impacts of erosion on maize and wheat yields, and explores how these might be affected by climate change in the future. The Environmental Policy Integrated Climate (EPIC) crop model is used with global datasets on soil, topography, climate and field management to estimate erosion and its impacts on crop yields. Estimates using weather data for the years 1980–2010 suggest that water erosion reduced maize and wheat yields by 3% annually in around half of global arable land under current land management regimes. The estimated annual maize and wheat production losses due to water erosion accounted for less than 1% of the global production volume. However, water erosion in maize and wheat fields at low latitudes is likely to increase in the future due to the adverse effects of climate change on both crops. Uncertainties remain about estimates of water erosion that need to be addressed through better integration of models and observations. Nevertheless, the integrated biophysical modelling framework developed in this study can provide a link between robust estimates of water erosion, economics, and policy making that have so far been lacking in global agricultural assessments.
... The study was performed in Murcia Region (Southeast Spain), an area characterized by a Mediterranean subtropical climate ( Figure 1). Its altitudinal heterogeneity (0-2000 m) and the influence of the sea are responsible for the presence of most of the bioclimatic zones of the Mediterranean region, with six different bioclimatic levels and three ombroclimates, being dominant the semi-arid ombroclimate, with rainfall ranging from 300 to 600 mm per year, in addition to a high annual potential evapotranspiration that ranges between 800 and 1300 mm (Hein, 2007). Traditional agroforestry ecosystems, although increasingly threatened due to low productivity and socioeconomic changes, Region. ...
The role of red fox as host for a wide range of parasites, particularly fleas and other arthropods causing vector‐borne diseases, in combination with its capability to adapt to anthropized environments, makes this wild canid an epidemiologically remarkable species at the wildlife–domestic–human interface, especially in the present time of rise of emerging and re‐emerging diseases. This study evaluated the prevalence and parasite intensity of fleas in 88 foxes from Murcia Region (Southeastern Spain) and determined the geographic distribution of areas with the highest potential risk of flea presence. Pulex irritans, Ctenocephalides felis, Spilopsyllus cuniculi and Nosopsyllus fasciatus were identified. The overall prevalence was 76.13%. This is the first time that N. fasciatus has been reported in foxes from Murcia Region. The predictive model established a certain pattern to determine the areas with the highest risk of acquiring fleas. Positive correlation of daily potential evapotranspiration (ET0) in winter and the opposite effect occurring for ET0 in summer were obtained, as well as positive correlations for mean daily temperature (Tmean) in summer and mean precipitation (Pmean) in winter and summer. The model was also found positively correlated in the forest habitat ecotone areas and the anthropized areas. Environmental factors influencing flea occurrence in foxes from semi‐arid Mediterranean areas
... Several studies have analysed the ES of forests in the Mediterranean region (Croitoru and Merlo 2005;Croitoru 2007;Górriz-Mifsud et al. 2016), in Spain (Campos et al. 2005;Esteban 2010), or in certain ecosystems, such as agroforests (Campos and Mariscal 2003;Mesa et al. 2016;Campos et al. 2020) or pine forests (Caparrós et al. 2001;Campos et al. 2021), and there are also partial studies focusing on aspects such as soil and erosion (Colombo and Calatrava 2003;Hein 2007) or recreation (Caparrós and Campos 2002;Voces et al. 2010). Other studies compare management alternatives associated with payments for ecosystem services (PES), such as carbon sequestration versus water harvesting (Ovando et al. 2019) or timber production (Enriquez-de-Salamanca 2021). ...
Forests provide market and non-market priced ecosystem services (ES). Mediterranean forests, with low timber productivity, have frequently negative economic balances, despite their significant ES production. Forest planning tools accurately account for the investments required to maintain forests, but not for benefits, because they only include market ES but not non-market ones. The aim of this study is to analyse the economic balance for five Spanish forests, incorporating actual operating and maintenance costs, and benefits from both market ES (which are currently being accounted for) and non-market ES (currently not considered). Non-market priced ES included are carbon sequestration, erosion control, watershed protection, biodiversity conservation, landscape protection and recreation. At present, all forests studied are loss-making, with losses of 60–370 €/ha·yr. The valuation and inclusion into the economic balances of all ES would result in a positive balance of 130–938 €/ha·year, which would imply an opportunity cost of using the land in forestry of 3%, higher in public forests than in private ones due to the recreational use of the former. Market-priced ES only represent around 1% of the total, due to the lack of timber production. Valuation of ES is a useful tool to highlight the benefits of forest ecosystems, and the need to maintain them. A major challenge is to convert this economic valuation into actual income.
... Since there is no market price for SOM, TN, and TP, the market value method converts the price of fertilizer containing the same amount of nutrients into the price of SOM, TN, and TP. The logic behind this method is to calculate the loss of nutrients and put a value on it by using the equivalent cost of commercial fertilizer (Graves et al., 2015;Hein, 2007). The decrease in soil productivity caused by wind erosion is equivalent to chemical fertilizer, and the economic loss calculated by the market method is widely used assessing of desertification disasters (Guo et al., 2006;Zhao et al., 2016). ...
Wind erosion causes significant dust emissions in northwest China, resulting in large amounts of soil organic matter and nutrient losses. It has a significant impact on air quality, climate change, vegetation growth, and economic growth at the regional scale. In this work, the Weather Research Forecasting with Chemistry atmospheric chemical transport model was used to simulate the temporal and spatial processes of dust emissions in northwest China from 1980 to 2015. The temporal and spatial variation characteristics of the loss of soil organic matter and nutrients (total nitrogen and total phosphorus) due to dust emissions, and the economic damage from wind erosion, were simulated and calculated. Spatial patterns of soil organic matter and nutrient losses are consistent with dust emission rates across the research region. The average annual dust emissions were approximately 65.17 million tons, with losses of soil organic matter, total nitrogen, and total phosphorus resulting from dust emissions of 531,494 tons, 30,754 tons, and 37,095 tons, respectively. In addition, the average annual economic loss caused by wind erosion was 309.25 million yuan in northwest China during the entire study period. This research is valuable for understanding the role of wind erosion on the carbon and nutrient cycles and the mechanism of soil degradation in northwest China and estimating the economic impacts of wind erosion.
... In addition, carbon runoff of median 107 kg ha − 1 yr − 1 and 72 kg ha − 1 yr − 1 in maize and wheat fields might add additional costs through nutrient replacement efforts such as manure application. On a global scale, the relative fertilizer replacement costs might be too low to incentivise farmers to introduce soil conservation measures, but they can be considerably higher for vulnerable areas (Hein, 2007). For a comprehensive assessment of water erosion impacts, off-site impacts on surrounding environments such as the pollution of surface water and emission of greenhouse gases also need to be considered (Chappell et al., 2016;Tilman et al., 2001). ...
Water erosion removes soil nutrients, soil carbon, and in extreme cases can remove topsoil altogether. Previous studies have quantified crop yield losses from water erosion using a range of methods, applied mostly to single plots or fields, and cannot be systematically compared. This study assesses the worldwide impact of water erosion on maize and wheat production using a global gridded modeling approach for the first time. The EPIC crop model is used to simulate the global impact of water erosion on maize and wheat yields, from 1980 to 2010, for a range of field management strategies. Maize and wheat yields were reduced by a median of 3% annually in grid cells affected by water erosion, which represent approximately half of global maize and wheat cultivation areas. Water erosion reduces the annual global production of maize and wheat by 8.9 million tonnes and 5.6 million tonnes, with a value of 0.9bn. As cropland most affected by water erosion is outside major maize and wheat production regions, the production losses account for less than 1% of the annual global production by volume. Countries with heavy rainfall, hilly agricultural regions and low fertilizer use are most vulnerable to water erosion. These characteristics are most common in South and Southeast Asia, sub-Saharan Africa and South and Central America. Notable uncertainties remain around large-scale water erosion estimates that will need to be addressed by better integration of models and observations. Yet, an integrated bio-physical modeling framework – considering plant growth, soil processes and input requirements – as presented herein can provide a link between robust water erosion estimates, economics and policy-making so far lacking in global agricultural assessments.
... Barrow & Mogaka, 2007;Emerton et al., 2009;O'Farrell et al., 2011) or on the costs of dryland degradation (i.e. Barrow, 1991;Hein, 2007). Two valuation studies included in the database had relatively many observations (i.e. ...
This paper describes the economic value of drylands based on both an exploratory analysis and a meta-analysis of a comprehensive dryland valuation database. Based on 314 observations from 57 case studies, this database estimated the economic value of a broad range of dryland services to vary between 0.07-405,829 Int/ha/yr. Several meta-regression models were used to analyze using a subset of the database of 147 observations from 24 case studies. They could explain 46% of variation in estimated dryland value. The most important explanatory variables included the context variables GDP per capita and dryland area size, and the study characteristics including valuation methods, dryland services and dryland ecosystems. Significant methodological heterogeneity was found between direct market pricing, cost-based methods, travel cost and contingent valuation. Most remarkably, a negative correlation was found between dryland value and GDP per capita, indicating that drylands are of importance for low income countries. Consequently, sustainable dryland management appears to be vital for low income countries, especially since dryland degradation and desertification are expected to increase due to foreseen climate change and an increased demand for food security.
