Present and future of desertification in Spain: Implementation of a surveillance system to prevent land degradation

Martínez‐Valderrama, Jaime; Ibáñez, Javier; Barrio, Gabriel del; Sanjuán, María Eugenia González; Alcalá, Francisco; Martínez-Vicente, Silvio; Ruiz, Alberto; Puigdefábregas, Juan

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.04.065

Cited by 61 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…Although a number of studies have addressed land degradation in Spain [50][51][52], and the connection between land degradation and drought variability [53], they have all been based on low resolution data. The current drought index dataset has been created at a very high spatial resolution (1.1 km), which matches with current vegetation products available from earth observation satellites including MODIS and NOAA-AVHRR, and this will facilitate spatial and temporal assessment of the climate drivers of land degradation in Spain, and improvement of the surveillance systems to prevent land degradation [54].…”

Section: Dataset Availabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

A High Resolution Dataset of Drought Indices for Spain

Vicente‐Serrano

Tomás-Burguera

Beguerı́a

et al. 2017

Data

133

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Drought indices are essential metrics for quantifying drought severity and identifying possible changes in the frequency and duration of drought hazards. In this study, we developed a new high spatial resolution dataset of drought indices covering all of Spain. The dataset includes seven drought indices, spans the period 1961-2014, and has a spatial resolution of 1.1 km and a weekly temporal resolution. A web portal has been created to enable download and visualization of the data. The data can be downloaded as single gridded points for each drought index, but the entire drought index dataset can also be downloaded in netCDF4 format. The dataset will be updated for complete years as the raw meteorological data become available.

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Section: Dataset Availabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

A High Resolution Dataset of Drought Indices for Spain

Vicente‐Serrano

Tomás-Burguera

Beguerı́a

et al. 2017

Data

133

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“…However, studies have shown the recovery of vegetation in large areas of the Sahel from 1982 to 1999 5 , 6 and a significant decrease in the area of the Sahara desert in the period between 1984 and 1994 7 . Moreover, Recent studies have demonstrated not only ongoing desertification 8 but also the reversal of desertification in several regions of the world, such as North America 2 , Sub-Saharan Africa 9 , and regions of the Mediterranean 10 , suggesting the possibility of recovery from the equilibrium between desertification and its reversal.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecosystem functions including soil organic carbon, total nitrogen and available potassium are crucial for vegetation recovery

Qiu

Xie

et al. 2018

Sci Rep

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The effects of biodiversity on ecosystem functions have been extensively studied, but little is known about the effects of ecosystem functions on biodiversity. This knowledge is important for understanding biodiversity-ecosystem functioning relationships. Desertification reversal is a significant global challenge, but the factors that play key roles in this process remain unclear. Here, using data sampled from areas undergoing desertification reversal, we identify the dominant soil factors that play a role in vegetation recovery with ordinary least squares and structural equation modelling. We found that ecosystem functions related to the cycling of soil carbon (organic C, SOC), nitrogen (total N, TN), and potassium (available K, AK) had the most substantial effects on vegetation recovery. The effects of these ecosystem functions were simultaneously influenced by the soil clay, silt and coarse sand fractions and the soil water content. Our findings suggest that K plays a critical role in ecosystem functioning and is a limiting factor in desertification reversal. Our results provide a scientific basis for desertification reversal. Specifically, we found that plant biodiversity may be regulated by N, phosphorus (P) and K cycling. Collectively, biodiversity may respond to ecosystem functions, the conservation and enhancement of which can promote the recovery of vegetation.

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“…Land degradation is a negative response of the Iranian territories because some collectives prefer obtaining the resources at a short-medium term without considering irreversible dynamics such as soil erosion, pollution or loss of biodiversity [77,78]. To resolve this, we presented a pedo-geomorphological approach to distinguish different management zones and discretize soil micronutrients in order to fill the gaps in land degradation neutrality plans, which should be designed in Iran and used as soon as possible.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Determining Land Management Zones Using Pedo-Geomorphological Factors in Potential Degraded Regions to Achieve Land Degradation Neutrality

Keshavarzi

Kumar

Bottega

et al. 2019

Land

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The proper delineation of site-specific management zones is very important in the agricultural land management of potentially degraded areas. There is a necessity for the development of prospective tools in management plans to correctly understand the land degradation processes. In order to accomplish this, we present a pedo-geomorphological approach using soil texture, land elevation and flow vector aspects to distinguish different management zones and to discretize soil micronutrients. To achieve this goal, we conducted the study in the Neyshabur plain, Northeast Iran. For data collection, grid sampling (500 × 500 m) was used with 70 specific points. Soil samples were collected in triplicates from various sites as composite samples (0-30 cm) to analyse clay, Zn, Mn, Cu and Fe. Using the altitude information (obtained with GPS at each sampling point), flow vectors were also modelled for all selected points. Based on the values of altitude, flow vectors and clay, management zones were delimited using geographic information systems. The best data organization was obtained from the combination of clay + elevation + flow vector attributes, generating two different management zones. In this circumstance, the lowest fuzzy performance index (FPI) and modified partition entropy (MPE) values were generated. It can be observed that the management zone 1 (MZ1) is located in the areas with a lower elevation and higher content of clay. On the other hand, the MZ2 was characterized by areas with a higher elevation and lower clay content. This study concluded that the design of management zones, using pedo-geomorphological information could reduce the time and cost of sampling necessary to assess potentially degraded areas of land. reforestation or geotextiles are also successfully applied. However [10,11], the drastic decline in yield or wood production and the increase in soil degradation processes can also be attributed to the intensification of its cultivation or exploitation, as well as the imbalance in soil nutrient management and physical properties [12,13].It is unusual to assess soil degradation or delimitate land management zones via clay, Zn, Mn, Cu and Fe. However, recent research conducted by [14] in India demonstrated that micronutrient deficiency in intensively cultivated regions may be associated with a low organic availability and excessive reliance on chemical fertilizers. In Northern Greece, [15] assessed Fe, Mn, Zn and Cu bioavailability their correlation with foliar micronutrient concentrations in mature organic olive orchards, highlighting the key role of organic matter to sustain metal uptake by olive trees. However, it is not common to see clear examples showing how these data on micronutrients can be a basis for a land management planning tool to achieve land degradation neutrality. Usually, other robust indicators such as cation exchange capacity, base saturation, the content of soil organic matter, but in several cases, only a few data about soil chemical properties such as micronutrients are analysed...

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Present and future of desertification in Spain: Implementation of a surveillance system to prevent land degradation

Cited by 61 publications

References 21 publications

A High Resolution Dataset of Drought Indices for Spain

A High Resolution Dataset of Drought Indices for Spain

Ecosystem functions including soil organic carbon, total nitrogen and available potassium are crucial for vegetation recovery

Determining Land Management Zones Using Pedo-Geomorphological Factors in Potential Degraded Regions to Achieve Land Degradation Neutrality

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