Strategies to combat desertification in Mediterranean Europe

European Commission Directorate-General For Agriculture And Rural Development Directorate-General For The Information Society And Media

Informations

• Publié par: EUROPEAN-COMMISSION-DIRECTORATE-GENERAL-FOR-AGRICULTURE-AND-RURAL-DEVELOPMENT-DI
• Nombre de lectures: 70
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 3 Mo

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Report
EUR 11175 EN/ES 5
Commission of the European Communities
agriculture
STRATEGIES
TO COMBAT DESERTIFICATION
IN MEDITERRANEAN EUROPE
Edited by
J. L. Rubio
Instituto de Agroquímica y Tecnología de Alimentos
Valencia, Spain
and
R. J. Rickson
Silsoe College,
Bedford, United Kingdom
Di rectorate-General.
Agriculture | p^ ^UROP. Bibüoth.
1990 TTcmWR111751/ES
CL Published by the
COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
Directorate-General
Telecommunications, Information Industries and Innovation
L-2920 Luxembourg
LEGAL NOTICE
Neither the Commission of the European Communities nor any person
acting on behalf of the Commission is responsible for the use which might
be made of the following information
Cataloguing data can be found at the end of this publication
Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, 1990
ISBN 92-826-1955-9 Catalogue number: CD-NA-11175-2S-C
© ECSC-EEC-EAEC, Brussels «Luxembourg, 1990
Printed in Belgium El hombre de estos campos que incendia los pinares,
y su despojo aguarda como botin de guerra,
antaño hubo raido los negros encinares,
talados los robustos robledos de la sierra.
Hoy ve sus pobres hijos huyendo de sus lares;
la tempestad llevarse los limos de la tierra
por los sagrados rios hacia los anchos mares;
y en paramos malditos trabaja, sufre y yerra.
Antonio Machado.
Volvi a mi tierra verde
y ya no estaba,
ya no
estaba
la tierra,
se habia ido.
Con el agua
hacia el mar
se habia marchado.
Espesa
madre
mia,
trémulos, vastos bosques,
provincias montañosas,
tierra y fragancia y humus.
Pablo Neruda. FOREWORD
The technological revolution in agriculture in the
20th century has had a revolutionary character during the
last three decades. This has had a profound impact on the
environment and farming practices. In order to avoid
serious problems as a result of this development, the
European Commission has, among other things, embarked on
activities that follow the green paper on "Perspectives for
the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP)", issued in 1985.
Consequently, the Commission, within the framework of
agricultural research, and in particular its Programme
Committee for Land and Water Use and Management, is
gratefulr the fact that the Consejo Superior de
Investigaciones Cientificas has responded and organised the
European expertise to develop "Strategies to Combat
Desertification".
The topics of this workshop expose the right spirit
of land users, such as the willingness to accept new
practices and bear new responsibilities, whilst they demand
an effective programme of operations to avoid an
environmental crisis.
The Mediterranean region presents special problems
regarding erosion. The policies for an effective soil
conservation programme vary from country to country. They
often receive too little attention and are treated as low
priority, while popular, short term profit-making
agriculture receives high priority and support. It is
therefore encouraging to notice in the reflections of the
presentations a beginning of new normative thinking, which
provides the boundaries both for technological extension
and environmental control. This genuine target for
safeguarding the agricultural and natural land for ever and
ever, beyond the short term is basic for a healthy
tomorrow.
Thanks are due to all who took part in this
integrated thinking, to those who expressed their views in
a foreign language and to those who assisted in formulating
the recommendations.
A. Sevinate Pinto,
Director,
Directorate General for Agriculture,
Commission of the European Communities,
Brussels.
-V-CONTENTS
Page
POETRY Ill
FOREWORD V
INTRODUCTION XI
THE WORKSHOP XII
I: Historical perspectives and characteristics
of the Mediterranean environment related
to desertification.
Historical antecedents of desertification:
climatic or anthropological factors?
M. Dupre Ollivier 2
Mediterranean soils behaviour in relation
to soil erosion
C . Roquero 40
A provisional method for calculating
the rain erosivity in EEC countries, with reference
to the Mediterranean region.
D. Gabriels 77
Pastoralism and desertification
P. Montserrat Recoder 85
Is fire an agent of desertification?
L. Trabaud 104 II: Diagnosis of the present day situation
of desertification.
Soil erosion versus desertification in the semi-arid
Mediterranean environment.
G. Chisci 132
Desertification in Greece
N.J. Yassaglou 148
Water erosion and desertification in the
Spanish Mediterranean region
J.L. Rubio and P. Sanroque 163
Impact of degradation processes on soil quality
in arid Mediterranean environments
J. Albaladejo 19
Factors affecting the susceptibility of soils
to interrill erosion in south-eastern Spain
E. Barahona, J. Quirantes, J.L. Guardiola
and A. Iriarte 216
Reticular overland flow with coarse particles and
vegetation roughness under Mediterranean conditions
J.B. Thornes, C.F. Francis, F. Lopez Bermudez and
A. Romero Diaz 228