... Rather they were identified of being located in an arid region during compilation of this database. Nevertheless, several case studies focus specifically on dryland valuation, including (Barrow & Mogaka, 2007;Emerton et al., 2009;O'Farrell et al., 2011), while others focus on the costs of dryland degradation, including (Barrow, 1991;Hein, 2007). ...
Drylands are under increasing pressure from land degradation and desertification because of increased population growth and food demand. Drylands provide multiple ecosystem services, though their economic value is not fully captured in markets and consequently not included in policy and decision making. This study is the first meta-analysis that investigates dryland value by means of synthesizing dryland valuation studies identify variables that can explain variability in dryland value. A comprehensive database was compiled consisting of 314 observations derived from 60 dryland valuation studies. Apart from the study characteristics including dryland value, dryland service, valuation method, continent, ecosystem type, year of value, dryland size and aridity, additionally socioeconomic variables of GDP per capita and population density were recorded. Drylands have an annual average value of 5,640 Int. $ 2007 per hectare. A meta-regression model was analyzed, that can explain 45% of variability in dryland value. A range of variables explain variation in dryland value, including socioeconomic context, dryland size, year of value and dummy variables for continents, valuation methods, ecosystem types and dryland services. The present study clearly demonstrates that dryland value can be made explicit by means of economic valuation of dryland services. The low degree of development in countries with a high dryland extent appears to play an important role in extensive use of drylands, which prevents dryland degradation. More dryland valuation studies are needed, as the number of valuation studies with a dryland focus is severely limited. Future dryland meta-analysis studies, consistent in economic concepts and valuation methods, can create benefit transfer functions for application in cost-benefit analysis for decision making.
... Even today, albeit at a slower pace, rural-urban internal migrations are intense [49]. The relationship between the bearing capacity of the ecosystem, population density, and land degradation appears in many ways controversial even if, in conditions of aridity and poor soil fertility, rapid population growth can lead to generalized poverty conditions, accelerating social disparities [50]. ...
Land degradation is more evident where conditions of environmental vulnerability already exist because of arid climate and unsustainable forms of land exploitation. Consequently, semi-arid and dry areas have been identified as vulnerable land, requiring attention from both science and policy perspectives. In some regions, such as the Mediterranean region, land degradation is particularly intense, although there are no extreme ecological conditions. In these contexts, a wide range of formal and informal responses is necessary to face particularly complex and spatially differentiated territorial processes. However, the fit of responses has been demonstrated to be different over time and space according to the underlying socioeconomic context and the specific ecological conditions. The present commentary discusses this sort of "entropy" in the policy response to land degradation in Southern Europe, outlining the intrinsic complexity of human-nature dynamics at the base of such processes. Reflecting the need of differentiated regional strategies and more specific national measures to combat desertification, three policy frameworks (agro-environmental, economic, social) with an indirect impact on fighting land degradation have been considered, delineating the importance of policy assemblages. Finally, the importance of policy impact assessment methodologies was highlighted, focusing on the possible responses reinforcing a continental strategy against land degradation. By evidencing the role of participatory planning, developmental policies indirectly addressing land degradation reveal to be an important vector of more specific measures abating desertification risk, creating, in turn, a favorable context for direct interventions of mitigation or adaptation to climate change.
... While-in a pure, Malthusian perspective-land resource scarcity resulting from population growth has caused land-use conflicts up to recent past, degradation narratives may themselves cause aliment in present and future conflicts, legitimizing the way for agricultural investments (e.g., land grabbing) [88]. At the same time, environmental conservation measures under a "purely green" economy seems to be more effective than traditional strategies (like those illustrated above) because of the joint leverage of technology and incentives to green productions [89]. ...
Assuming the importance of a “socioeconomic mosaic” influencing soil and land degradation at the landscape scale, spatial contexts should be considered in the analysis of desertification risk as a base for the design of appropriate counteracting strategies. A holistic approach grounded on a multi-scale qualitative and quantitative assessment is required to identify optimal development strategies regulating the socioeconomic dimensions of land degradation. In the last few decades, the operational thinking at the base of a comprehensive, holistic theory of land degradation evolved toward many different conceptual steps. Moving from empirical, qualitative and unstructured frameworks to a more structured, rational and articulated thinking, such theoretical approaches have been usually oriented toward complex and non-linear dynamics benefiting from progressive and refined approximations. Based on these premises, eleven disciplinary approaches were identified and commented extensively on in the present study, and were classified along a gradient of increasing complexity, from more qualitative and de-structured frameworks to more articulated, non-linear thinking aimed at interpreting the intrinsic fragmentation and heterogeneity of environmental and socioeconomic processes underlying land degradation. Identifying, reviewing and classifying such approaches demonstrated that the evolution of global thinking in land degradation was intimately non-linear, developing narrative and deductive approaches together with inferential, experimentally oriented visions. Focusing specifically on advanced economies in the world, our review contributes to systematize multiple—sometimes entropic—interpretations of desertification processes into a more organized framework, giving value to methodological interplays and specific interpretations of the latent processes underlying land degradation.
... For instance, contour ploughing was indicated as cost-neutral by the involved stakeholders in the Selke catchment. This might (Posthumus et al., 2015;Stevens et al., 2009) or might not (Hein, 2007) be the case in different contexts. In light of studies providing CERs of similar measures, the performance of wetlands in the Helge catchment (€65 CERN, €1,210 CERP) falls into the CER-ranges described in BalticSTERN (2013), but are above other estimates in Sweden (with a CERs of €17.5 kg -1 N in Hasler et al., 2014; or between ca. ...
Excessive nutrient loadings into rivers are a well-known ecological problem. Implemented mitigation measures should ideally be cost-effective, but perfectly ranking alternative nutrient mitigation measures according to cost-effectiveness is a difficult methodological challenge. Furthermore, a particularly practical challenge is that cost-effective measures are not necessarily favoured by local stakeholders, and this may impede their successful implementation in practice. The objective of this study was to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of mitigation measures using a methodology that includes a participatory process and social learning to ensure their successful implementation. By combining cost data, hydrological modelling and a bottom-up approach for three different European catchment areas (the Latvian Berze, the Swedish Helge and the German Selke rivers), the cost-effectiveness of 16 nutrient mitigation measures were analysed under current conditions as well as under selected scenarios for future climate and land-use changes. Fertiliser reduction, wetlands, contour ploughing and municipal wastewater treatment plants are the measures that remove nutrients with the highest cost-effectiveness in the respective case study context. However, the results suggest that the cost-effectiveness of measures not only depends on their design, specific location and the conditions of the surrounding area, but is also affected by the future changes the area may be exposed to. Climate and land-use changes do not only affect the cost-effectiveness of measures, but also shape the overall nutrient loads and potential target levels in a catchment.
... According to FAO data [17], nearly 30 per cent of forest land, 20 per cent of cropland and 10 per cent of pastures have undergone land/soil degradation in recent times. and regional) socioeconomic processes can be seen as relevant drivers of land degradation [49][50][51]. Ecological complexity and the socioeconomic fragmentation of local systems experiencing land degradation are serious limitations to the development of refined empirical approaches and efficient mitigation strategies over appropriate time windows [52][53][54][55]. For instance, considering enough long time intervals, land-use transformations depend not only on urbanization, industrialization, tourism development, and crop intensification, but are also increasingly influenced by depopulation, economic marginalization, and land abandonment in rural districts [56][57][58][59]. ...
Land degradation is perceived worldwide as a key process of resource depletion, representing a paradigmatic issue in national and supra-national political agendas for the 21st century in both advanced and emerging economies. Trying to delineate a ‘new lexicon of land degradation’, the present study contributes to a holistic thinking of driving forces in local communities and regional contexts through a refined analysis and discussion of (apparent and latent) factors of land degradation. Rethinking the importance of five notions (time, space, scale, systems, and response) having an intimate linkage with land degradation allows a refined understanding of socio-environmental dynamics and the most appropriate actions to combat (or mitigate) land resource depletion. The conclusions summarize the rationale proposed in this work, and provide a brief outlook on future research addressing land degradation, its drivers and consequences.
... Several studies provide values for the total costs of soil erosion for single countries (e.g. FAO 1994, Pimentel, Harvey et al. 1995b, Pretty, Brett et al. 2000b, Stocking 2001, Hein 2007. They are based on the different on-and off-site damages incurred due to soil erosion. ...
Approximately one-third of all food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted. The economic costs of this food wastage are substantial and amount to about USD 1 trillion each year. However, the hidden costs of food wastage extend much further. Food that is produced, but never consumed, still causes environmental impacts to the atmosphere, water, land and biodiversity. These environmental costs must be paid by society and future generations. Furthermore, by contributing to environmental degradation and increasing the scarcity of natural resources, food wastage is associated with wider social costs that affect people’s well-being and livelihoods. Quantifying the full costs of food wastage improves our understanding of the global food system and enables action to address supply chain weaknesses and disruptions that are likely to threaten the viability of future food systems, food security and sustainable development.
