Integrating Economic and Environmental Indicators in the Assessment of Desertification Risk: A Case Study

Salvati, Luca

doi:10.15666/aeer/0601_129138

Cited by 82 publications

(57 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…Based on the scores of the most important factors, prefectures were mapped into different groups. Entities (agricultural land-use classes and provinces) placed close each other in the factorial plane indicate spatial convergence [33,87].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rural Districts between Urbanization and Land Abandonment: Undermining Long-Term Changes in Mediterranean Landscapes

Zambon

Ferrara

Salvia³

et al. 2018

Sustainability

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Abstract:The present study investigates changes in the rural landscapes of a Mediterranean country (Greece) over a long time period encompassing economic expansions and recessions. Using a spatial distribution of 5 basic agricultural land-use classes (arable land, garden crop, vineyards, tree crop and fallow land) derived from official statistics at 6 years (1970, 1979, 1988, 1997, 2006, 2015), a quantitative analysis based on correlation and multivariate techniques was carried out to identify recent changes in the Greek agricultural landscape at prefectural level during different economic waves. Empirical results evidenced both intuitive and counter-intuitive landscape transformations, including: (i) a progressive, spatially-homogeneous reduction of cropland; (ii) a (more or less) rapid decrease in the surface of high-input crops, including arable land, horticulture and vineyards; (iii) a parallel increase in the surface of tree crops, especially olive; (iv) a spatially-heterogeneous decrease of fallow land concentrated in metropolitan and tourism districts, especially in the last decade; and, finally, (v) increasingly diversified landscapes in rural, accessible areas close to the sea coast. Based on a correlation analysis with background socioeconomic indicators, our findings reflect the multiple impacts of urbanization and land abandonment on the composition and diversity of rural landscapes. Changes in agricultural land-use were moulded by multiple drivers depending on latent transformations in rural systems and inherent conflicts with expanding urban regions. Together with market conditions and the Common Agricultural Policy subsidy regime, social contexts and the economic cycle are important when identifying long-term changes in agricultural landscapes, especially in transitional socio-ecological systems.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rural Districts between Urbanization and Land Abandonment: Undermining Long-Term Changes in Mediterranean Landscapes

Zambon

Ferrara

Salvia³

et al. 2018

Sustainability

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“…Thus the importance of establishing environmental indicators to monitor degradation, rehabilitation, and sustainability of ecosystems and conditions [205] as well as prediction models that consider both ecological and human variables is clear [206]. The development of indicators that represent an integration of economic, social, and environmental dimensions of dryland development is a major challenge, and requires a robust foundation [207]. The team of researchers involved in this review supports the development of common but flexible indicator sets to assess long-term progress towards the environmental, economic, and social benefits of SLM practices.…”

Section: Academiamentioning

confidence: 99%

Multifaceted Impacts of Sustainable Land Management in Drylands: A Review

et al. 2016

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Biophysical restoration or rehabilitation measures of land have demonstrated to be effective in many scientific projects and small-scale environmental experiments. However circumstances such as poverty, weak policies, or inefficient scientific knowledge transmission can hinder the effective upscaling of land restoration and the long term maintenance of proven sustainable use of soil and water. This may be especially worrisome in lands with harsh environmental conditions. This review covers recent efforts in landscape restoration and rehabilitation with a functional perspective aiming to simultaneously achieve ecosystem sustainability, economic efficiency, and social wellbeing. Water management and rehabilitation of ecosystem services in croplands, rangelands, forests, and coastlands are reviewed. The joint analysis of such diverse ecosystems provides a wide perspective to determine: (i) multifaceted impacts on biophysical and socio-economic factors; and (ii) elements influencing effective upscaling of sustainable land management practices. One conclusion can be highlighted: voluntary adoption is based on different pillars, i.e. external material and economic support, and spread of success information at the local scale to demonstrate the multidimensional benefits of sustainable land management. For the successful upscaling of land management, more attention must be paid to the social system from the first involvement stage, up to the long term maintenance.

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“…As an important natural selection pressure of plant distribution in desert areas, desertification plays an important role on the community succession (Maun, 1998; Peng et al, 2012; Salvati et al, 2008). Some studies showed that sand burial can enhance the seed germination and seedling emergence of the sand-burial tolerant shrubs Wang et al, 2013).…”

Section: Spatial Associationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Changes in Spatial Distribution and Interactions of Two Woody Plants During the Sandy Desertification Process in the South Margin of Junggar Basin, Northwest China

Wang¹

2016

Appl Ecol Env Res

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Abstract:We examined the impact of plant−plant interactions and sandy desertification disturbance on population structure and spatial distribution of the two desert plant species Anabasis aphylla and Haloxylon ammodendron in the south margin of Junggar Basin, NW China. To explore species−habitat interactions, we compared the population structures of two woody plants and evaluated the growth of A. aphylla population in the different soil types. Furthermore, we used the Wiegand−Moloney O-ring statistic to study the spatial pattern and association of A. aphylla population and H. ammodendron population. We found some differences in the population structure and spatial distribution of A. aphylla and H. ammodendron with regard to the sandy desertification condition, which is also connected with changes in plant-plant interactions. Although an aggregation of A. aphylla and H. ammodendron population was found in each plot, the cause of spatial aggregation and association is different in the three sandy desertification areas. In the diluvial plot, the spatial association of A. aphylla and H. ammodendron seems to reflect a tense negative woody plant interaction. On the other hand, the random labeling null model showed that plant-plant interactions were largely determined by the combined effects of interspecific competition and harsh environments in the diluvial-sandy and sandy plots, contrary to the competitive effect of the early stage of sandy desertification expansion.

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Integrating Economic and Environmental Indicators in the Assessment of Desertification Risk: A Case Study

Cited by 82 publications

References 16 publications

Rural Districts between Urbanization and Land Abandonment: Undermining Long-Term Changes in Mediterranean Landscapes

Rural Districts between Urbanization and Land Abandonment: Undermining Long-Term Changes in Mediterranean Landscapes

Multifaceted Impacts of Sustainable Land Management in Drylands: A Review

Changes in Spatial Distribution and Interactions of Two Woody Plants During the Sandy Desertification Process in the South Margin of Junggar Basin, Northwest China

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