Global Change in Mediterranean Regions: Potential Impact of Climate Drift and Land Use on Soil Erosion and Land Degradation

Dear Colleagues,

Mediterranean-climate regions are located across various regions of the globe and account for about 2% of the Earth’s surface. These regions are typically characterized by a unique climatic regime with wet winters and warm, dry summers. Presenting an extensive biodiversity, they are internationally recognized as one of the most sensitive regions to the impacts of climate change and anthropic actions.
In such contexts, soil erosion offers a critical perspective of future effects as it is associated with a general degradation of the environment and depletion of soil nutrients due to the anthropic impacts of agricultural exploitation. In many Mediterranean areas, the interactions between climate and human activities have already led to short- and mid-term unsustainability.
Although total rainfall is generally decreasing in these regions, the intensity of extreme events is expected to increase, leading to an alarming potential for climate change to impact soil erosion and land degradation. Furthermore, many factors related to land use contribute to the aggravation of the phenomenon, such as changes in land use and erosive crops increasing soil loss.
This Special Issue aims to collect and highlight developments in the detection, monitoring, and modelling of soil erosion and land degradation in Mediterranean areas, with special attention on long-term perspectives. These findings are thought to support and be useful for the implementation of ecosystem services and for understanding, planning, solving, and mitigating soil erosion in these fragile ecosystems and agricultural environments.

Dr. Rossano Ciampalini
Dr. Feliciana Licciardello
Dr. Damien Raclot
Dr. Armand Crabit
Guest Editors

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