This document introduces a methodology that enables the full-cost accounting (FCA) of the food wastage footprint. Based on the best knowledge and techniques available, FCA measures and values in monetary terms the externality costs associated with the environmental impacts of food wastage. The FCA framework incorporates several elements: market-based valuation of the direct financial costs, non-market valuation of lost ecosystems goods and services, and well-being valuation to assess the social costs associated with natural resource degradation.
To demonstrate the proposed FCA methodology, this study undertakes a preliminary assessment of the full costs of food wastage on a global scale. In addition to the USD 1 trillion of economic costs per year, environmental costs reach around USD 700 billion and social costs around USD 900 billion. Particularly salient environmental and social costs of food wastage include:
• 3.5 Gt CO2e of greenhouse gas emissions. Based on the social cost of carbon, these are estimated to cause USD 394 billion of damages per year. • Increased water scarcity, particularly for dry regions and seasons. Globally, this is estimated to cost USD 164 billion per year. • Soil erosion due to water is estimated to cost USD 35 billion per year through nutrient loss, lower yields, biological losses and off-site damages. The cost of wind erosion may be of a similar magnitude. • Risks to biodiversity including the impacts of pesticide use, nitrate and phosphorus eutrophication, pollinator losses and fisheries overexploitation are estimated to cost USD 32 billion per year. • Increased risk of conflict due to soil erosion, estimated to cost USD 396 billion per year. • Loss of livelihoods due to soil erosion, estimated to cost USD 333 billion per year. • Adverse health effects due to pesticide exposure, estimated to cost USD 153 billion per year.
FCA gives an indication of the true magnitude of the economic, environmental and social costs of food wastage: USD 2.6 trillion annually, roughly equivalent to the GDP of France, or approximately twice total annual food expenditure in the USA. However, these results must be treated with a degree of caution as the calculation of non-market environmental and social costs of food wastage on a global scale requires a number of strong assumptions. The total environmental and social costs that have been calculated in this study are most likely to represent an informed underestimate as many impacts could not be included because of a lack of data or appropriate methodologies.
Further research should focus on specific contexts, at national or supply chain level. The FCA framework can serve as a template for more targeted research to inform mitigation policies. To assess the optimum level of food waste reduction for societies, it will be important to incorporate economic equilibrium analysis to simulate the interactions between food supply, prices, income and welfare in a dynamic economy. A further priority is to improve aspects of the social cost estimates. For instance, it is difficult to determine the exact impact of environmental conditions on individual well-being; many of the environmental variables associated with food wastage are highly correlated while others may not accurately measure the effect on well-being that is intended. We focus on three pathways to value environmental impacts on conflict, health and livelihoods, but there are likely to be many more. While our preliminary estimates are based on the best methods and data that are currently available, future work may be able to add missing pieces of the puzzle to further refine current estimates.
By unveiling the hidden environmental and social costs of food wastage, FCA provides an illustration of the market distortions in the global food system. These costs are real and they demand action. Despite the uncertainties that remain, it is apparent that food waste mitigation makes sense from economic, environmental and social perspectives. For future population scenarios, food wastage mitigation could play a crucial role in assuring food availability while respecting critical planetary boundaries.
... With one notable exception , a typical feature of the aforementioned studies is that they carry out a 'first-order' cost evaluation exercise focusing on agricultural production losses (Martínez-Casasnovas and Ramos, 2006;Erkossa et al., 2015;Hein, 2007). More specifically, the economic value of land productivity loss is calculated by the direct loss in production of the affected crops (tonnes) multiplied by their respective average market prices ($/tonnes). ...
Employing a linkage between a biophysical and an economic model, this study estimates the economic impact of soil erosion by water on the world economy. The global biophysical model estimates soil erosion rates, which are converted into land productivity losses and subsequently inserted into a global market simulation model. The headline result is that soil erosion by water is estimated to incur a global annual cost of eight billion US dollars to global GDP. The concomitant impact on food security is to reduce global agri-food production by 33.7 million tonnes with accompanying rises in agri-food world prices of 0.4%–3.5%, depending on the food product category. Under pressure to use more marginal land, abstracted water volumes are driven upwards by an estimated 48 billion cubic meters. Finally, there is tentative evidence that soil erosion is accelerating the competitive shifts in comparative advantage on world agri-food markets.
... In terms of production, based on statistics from (FAO 1995) and Lal (2001) estimated a loss of more than 10% of world food production due to soil erosion. In economic terms, the estimation of the total cost of soil erosion was U$45 billion year -1 at the European level (Montanarella 2007), and U$5-66 ha -1 year -1 in a case study in Spain (Hein 2007). The results in Estepa showed that olive grove production and the benefits for farmers were highly affected by accelerated soil erosion. ...
Context
In the Andalusia region (Spain), olive grove agro-systems cover a wide area, forming social-ecological landscapes. Recent socioeconomic changes have increased the vulnerability of these landscapes, resulting in the abandonment and intensification of farms. The provision of the main ecosystem services of these landscapes have thus been degraded.
Objectives
To analyse the sustainability of an olive grove social-ecological landscape in Andalusia. Specifically, to develop a quantitative model proposing land planning and management scenarios, considering abandonment, production and economic benefits of olive crops in different conditions of erosion and management.
Methods
We applied a dynamic model using agronomic and economic data, to evaluate different types of olive management. We considered different levels of erosion, the loss of production related to this erosion, and useful life spans for each type of management. We simulated scenarios for the long-term assessment of dynamics of crops, abandonment rate, production and benefits.
Results
(a) There was a loss of productive lands and benefits in the medium term in the more intensive crops. (b) Scenarios that partially incorporated ecological management proved to be more sustainable without economic subsidies. (c) The spatial combination of integrated, intensive and ecological plots was sustainable, and was well balanced from an economic, productive and ecological point of view.
Conclusions
Scenarios that partially incorporate ecological management allowed the best economic and environmental balance. However, to ensure the sustainability of olive landscapes, farmers should be financially rewarded for their role in the conservation of ecosystem services through landscape stewardship and direct environmental payments.
... Hence, is necessary to prevent erosion or to rehabilitate already eroded areas, especially those that have highest erosion rates and contribute most to off-site damages by sedimentation and floods. The use of an ES approach to gully control, where the multiple impacts and costs of degradation are considered, may allow a more appropriate assessment of the actual costbenefit ratio for the farmer and for society as a whole (Hein 2007). ...
Gully erosion causes severe damage to crops and infrastructures and affects the provision of ecosystem services worldwide. To assess the potential of gully control measures to protect ecosystem services and assess the conditions required for their large-scale implementation, this paper critically evaluates a range of gully control measures documented in the World Overview of Conservation Approaches and Technologies (WOCAT). Environmental and socio-economic impacts of technologies are assessed, as well as the implications for ecosystem services, costs and benefits of implementation, and stakeholder’s perception. It is demonstrated how gully control measures provide notable on-site and off-site benefits for socio-economic, cultural, ecological, and production goals, and to protect crucial ecosystem services. Control measures particularly contribute to soil and water conservation and to regulating ecosystem services by controlling soil erosion, water cycling, and natural hazards. Most effective control measures consist of combined vegetative and structural measures and of catchment wide interventions. While implementation of gully control can initially be expensive, on the long term, the cost-benefit ratio is usually positive. Moreover, the results emphasize the importance of evaluating control measures considering monetary aspects and all ecosystem services they provide. Nevertheless, individual farmers can often not afford the implementation and maintenance costs due to barriers for implementation and therefore require sustained institutional support.
... Die meisten Studien beschäftigen sich mit Nährstoffverlust durch Bodenerosion (wie z.B. BISHOP, ALLEN 1989, PIMENTEL et al. 1995, HEIN 2007. Durch den Bodenabtrag gehen Bödenschichten und die darin enthaltenen Nährstoffe verloren und es verursacht Wertverlust des Bodens. ...
