Perspectives on desertification: western Mediterranean

Puigdefábregas, Juan; Mendizábal, Teresa

doi:10.1006/jare.1998.0401

Cited by 223 publications

(169 citation statements)

References 15 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

160

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Lesschen et al (2007) reported an increase in gully erosion in the Cárcavo basin (south-east Spain), following land abandonment, because of greater runoff caused by soil crusting. Farmland abandonment is still an incipient process in North Africa, where population pressure is leading to cultivation of all available areas, including steep slopes (Maurer, 1992;Lahlou, 1996), and to degradation of rangelands by overgrazing (Puigdefábregas and Mendizábal, 1998).…”

Section: Land-use Intensification and Extensificationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Erosion in Mediterranean landscapes: Changes and future challenges

et al. 2013

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Intense erosion processes are widespread in the Mediterranean region, and include sheet wash erosion, rilling, gullying, shallow landsliding, and the development of large and active badlands in both subhumid and semi-arid areas. This review analyses the main environmental and human features related to soil erosion processes, and the main factors that explain the extreme variability of factors influencing soil erosion, particularly recent land use changes. The importance of erosion in the Mediterranean is related to the long history of human activity in a region characterized by low levels of annual precipitation, the occurrence of intense rainstorms and long-lasting droughts, high evapotranspiration, the presence of steep slopes and the occurrence of recent tectonic activity, together with the recurrent use of fire, overgrazing and farming. These factors have resulted in a complex landscape in which intensification and abandonment, wealth and poverty can co-exist. The changing conditions of national and international markets and the evolution of population pressure are now the main drivers explaining land use changes, including farmland abandonment in mountain areas, the expansion of some subsidized crops to marginal lands, and the development of new terraces affected by landslides and intense soil erosion during extreme rainstorm events. The occurrence of human-related forest fires affecting thousands of hectares each year is an increasing problem in both the northern and southern areas of the Mediterranean basin. Here, we highlight the rise of new scientific challenges in controlling the negative consequences of soil erosion in the Mediterranean region: (i) to reduce the effects and extent of forest fires, and restructure the spatial organization of abandoned landscapes; (ii) to provide guidance for making EU agricultural policy more adapted to the complexity and fragility of Mediterranean environments; (iii) to develop field methods and models to improve the identification of runoff and sediment contributing areas; (iv) to contribute to the conservation of landscapes (i.e. bench-terraced fields) having high cultural and productivity values; (v) to improve knowledge of the hydrological and geomorphological functioning of badlands, with the aim of reducing sediment yield and accessibility; (vi) to better understand the effect of climate change on soil erosion in the Mediterranean region; and (vii) to improve quantitative information on long-term soil erosion. COVER LETTER

show abstract

Section: Land-use Intensification and Extensificationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Erosion in Mediterranean landscapes: Changes and future challenges

et al. 2013

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Persistent loss of original vegetation has been described for the five Mediterranean-type regions around the world (e.g. Friedel 1987 for South Africa; Westoby et al 1989 for Australia; Laycock 1991 for California; Puigdefábregas and Mendizabal 1998 for the Mediterranean Basin; and Holmgren 2002 for Chile).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Are drought and wildfires turning Mediterranean cork oak forests into persistent shrublands?

Acácio

Holmgren

Rego³

et al. 2008

Agroforest Syst

142

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In the Iberian Peninsula Mediterranean oak forests have been transformed into a mosaic landscape of four main patch-types: forests, savannas, shrublands and grasslands. We used aerial photographs over a period of 45 years to quantify the persistence and rates of transitions between vegetation patch-types in southern Portugal, where cork oak is the dominant tree species. We used logistic regression to relate vegetation changes with topographical features and wildfire history. Over the 45 years, shrublands have been the most persistent patch-type (59%), and have been expanding; forests are also persistent (55%) but have been decreasing since 1985; savannas and grasslands were less persistent (33% and 15%, respectively). Shrublands persistence was significantly correlated with wildfire occurrence, particularly on southern exposures after 1995. In contrast, forest persistence decreased with wildfire occurrence, and forests were more likely to change into shrublands where wildfire had occurred after 1995.

show abstract

“…Jacoby et al, 1976;Stahle et al, 1985;D'Arrigo and Jacoby, 1991;Chbouki et al, 1995;Meko et al, 1995;Puigdefabregas and Mendizabal, 1998;Cook et al, 2004). For Turkey and surrounding areas of the Middle East, however, there have been relatively few such studies, although this situation has improved considerably in recent years (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tree‐ring reconstructions of precipitation and streamflow for north‐western Turkey

Akkemik

D’Arrigo

Cherubini

et al. 2007

Intl Journal of Climatology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

ABSTRACT:We describe tree-ring reconstructions of spring (May-June) precipitation and spring-summer (May-August) streamflow for north-western Turkey, both beginning in AD 1650. These are among the first such reconstructions for the region, and the streamflow reconstruction is among the first of its kind for Turkey and the entire Middle East. The reconstructions, which both emphasize high-frequency variations, account for 34 and 53% of their respective instrumental variance. Comparison to precipitation and runoff data provides some means of verification for the instrumental streamflow record, which is very short (30 years). Drought and flood events in the reconstructions are compared to historical archives and other tree-ring reconstructions for Turkey. The results reveal common climatic extremes over much of the country. Many of these events have had profound impacts on the peoples of Turkey over the past several centuries.

show abstract

Perspectives on desertification: western Mediterranean

Cited by 223 publications

References 15 publications

Erosion in Mediterranean landscapes: Changes and future challenges

Erosion in Mediterranean landscapes: Changes and future challenges

Are drought and wildfires turning Mediterranean cork oak forests into persistent shrublands?

Tree‐ring reconstructions of precipitation and streamflow for north‐western Turkey

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About