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The International Programme for Technology and Research in Irrigation and Drainage (IPTRID) and the Italian National Committee of the International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (ITAL-ICID) decided it would be worth extending a previous paper on Italy's available water resources to a detailed study on the partitioning of precipitation between evaporation, groundwater storage (saturated and unsaturated zone) and runoff with the aim of estimating the potentially renewable water resources of the country. The information is gained through a water balance model approach, using monthly climate data from the time series 1971-2000 estimated over 544 grid points of the whole of the Italian territory, made available by the CRA-Central Office for Crop Ecology (CRA-UCEA). The goal of this study was to evaluate the fraction of precipitation that does not return to the atmosphere through the evaporation process or remains in soil storage and that includes both surface and subsurface runoff including effective infiltration. The results obtained by using a GIS system may provide useful information on the evolution of the hydroclimatic conditions in Italy and a picture of the runoff amounts in terms of time and space. This information can be used for national planning purposes and for activating strategies to protect and conserve water resources, especially with regard to irrigation management. Copyright M. Zitti (consultant at CRA-UCEA) contributed to the build-up of the GIS database system and provided technical assistance in the data analysis.

This paper develops an index of the vulnerability of land to drought and desertification (LVI) for Italy. The index takes into account changes in climate, land use, vegetation cover, soil properties, and population during the period 1990–2000. The LVI was built up through a multivariate approach aimed at assessing the importance of the various indicators included in the synthetic index. Increasing land vulnerability was observed during this time, especially in dry areas of the southern regions. This is interpreted as a consequence of land management practices, agricultural intensification, population pressure, and bio‐physical degradation. The LVI can be used in an integrated, decision‐support system to evaluate the impact of mitigation policies in rural environments.