Zurzeit steht die Landwirtschaft vor großen Herausforderungen. Es muss die wachsende Nachfrage nach Nahrungsmitteln gedeckt werden und gleichzeitig sollen wachsende Ansprüche an die Qualität der Produkte erfüllt, die Ressourcen effizient genutzt und dabei die Verminderung von Umweltbelastungen auf lange Sicht sichergestellt werden. Deswegen gewinnt das Konzept einer nachhaltigen Entwicklung und nachhaltigen Landwirtschaft in der internationalen Diskussion immer mehr an Bedeutung. Der Aspekt der Nachhaltigkeit wird in der Kommunikation mit der Gesellschaft und der Politik immer wichtiger. Auch für die landwirtschaftlichen Unternehmen wird die Forderung nach Nachhaltigkeit immer stärker. Es gibt aber kein weltweit akzeptiertes Verständnis davon, was nachhaltige Landwirtschaft bedeutet. In Russland fehlt auch ein einheitliches Verständnis von Nachhaltigkeit und vom Nachhaltigkeitskonzept in der Landwirtschaft. Die vorliegende Arbeit hat deshalb zum Ziel, das Leitbild einer nachhaltigen Landwirtschaft allgemein und im speziellen in Russland darzustellen und Ansatzpunkte für dessen Implementierung aufzuzeigen. Es ist nicht bekannt, wie der aktuelle Stand der Nachhaltigkeit landwirtschaftlicher Betriebe in Russland ist. Um diese Fragestellung umfassend beantworten zu können, wurden 20 landwirtschaftliche Betriebe in der Region Tambov in Russland befragt und analysiert. Dafür wurde das Programm RISE - eine indikatorbasierte Methode zur ganzheitlichen Bewertung der Nachhaltigkeit der landwirtschaftlichen Produktion auf Betriebsebene - angewendet. Die verbesserte Version RISE 2.0 beurteilt die ökologische, ökonomische und soziale Nachhaltigkeit der landwirtschaftlichen Produktion anhand von zehn Indikatoren, die aus je vier bis sieben Parametern berechnet werden. Die Ergebnisse der vorliegenden Arbeit zeigen, dass alle befragten Betriebe in der Region Tambov Defizite im ökologischen, sozialen und ökonomischen Bereich haben. Die gesamte RISE-Einschätzung hat gezeigt, dass die Nachhaltigkeit durch verschiedene Aspekte in den Bereichen Bodenschutz, Nährstoffflüsse, Pflanzenschutz und Biodiversität, Arbeitsbedingungen, Lebensqualität und Wirtschaftliche Lebensfähigkeit eingeschränkt wird. Die aktuelle Wirtschaftsweise kann im Hinblick auf diese Bereiche verbessert werden. Mit Hilfe der RISE-Bewertung wurde erkannt, dass der ökologische Aspekt der Nachhaltigkeit auf den befragten Be-trieben besonders defizitär ist, insbesondere die Bodennutzung. Es konnte festgestellt werden, dass die landwirtschaftliche Bewirtschaftung den Bodenzustand sehr negativ beeinflusst. Deswegen ist es sehr wichtig, politischen Entscheidungsträgern und Landwirten die gesamte volkswirtschaftlichen Folgen der Bodendegradation aufzuzeigen und diese mit Zahlen quantitativ und konkreten Beispielen zu vermitteln. In dieser Arbeit wurden auch die Kosten für die Verschlechterung der Bodenqualität infolge von Wassererosion berechnet. Die Ergebnisse der vorliegenden Studie zeigen, dass sich die möglichen Kosten für die Verschlechterung der Bodenqualität infolge von Wassererosion in der Region Tambov von 8,5 bis 8,8 Mio. Euro pro Jahr, in der Region Volgograd auf 152 Mio. Euro pro Jahr und in Russland 2,49 Mrd. Euro pro Jahr belaufen könnten. Hierbei handelt es sich aber wegen fehlender quantitativer und qualitativer Daten um Annahmen. Jedoch haben selbst grobe Schätzungen gezeigt, dass zunehmende Bodendegradation zu Nutzeneinbußen und Wohlfahrtsverlusten in Russland führt und es dringend notwendig ist, in die nachhaltige Bodennutzung zu investieren. Die agrarwissenschaftliche Forschung hat bereits einige Bodenschutzmaßnah-men entwickelt und wissenschaftlich begleitet. Oftmals werden aber die vor-handenen Möglichkeiten der bodenschonenden Bearbeitung nicht eingesetzt. In dieser Studie wurde eine Kosten-Nutzen-Analyse für Bodenschutzmaßnahmen durchgeführt. Auch konnte nachgewiesen werden, dass es zahlreiche Möglichkeiten gibt, durch ackerbauliche Maßnahmen Bodenschutz zu leisten ohne dass dabei hohe Kosten entstehen. Dazu gehören bodenschonende Bodenbearbeitung, die Versorgung mit organischen Düngern, Zwischenfrüchte zur Gründüngung und Körnerleguminosen in der Fruchtfolge. Die fördernden Rahmenbedingungen (institutionelle, finanzielle, politische so-wie Wissensmanagement und Informationsfluss) für die Bekämpfung der Land-degradation in Russland wurden aufgezeigt. Zudem lassen sich Empfehlungen für die landwirtschaftliche Praxis, Beratung, Verwaltung und Politik ableiten um die Nachhaltigkeit, insbesondere nachhaltige Bodennutzung, der russischen Landwirtschaft zu verbessern. Wie es oben erwähnt wurde, haben diese Maßnahmen einen höheren einzelbetrieblichen Nutzen als dadurch anfallende Kosten. Dies sollte die Betriebsleiter dazu ermutigen, Vorurteile gegenüber Umweltauflagen abzubauen und sich mit dem Bodenschutz zu beschäftigen. Bei den Landwirten muss sich ein stärkeres Bodenbewusstsein für den wichtigsten Produktionsfaktor herausbilden. Für die Beratungsorganisationen wird empfohlen, die Kommunikation von Bodenschutzmaßnahmen zu verbessern und die Umsetzung von Forschungsergebnissen zu optimieren. Politik und Verwaltung müssen politische Rahmenbedingungen für den Bodenschutz in Russland gestalten, um die Anwendung von Bodenschutzmaßnahmen zu verbreiten. Dies kann durch die direkte Unterstützung bei der Anwendung von nachhaltigen Technologien erreicht werden. Das ermutigt und schafft zusätzliche Motivation umweltschonende Techniken und Praktiken zu benutzen.
... Recent studies (Martinez-Casanovas & Ramos, 2006;Hein, 2007) have addressed this topic at local/regional scale. The productivity loss method estimates the losses of crop yields due to erosion and quantifies the economic loss by taking into account prices of crops. ...
Much research has been carried out on modelling soil erosion rates under different climatic and land use conditions. While some studies have addressed the issue of reduced crop productivity due to soil erosion, few have focused on the economic loss in terms of agricultural production and Gross Domestic Product(GDP). In this study, soil erosion modellers and economists come together to carry out an economic evaluation of soil erosion in the European Union(EU). The study combines bio-physical and macroeconomic models to estimate the cost of agricultural productivity loss due to soil erosion by water in the EU. The soil erosion rates, derived from the RUSLE2015 model, are used to estimate the loss in crop productivity (physical change in the production of plants) and to model their impact on the agricultural sector per country. A Computable General Equilibrium(CGE) model is then used to estimate the impact of crop productivity change on agricultural production and GDP. The 12 million hectares of agricultural areas in the EU that suffer from severe erosion are estimated to lose around 0.43% of their crop productivity annually. The annual cost of this loss in agricultural productivity is estimated at around €1.25 billion. The CGE model estimates the cost in the agricultural sector to be close to €300 million, and the loss in GDP to be about €155 million. Italy emerges as the country that suffers the highest economic impact, while the agricultural sector in most northern and central European countries is only marginally affected by soil erosion losses.
... Brunner et al. (2008) found that farmers tended to associate erosion with extreme events rather than perceiving it as a continuous process. This, coupled with the short-term costs incurred when combating erosion, tended to dissuade farmers from implementing erosion control measures (Hein, 2007). In spite of this, farmers in our study area use some traditional erosion control measures like contour tillage. ...
A sample group of 119 farmers from a semi-arid district of Madrid was interviewed to determine the knowledge of individuals about soil conservation and management. Farmers commonly identify physical factors in the landscape that are visually recognizable and those chemical factors that clearly affect productivity. Often, factors, such as salinity or pH that require laboratory analysis, are less readily identified. Farmer knowledge of soils is influenced by their main source of income, gender, education and age. Although there is a high degree of correspondence between scientific and traditional knowledge of soil, some gaps have been identified, notably those related to erosion. Key steps identified for promoting the adoption of sustainable soil management practices to farmers were as follows: involvement of public institutions, the need for increased agricultural prices and an improvement in training and public awareness. Farmers were aware of their own limitations and demanded capacity building, technical and policy support.
... Brunner et al. (2008) found that farmers tended to associate erosion with extreme events rather than perceiving it as a continuous process. This, coupled with the short-term costs incurred when combating erosion, tended to dissuade farmers from implementing erosion control measures (Hein, 2007). In spite of this, farmers in our study area use some traditional erosion control measures like contour tillage. ...
A sample group of 119 farmers from a semi-arid district of Madrid was interviewed to determine the knowledge of individuals about soil conservation and management. Farmers commonly identify physical factors in the landscape that are visually recognizable and those chemical factors that clearly affect productivity. Often, factors, such as salinity or pH that require laboratory analysis, are less readily identified. Farmer knowledge of soils is influenced by their main source of income, gender, education and age. Although there is a high degree of correspondence between scientific and traditional knowledge of soil, some gaps have been identified, notably those related to erosion. Key steps identified for promoting the adoption of sustainable soil management practices to farmers were as follows: involvement of public institutions, the need for increased agricultural prices and an improvement in training and public awareness. Farmers were aware of their own limitations and demanded capacity building, technical and policy support.
This study aims to model hydrological ecosystem services provided by forests and explore how they can be captured in an ecosystem accounting framework. We test a dynamic GIS-based hydrological model to quantify and map key hydrological ecosystem services in the Southern Aegean Region of Turkey and integrate the services into an ecosystem account following the System of Environmental Economic Accounting – Ecosystem Accounting (SEEA EA). We map and account for services in physical and monetary terms, using an innovative model to quantify flood control services. Our paper connects forest management with water resource supply, eliciting the hydrological role of forests. The combined value of the three ecological services (groundwater recharge, flood control and sediment control) is about 201 million €/year. Reduction in forest coverage means that the economy will face the consequences of losses of these critical regulating services. Finally, we discuss opportunities, challenges, and limitations in the practical application of the ecosystem accounting concept.
The economic effects of global warming have gained considerable attention in the recent economic literature. While the relationship between rainfall and agriculture is well known, precipitations alone do not capture the soil water availability, which depends on the evaporation of the water (potential evapotranspiration [PET]). This paper presents evidence of the relationship between aridification and agricultural productivity. We show that areas that have experienced increased precipitations have become arider due to increased PET. We then project future aridification patterns. We find that the global arid area will increase by 3.9 per cent by 2040. This implies a global loss of about 20 million tons of maize, 19 million tons of rice, 8 million tons of soybeans and 21 million tons of wheat until 2040 if no action to combat desertification is taken.
In this article, we discuss the influence of soil erosion on crop yield in the erosion-prone chernozem region of South Moravia. Erosional and depositional areas show significant differences in soil properties, which are also reflected in total crop yield. Plots of winter wheat, grown during the years 2016–2019 were used for analysis. The Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), referred to in literature as one of the best correlates of yield, was used to provide indirect information on yield. Although erosional areas are visible on orthophoto images on chernozem soils, the necessary orthophoto images are not always available. Thus, we have proposed a method for the identification of such erosion-affected areas based on the use of Sentinel 2 satellite images and NDVI or NBR2 indices. The relationship between yield and erosion was expressed through Pearson’s correlation on a sample of pixels randomly selected on the studied plots. The results showed a statistically significant linear reduction in yield depending on the level of degradation. All plots were further reclassified, according to level of degradation, as high, medium, or low state of degradation, where the average EVI values were subsequently calculated. Yield on non-degraded soil is 16 ± 1% higher on average.
Land degradation and early forms of desertification in both advanced economies and emerging countries reflect complex socio-environmental processes driven by multiple interactions between biophysical and socioeconomic forces across different spatial scales. The present study investigates desertification risk, land degradation, and socio-demographic dynamics through the lens of “resilience,” adopting complex adaptive systems (CAS) thinking. The resilience of socio-environmental systems exposed to land degradation is defined as the capacity of a regional economy to respond to crises and reorganize by making changes to preserve functions, structure, and feedback, and to promote future development options. By reviewing the socioeconomic resilience of local socio-ecological systems exposed to land degradation, this study achieves a better comprehension of the multifaceted processes that lead to a higher risk of desertification and the intimate relationship with underlying population trends and demographic dynamics. A comprehensive approach based on resilience thinking was formulated to review both environmental and socio-demographic issues at the landscape scale, and provide a suitable foundation for sustainability science and regional development policies.
Sedimentation of the reservoir has been recognized as a major consequence of land degradation and erosion in the watershed. The objective of this paper was to determine the benefits of soil conservation practices on hydroelectric power generation at Lake Lagdo located in the northern part of Cameroon during the 1984–2009 period, using the damage function approach. The first step of the analysis was to estimate the physical effect of environmental change on soil erosion considering different land management practices. In the second step, the quantitative link between lake sedimentation and its effects on the storage capacity of the reservoir was established. Finally, the economic value of the impact was determined. The results show that the loss of direct storage capacity of the reservoir due to sedimentation, which increased the costs of electricity production. The annual average sedimentation of around 40.80 million cubic meters across the reservoir reduced total reservoir capacity by around 0.9%. Measures to reduce soil erosion include payments to landowners as powerful incentives for promoting environmentally friendly land-use practices that help to sustain ecosystem services (PES). The study illustrated very well the demand for a Nexus Approach looking at interdependencies, in this case between the agricultural and energy sectors.
Land degradation and desertification are complex socio-environmental processes resulting from a multifaceted interaction among biophysical and socioeconomic forces occurring across different spatial scales. Such processes can be effectively analyzed in light of the resilience paradigm. Socioeconomic resilience applied to local socioecological systems can be measured as the capacity of a regional economy to respond to disturbances and reorganize, undertaking changes to preserve their functions, structure and feedbacks, and supporting future development options. Through a bioregional approach, the main aim of the present commentary is to integrate the current frameworks of (i) bio-regional planning, (ii) socioecological resilience, and (iii) complex adapted systems with the aim to achieve a better comprehension of dynamic processes such as land degradation in Mediterranean countries. Bioregional approaches try to combine environmental and social issues relevant at the landscape scale, providing a suitable background knowledge to design sustainable land practices contributing to a truly sustainable development of Mediterranean regions.
Monetary valuation of dryland ecosystem services may help to increase the salience of drylands in decision making. Yet, there is no comprehensive assessment of the indicators that determine the estimated monetary values for dryland ecosystem services (hereafter: dryland value). Having compiled a database consisting of 559 observations from 66 valuation studies in drylands worldwide, this study analyzes the relative importance of local socio-economic, environmental and methodological indicators in explaining the monetary value estimates for nine dryland ecosystem services by means of a multiple regression analysis. By explicitly quantifying the
effect sizes of the indicators of dryland value, we shed new light on the driving forces behind monetary valuation of dryland ecosystem services. Our results show that local socio-economic and environmental conditions are marginal in explaining dryland value, indicating that local dryland conditions are not sufficiently captured with current valuation approaches. Simultaneously, we find that methodological factors, including valuation method and study extent, heavily influence dryland value, suggesting that monetary valuation outcomes are largely determined by the selected methodology. This emphasizes the need to improve monetary valuation methods so
that they better capture local dryland conditions in order to be able to serve as a meaningful tool for decision making.
One of non-forage functions of rangelands vegetation is soil conservation and prevents it
from erosion. Water soil erosion has economic, social and environmental implication due to
both on-site and of-site efects. So, the objective of this study was to ases the on-site efect of
water erosion on conservation function of summer rangelands vegetation, using a combination
betwen economic value and various vegetation density of Baladein North of Iran. So,
economic value of soil conservation estimated by "los of forage productivity" method. The
inital framework of the model was bio-economical. The model fited by Cob-Douglas
production function by OLS method. This function is based on soil physic-chemical parameters
and soil erosion ratio. Results showed that only soil erosion had signifcant efect on forage
production. Acording to the marginal production (MP) and economic value of each kg of soil
conservation, value of MP (VMP) estimated per ha by diferent plant vegetation density. The
results showed that, economic value of los of forage productivity estimated 23084 Rails/ha
from 94978.6 ha of rangelands. The most soil conservation value wasbelongedto rangeland with
high density by 10.86 miliard Rails and the least value was belonged to rangeland with low
density by 1.31 miliard Rails. Results showed that similar esearch in natural resources filed by
natural vegetation is required to consider other independent variables in the inital framework of
the function.
One of non-forage functions of rangelands vegetation is soil conservation and prevents it from erosion. Water soil erosion has economic, social and environmental implication due to both on-site and off-site effects. So, the objective of this study was to assess the on-site effect of water erosion on conservation function of summer rangelands vegetation, using a combination between economic value and various vegetation density of Baladein North of Iran. So, economic value of soil conservation estimated by "loss of forage productivity" method. The initial framework of the model was bio-economical. The model fitted by Cobb-Douglas production function by OLS method. This function is based on soil physic-chemical parameters and soil erosion ratio. Results showed that only soil erosion had significant effect on forage production. According to the marginal production (MP) and economic value of each kg of soil conservation, value of MP (VMP) estimated per ha by different plant vegetation density. The results showed that, economic value of loss of forage productivity estimated 230084 Rails/ha from 94978.6 ha of rangelands. The most soil conservation value wasbelongedto rangeland with high density by 10.86 milliard Rails and the least value was belonged to rangeland with low density by 1.31 milliard Rails. Results showed that similar research in natural resources filed by natural vegetation is required to consider other independent variables in the initial framework of the function.
This paper aimed to use ecological risk analysis method to assess ecological degradation risk of cultivated land in Houhu Farm of Jianghan Plain in China. The results indicated that the pollution degrees of single factor followed the order of Cd>As>Cu>Zn>Dichlorodiphenyl-trichloroethane (DDT)>Hg>Cr>Pb>Hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH). Eight plots were slightly polluted by these pollutants, especially Cd was the primary heavy metal pollutant and DDT was the primary organic pesticide in this area. Of cultivated land 3.81% was slightly polluted and 15.59% was at the warning level. Based on the degradation risk evaluation models, the degree of degradation risk for cultivated land was classified into 4 levels, where small risk and average risk were predominant portions with their areas accounting for 83.1% of the total. Three evaluation plots of study area with high risk accounted for 5.01% of the total. The available phosphorus, accessibility of road and composite pollution index were the primary degradation risk factors and important issues of risk management for agriculture. The results can be used as a quantitative basis in evaluation of cultivated land quality and resolution of the soil degradation risk in this region.
The aim of this paper is to provide a review of recent findings on the relation between socio-economic factors and environmental quality in terms of Desertification Risk (DR). In this respect a special emphasis is given to southern Europe, a region increasingly threatened by Land Degradation (LD). This paper highlights crucial driving forces creating complex dynamics of socio-demographic (e.g. urban growth, territorial sprawling, migration movements) and economic nature (e.g. industrial concentration, agricultural intensification, tourism impact). Such dynamics impact differently on the environmental quality of dry coastal and marginal, inland areas. A simplified framework is illustrated in which economic and socio-demographic matters may affect disparities among areas incrementing Land Degradation (LD) and increasing poverty, inequality in resource availability, and social exclusion. The linkage among DR and socio-economic dimensions is described through a key example taken from southern Italy, a region prone to LD phenomena. Finally, new responses are delineated which can be devised in the context of sustainable development as an original contribution to the study of LD.
This paper explores the possible relationship between Agricultural Productivity (AP) and Land Degradation (LD) in Italy by addressing the importance of socio-environmental conditions on sub-regional scale. Multivariate analyses were carried out in the early 1990s and early 2000s on 784 Local Labour System (LLS) districts exposed to different levels of land vulnerability to degradation. In the early 1990s, AP in northern Italy was positively correlated with labour productivity in agriculture, share of agriculture in total product, and land vulnerability to degradation. During the following years, however, the increase in AP resulted not to be correlated to LD. A reverse pattern was observed in southern Italy, thus suggesting that the growth in AP was accompanied by an increasing level of land vulnerability. Based on these results, specific agro-environmental measures aimed at mitigating LD are discussed.
Soil erosion has adverse economic and environmental impacts. The economic effects are due to loss of farm income with adverse impact on crop production. There is a need to understand the trade-offs between farm income and soil loss faced by the farmers in making decisions at farm level. There are different methodologies that integrate into a bio-economic model wherein the multi objective linear programming models have focus on the economic aspects and biophysical components. In this study, we tried to examine the status of soil erosion and formulated a methodological frame work for optimising the farm level objectives and their trade-offs for sustainable farming systems.
The effect of land use and precipitation on annual runoff and sediment loss was investigated in eight different sites along the northern Mediterranean region and the Atlantic coastline located in Portugal, Spain, France, Italy and Greece. These sites represent a variety of landscapes and are under a number of land-uses representative of the Mediterranean region, such as agricultural land with rainfed cereals, vines, olives, eucalyptus plantation or natural vegetation (shrubland). It was found that land use can greatly affect runoff and soil erosion. The greatest rates of runoff and sediment loss were measured in hilly areas under vines (average sediment loss 142.8 t km−2 yr−1). Areas cultivated with wheat are sensitive to erosion, especially during winter, generating intermediate amounts of runoff and sediment loss (17.6 t km−2 yr−1) especially under rainfalls higher than 280 mm per year. Olives grown under semi-natural conditions, as for example with an understory of vegetation of annual plants greatly restrict soil loss to nil values (0.8 t km−2 yr−1). Erosion in shrublands increased with decreasing annual rainfall to values in the range 280–300 mm and then it decreased with decreasing rainfall (average sediment loss 6.7 t km−2 yr−1).
It has been argued that the land-use restrictions prescribed by the Endangered Species Act have failed to protect endangered species on private land. Hence, there has been a call for using incentives to complement this regulatory approach. This paper ...
Soil erosion is a major environmental threat to the sustainability and productive capacity of agriculture. During the last
40 years, nearly one-third of the world's arable land has been lost by erosion and continues to be lost at a rate of more
than 10 million hectares per year. With the addition of a quarter of a million people each day, the world population's food
demand is increasing at a time when per capita food productivity is beginning to decline.
Most countries in Central America and the Caribbean depend heavily on agriculture; efforts to sustain and improve the sector's productivity are therefore crucial to the region's economic development and to the welfare of its people. Land degradation is thought to pose a severe threat to the sustainability of agricultural production. Yet despite long-standing concern about this threat and dramatic claims of environmental damage, surprisingly little empirical analysis has been done on the causes and severity of land degradation problems in the region and on how best to tackle them. Meanwhile, many of the conservation programs designed to address the problems have fallen short of expectations. Often farmers have not adopted the recommended conservation practices or have abandoned them once the project ended.
The research presented in this article attempts to bridge the empirical gap, using cost-benefit analysis to investigate the nature and severity of the soil degradation problem and to assess the cost-effectiveness of proposed solutions. Because soil degradation problems tend to be site-specific, the analysis is rooted in case studies, and because conservation programs stand or fall on the participation of farmers, the study's main focus is on the profitability of the measures and the deterrents to their adoption from the farmers' point of view.
Global population in the year 2020 will be a third higher than in 1995, but demand for food and fiber will rise by an even higher proportion, as incomes grow, diets diversify, and urbanization accelerates. However this demand is met, population and farming pressure on land resources will intensify greatly. There is growing concern in some quarters that a decline in long-term soil productivity is already seriously limiting food production in the developing world, and that the problem is getting worse. Sarah Sherr first focuses on the magnitude and effects of soil degradation. She then addresses soil degradation in the future and ends her brief with policy and research priorities.
Arid lands are characterised by a combination of high temporal variability of rainfall and spatial heterogeneity of soil surface properties. In response to these environmental conditions, sources and sinks of runoff water and sediments tend to be organised in mosaics with distinct spatial attributes. These patterns can be identified at several scales, each with a predominance of a different set of processes. The dynamic relationships between these patterns and processes are an essential aspect of spatial connectivity in arid landscapes. During the last six years, part of the research at Rambla Honda, a field site in Southeast Spain operating under the MEDALUS project, has been concerned with this subject. This paper reviews the results obtained up to date at the patch and the hillslope scales. The research at the patch scale focused on the
role of vegetation as a source of spatial heterogeneity that affects short-range redistribution patterns of water and sediments.The approach has been to identify the dynamic relationships between plant clumps and bare ground in sparse vegetation mosaics, using field observations, experiments and simulation models. Field observations included runoff and sediment yield measurements on bounded plots and hillslope sectors, analysis of spatial correlation structures, as well as physiological and architectural properties of plant functional types. Experiments included rainfall simulation and runoff exclusion in the field, and soil fertility bioassays both in the field and the laboratory. A cellular automata model was built to explore the
interactions between plant clumps and sediment movement. The research at the hillslope scale was concerned with the long-range transference of water and sediments from rocky upperslopes to their footslope sediment fill. The approach was based on an analysis of the available information about spatial patterns of soil moisture and discharge of runoff and sediments from plots and stream gauges in a first order catchment. Results show that, at the patch scale, in sparse vegetation, a range of positive feedback mechanisms lead to nucleation, or to the increase of spatial heterogeneity, by concentrating resources in the soil beneath plant clumps at the expense of the neighbouring bare ground. This spatial heterogeneity arises dynamically through the interaction between plant growth and hillslope fluxes of water and sediments. Within specific
boundary conditions, this interaction is ‘tuned’ towards the formation of mosaics of bare and vegetated patches with patterns that minimise redistribution lengths of water and sediments. The boundary conditions that affect the ‘tuning’ process include factors that determine the potential distance and transport capacity of runoff, such as temporal variability of rainfall, slope angle, slope length, among others, and plant specific factors that affect the efficiency of plant clumps in trapping the resources that are redistributed on the hillslope. At the hillslope scale, the transference of sediment and water between hillslope elements requires very specific within-event temporal distributions of rainfall that allow for the widespread formation of a saturated layer at shallow depth and overland flow to reach first order channels. During most rainfall events
these conditions are not met and, therefore, in most seasons, mean values of soil moisture do not increase downhill, and rather reflect variation in local soil properties than the effects of lateral redistribution processes. As a consequence, it may be expected that small changes of the frequency distribution of rainfall characteristics, in terms of within-storm temporal distribution of intensities, could lead to significant changes in soil moisture patterns and hydrologic connectivity between hillslope elements.
Soil erosion by water is one of the most important land degradation processes in Mediterranean environments. This process is strongly linked to problems of flooding and channel management. This article reviews existing knowledge on these topics and defines research gaps. In the framework of environmental change studies it is important to consider soil erosion at various spatial and temporal scales. Most field measurements and modelling efforts have hitherto concentrated on water erosion processes operating at the runoff plot scale. Soil erosion processes operating at other spatial scales have received much less attention in the literature. Yet, there are indications that gully and channel erosion are probably the dominant sediment sources in a variety of Mediterranean environments. Beside water erosion, other erosion processes operating within catchments, such as tillage erosion, land reshaping for land preparation (e.g., terracing) or soil quarrying can have significant impacts on soil profile truncation. Land use changes strongly affect the intensity of these processes.
The conditions, position and connectivity of the runoff and sediment generating areas within catchments have a profound effect on flood characteristics within the main channels but the dynamics are not well understood. Some research has taken place into meteorological conditions producing catastrophic flooding and into development of hydrological models using catchment variables. Much less is known of the properties and effects of flood waves within channels, partly because of lack of records of these infrequent events. It is not only water but also sediment which causes destruction in floods, yet sediment is frequently ignored in channel management. The extreme conditions associated with floods in the region, the variability of flows and of flood zones, the mobility of the channels and the high sediment loads create particular challenges for channel management. Trends in land use and channel management are tending to exacerbate these problems.
From this review it can be concluded that there is still an important need for process-based understanding and modelling of key soil erosion processes operating at a range of scales: i.e., from plots over hillslopes, catchments to regions. In particular, more research is needed on the linkages between upland areas which produce large volumes of runoff and sediment and channels on the other hand. Such linkages are through gullies and sedimentation zones. Monitoring and experi mental data on key soil erosion and channel processes operating within Mediterranean landscapes are crucial for the improvement of soil erosion and channel models for a range of scales. In particular, long-term monitoring of soil erosion processes and stream channel changes seems to be essential to observe the effects of infrequent torrential rain events on severe erosion, flooding and stream channel changes as well as on the transient response of Mediterranean landscapes to changes in land use and climate. Systematic collation of historical evidence of changes would be valuable. Implications of land and water use need to be examined in detail. A wide range of alternative strategies and techniques of channel and basin management must be explored and modelled. A holistic approach to management of the fluvial system is recommended.
From the 1980s onward studies on interrill soil erosion were intensified in SE Spain. The main achievements of the research carried out in the field areas of Alicante and Murcia concern: first, (1) the estimation of erosion rates directly in the field under a wide range of methodologies, different scales and different environmental conditions; (2) estimations based on existing models, such as the USLE, carried out for different subcatchments of the Segura and Júcar catchments; and (3) other parametric and physical event‐based models have also been calibrated and validated.
Second, the progress of the knowledge in understanding erosion mechanisms. New and reviewed concepts regarding mainly hydrological behaviour and sediment movement and transport at patch, slope and catchment scale have improved our understanding of soil‐erosion processes in Mediterranean‐type ecosystems. These concepts focus on: (1) the definition of runoff generation models more appropriate to Mediterranean conditions; (2) the definition of thresholds for runoff generation; (3) the definition of models of soil water redistribution within soils and at landscape level; (4) the establishment of conditions and controls for sediment detachment and movement; and (5) the characterization of the change in the controlling factors of soil erosion and degradation under different environmental characteristics (climatic or human‐induced). The insights into soil‐erosion processes obtained and the renewed hydrological and geomorphological concepts achieved can be very valuable for the design of new strategies of erosion management and ecosystems restoration. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
To study the influence of different vegetation species and plant properties on the generation of surface runoff and soil erosion in south east Spain, a series of rainfall simulation experiments was conducted on small (c. 1.5 m2) plots. These were carried out in October 1993 and May 1994 on two sites close to Murcia. Six vegetation types were studied, with some at different stages of maturity, giving a total of nine vegetation treatments and two bare soil treatments. Four replicates of each treatment were exposed to a rainstorm of 120 mm/h for 15 minutes. The results of the experiments show that there are few significant differences in the ability of the vegetation types studied to control runoff or soil erosion. Of the plant properties considered, only plant canopy cover showed a significant relationship with soil loss and runoff with the greatest reduction in soil loss taking place at canopy covers greater than 30%. The implications of this research are that future efforts should be directed at developing ecological successions and revegetation methods which promote a substantial and sustainable canopy cover.
The EPA’s new nonpoint source pollution control requirements will soon institutionalize urban erosion and sediment pollution
control practices nationwide. The public and private sector costs and social benefits associated with North Carolina’s program
(one of the strongest programs in the country in terms of implementation authority, staffing levels, and comprehensiveness
of coverage) are examined to provide general policy guidance on questions relating to the likely burden the new best management
practices will have on the development industry, the likely costs and benefits of such a program, and the feasibility of running
a program on a cost recovery basis. We found that urban erosion and sediment control requirements were not particularly burdensome
to the development industry (adding about 4% on average to development costs). Public-sector program costs ranged between
2.4 and2.4 and 4.8 million in fiscal year 1989. Our contingent valuation survey suggests that urban households in North Carolina
are willing to pay somewhere between 7.1 and7.1 and 14.2 million a year to maintain current levels of sediment pollution control.
Our benefit-cost analysis suggests that the overall ratio is likely to be positive, although a definitive figure is elusive.
Lastly, we found that several North Carolina localities have cost recovery fee systems that are at least partially self-financing.
Soil degradation is perceived as a major threat in the Mediterranean region due to changes in land-use and possible future climate change. Soil aggregation parameters are used here to demonstrate their potential as a key-indicator for land degradation studies. The monitoring of these indicators offers a means of establishing the vulnerability and resilience of geo-ecosystems. Soil aggregation stability and distribution were studied on soils with an open shrubby vegetation cover, from several places in southeastern Spain and southern France, by applying drop tests and determining aggregate size distributions. Aspect and vegetation cover were incorporated in the soil sampling. Several indices were derived from these analyses to indicate the degree of soil aggregation. This was done by referencing to a base level of aggregation (bare soil aggregation). It was found that soil aggregates were more stable and were often coarser under vegetation, when compared to their immediate surrounding bare areas. A similar, slightly less clear effect was noted on N-facing exposed slopes when compared to S-facing exposed slopes. Long-term changes were found by studying cultivated land, abandoned fields and land covered by semi-natural vegetation, on comparable substrate and comparable land units. It is clear that soil aggregation and aggregate stability increases with time (years). It is argued that soil aggregation indices can be used as a key-indicator for degradation processes at a fine scale with implications for runoff and sediment generating processes at the hillslope scale.
The acreage of rainfed almond plantations (Prunus dulcis (Miller)) in Spain has rapidly increased during the last 30 years, reflecting a tendency towards specialisation in perennial, rainfed crops in many Mediterranean regions. Seminatural vegetation and diverse cropping systems have been converted into monocultures with low tree densities leaving the soil unprotected. This paper illustrates the contrast in water conservation strategies between traditional and modern almond plantations in the Murcia region (Spain), and highlights the impacts of intensification on soil degradation. The role of lateral and vertical redistribution of soil moisture in water conservation will be discussed based on the analysis of soil moisture retention characteristics, temporal variation in soil moisture content and soil moisture patterns. A traditional cereal/almond cropping system typical for marl areas with a subdued relief will be compared to a modern almond monoculture in a highly dissected landscape on slate bedrock. The low water holding capacity of the stony soil in the slate area caused rainfall to penetrate deep in the profile and thus soil moisture fluxes were mainly vertical. Semivariograms of topsoil moisture content after an isolated rain day (19 and 27 mm for the nearest raingauges) demonstrated the differences in lateral redistribution of soil moisture between the cropping systems. A spatial pattern in the marl soil with a range of 69 m was observed, whereas soil moisture in the slate area showed no spatial pattern except for higher values in the narrow valley bottom. The scarcity of rainfall producing lateral redistribution of soil moisture explained the lack of reliable moisture supply in the marl area. This led to very low overall plant densities at 16 trees ha−1, restricted to wetter zones upstream of retention dams. The redistribution of soil moisture by vertical fluxes in the stony soils of the slate area explained the uniform, widely spaced trees at densities of 204 trees ha−1. This study has highlighted the need for rainfall to penetrate deep into the soil to sustain almond monocultures in semiarid climates. However, this requires a loose, bare topsoil between the trees and thus large areas of bare soil are exposed on hillslopes resulting in high erosion risks.
Since the 1960s, the semi-arid Sahel region in Africa has experienced a severe drought. In his Perspective,
Zeng
analyzes the possible causes of this drought. He highlights the report of
Giannini
et al., whose model study suggests that changes in worldwide sea surface temperatures have played a key role in the Sahel drought.
Natural vegetation processes and land use change probably reinforced the oceanic changes to produce the unusual drought. The
relative magnitudes of natural and anthropogenic influences on Sahel climate remain to be quantified. If the trend in global
sea surface temperature is related to anthropogenic global warming, the Sahel may be a harbinger of global changes.
Existence Value has become an increasingly important concept as the use of cost benefit analysis has spread from traditional applications to attempts to place monetary value on, for instance, a rare wetland habitat. Environmental economists have generally accepted the tensions arising in the existence value concept from the range of recent applications, but it is argued here that their various attempts to resolve the difficulties have largely failed. Critics from outside economics, on the other hand, typically claim that the very notion of existence value as understood in economics is flawed, and urge its abandonment altogether. This paper suggests instead a fundamental redefinition of existence value, which, it is argued, (i) explains a number of diverse problems posed by the usual meaning of the term in economics; (ii) does not strain the intentions of respondents to 'willingness-to-pay' surveys; (iii) is consistent with a more realistic model of rational choice in environmental decision-making; and (iv) is sensitive to criticisms from environmental ethics.
Mediterranean Geo-ecosystems, hierarchical organisation and degradation Common property resources and degradation worldwide Methuen: London
- G Bergkamp
Bergkamp G. 1996. Mediterranean Geo-ecosystems, hierarchical organisation and degradation. Ph.D. Thesis, University of Amsterdam, 1996. Blaikie P, Brookfield H. 1987. Common property resources and degradation worldwide. In Land Degradation and Society, Blaikie P, Brookfield H (eds). Methuen: London; 186–196.
Soil Degradation Natural resources in the Guadalentin, water as a key factor
- R Lal
- Stewart Ba Ny
- F Lopez-Bermudez
- Barbera
- Gg
- Alonso
- Belmonte F Sarria
- F Serrato
Lal R, Stewart BA. 1990. Soil Degradation. Springer Verlag: New York, NY. Lopez-Bermudez F, Barbera GG, Alonso-Sarria F, Belmonte Serrato F. 2002. Natural resources in the Guadalentin, water as a key factor. In Mediterranean Desertification: A Mosaic of Processes and Responses, Geeson N, Brandt CJ, Thornes JB (eds). John Wiley & Sons, Ltd: Chichester.
Mediterranean Desertification and Land Use Deriving indicators of soil degradation from soil aggregation studies in SE Spain and S France
- Brandt Cj
- Jb
Brandt CJ, Thornes JB. 1996. Mediterranean Desertification and Land Use. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd: Chichester. Cammeraat LH, Imeson AC. 1998. Deriving indicators of soil degradation from soil aggregation studies in SE Spain and S France. Geomorphology 23: 307–321.
Soil degradation: a threat to developing-country food security by 2020? Food, Agriculture, and the Environment Discussion Paper 27 The evolving context of Mediterranean desertifivation
- S Scherr
Scherr S. 1999. Soil degradation: a threat to developing-country food security by 2020? Food, Agriculture, and the Environment Discussion Paper 27, International Food Policy Research Institute, Washington, DC. Thornes JB. 2002. The evolving context of Mediterranean desertifivation. In Mediterranean Desertification: A Mosaic of Processes and Responses, Geeson NA, Brandt CJ, Thornes JB (eds). John Wiley & Sons, Ltd: Chichester; 5–12.
Environmentally sensitive areas in the MEDALUS target sites In: Mediterranean Desertification: A Mosaic of Processes and Responses
- Imeson Ac
- Cammeraat
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Imeson AC, Cammeraat LH. 2002. Environmentally sensitive areas in the MEDALUS target sites. In: Mediterranean Desertification: A Mosaic of Processes and Responses, Geeson NA, Brandt CJ, Thornes JB (eds). John Wiley & Sons, Ltd: Chichester; 177–185.
MEDRUSH: a basin scale physically based model for forecasting runoff and sediment yield
- Kirkby Mj
- Abrahart Rj
- Jc Bathurst
- Cg Kilsby
- Mcmahon
- Ml
- Thornes Cp Jb Osborne
- Woodward
Kirkby MJ, Abrahart RJ, Bathurst JC, Kilsby CG, McMahon ML, Osborne CP, Thornes JB, Woodward FI. 2002. MEDRUSH: a basin scale physically based model for forecasting runoff and sediment yield. In Mediterranean Desertification. A Mosaic of Processes and Responses, Geeson NA, Brandt CJ, Thornes JB (eds). John Wiley & Sons, Ltd: Chichester; 203–227.
Chanign social and economic conditions in a region undergoing desertification in the guadalentin Mediterranean Desertification: A Mosaic of Processes and Responses
- Romero A Diaz
- P Ochoa
- F Lopez-Bermudez
- G Gonzalez-Barbera
Romero Diaz A, Ochoa P, Lopez-Bermudez F, Gonzalez-Barbera G. 2002. Chanign social and economic conditions in a region undergoing desertification in the guadalentin. In 2002. Mediterranean Desertification: A Mosaic of Processes and Responses, Geeson NA, Brandt CJ, Thornes JB (eds). John Wiley & Sons, Ltd: Chichester; 289–301.
World map of the status of human induced soil degradation Report on the results of the farm questionnaire survey in the Guadalentí target area. Deliverable 20. Medaction: Policies for Land Use to Combat Desertification
- Oldeman Lr
- Rta Hakkeling
- Wg Sombroek
- Unep
- Isric
- Project
- Nairobi / Wageningen
- Oñ Jj
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- A Sá
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- Jm
Oldeman LR, Hakkeling RTA, Sombroek WG. 1991. World map of the status of human induced soil degradation. UNEP/ISRIC Glasod Project, Nairobi/Wageningen. Oñ JJ, Peco B, Sá A, Sumpsi JM. 2003. Report on the results of the farm questionnaire survey in the Guadalentí target area. Deliverable 20. Medaction: Policies for Land Use to Combat Desertification. Madrid. Pagiola S. 1993. Quantifying the returns to soil conservation in Kitui and Machakos, Kenya. Food Research Institute, Stanford University, 1993.
Mapa de suelos (1:100,000) Cartographí Ambiental
- Cartographí Ambiental
Cartographí Ambiental. 2000. Mapa de suelos (1:100,000). Cartographí Ambiental, Consejerí de Agricultura, Agua y Medio Ambiente, Murcia, Spain. Cobo Rayan R, Gomez Montañ JL, Plata Bedmar A, sanz Moreno ME, Avendañ Salas C. 1996. Influencia del regimen de explotacion del Embalse de Puentes en las tasas de sedimentacion Durant el periodo 1954–1994.
Assessment of the environmental and economic costs of soil erosionMediterranean Desertification Research Results and Policy Implications', 29-10- Effects of rock fragments on desertification processes in Mediterranean environments
- C D Pimentel
- P Harvey
Pimentel D, C. Harvey P, Resosudarmo P. 1996. Assessment of the environmental and economic costs of soil erosion. In Proceedings of the International Conference 'Mediterranean Desertification Research Results and Policy Implications', 29-10-1996 to 1-11-1996, Crete, Greece. Poesen JW, Bunte K. 1996. Effects of rock fragments on desertification processes in Mediterranean environments. In Mediterranean Desertification and Land Use, Brandt J, Thornes JB (Eds). John Wiley & Sons, Ltd: Chichester; 247–269.
Economic valuation of changes in soil fertility: selected methods and case studies A framework for the economic assessment of soil erosion and soil conservation
- Giordano P M Drechsel
Drechsel P, Giordano M, Enters T. 2004. Economic valuation of changes in soil fertility: selected methods and case studies. In Methods for Assessing Economic and Environmental Impacts of NRM Interventions, Shiferaw B, Freeman HA, Swinton SM (eds). ICRISAT-CABI Publishing: Wallingford, UK. Enters T. 1998. A framework for the economic assessment of soil erosion and soil conservation. In Soil Erosion at Multiple Scales, Penning de Vries FWT, Agus F, Kerr J (eds). CAB International, IBSRAM: Wallingford; 1–20.
Economic analysis of soil conservation technologies. Environment Department Divisional Working Paper 1989-4
- Magrath
United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification Particularly in Africa UN
- Unccd
Inventario nacional de eosion de suelos
- Ministerio Del Medio Ambiente
The evolving context of Mediterranean desertifivation
- Thornes
Oficina Comercial Agricultura Alto Gadelentin Lorca. Regional Agricultural Statistics
- Comarcal
Elaboración del proyecto de Directrices para el Plan Hidrológico de la cuenca del Segura
- Confederación Hidrográficadel Segura
Economic analysis of soil conservation technologies.Environment Department Divisional Working Paper 1989-4. World Bank Policy and Research Division
- Magrathwb
The costs and benefits of soil conservation: the farmers' viewpoint.The World Bank Research Observer World Bank
- Reichec Lutze Pagiolas
Mapa de suelos (1:100 000). Cartographía Ambiental Consejería de Agricultura Agua y Medio Ambiente Murcia Spain
- Cartographía Ambiental
Assessment of the environmental and economic costs of soil erosion
- C Pimenteld
- Harveyp Resosudarmop
World map of the status of human induced soil degradation.UNEP/ISRIC Glasod Project Nairobi/Wageningen
- Sombroekwg Oldemanlr Hakkelingrta
Report on the results of the farm questionnaire survey in the Guadalentín target area.Deliverable 20. Medaction: Policies for Land Use to Combat Desertification
- Oñatejj Pecob Sáncheza Sumpsijm
Quantifying the returns to soil conservation in Kitui and Machakos Kenya
- Pagiolas
Soil degradation: a threat to developing-country food security by 2020?Food Agriculture and the Environment Discussion Paper
- Scherrs