Placing land degradation and biological diversity decline in a unified framework: Methodological and conceptual issues in the case of the north Mediterranean region
2010
Detsis, V.
The development of synergies between efforts to mitigate land degradation and biological diversity decline can enhance effectiveness, speed up implementation and avoid potential conflicts. Due to the variable nature of these processes and to the variable characteristics of the areas where they occur, there is no general rule linking land degradation and biological diversity decline. Thus, a geographically limited approach focusing on drivers of change may provide a more appropriate base upon which synergies can be built. This exercise is undertaken for the case of northern Mediterranean. Three related processes are discussed: land use change (in the form of agricultural abandonment and intensification, as well as urbanization), wildfires and overuse of freshwater resources. Agricultural abandonment stands out as it may or may not have adverse effects on land resources and it may promote either a reduction in biological diversity or a shift in community synthesis. Agricultural intensification affects adversely both biological diversity and land resources, though often through different mechanisms. Urbanization, by taking up space, wildfires, if they recur in short intervals or they are very extended spatially, and overuse of freshwater resources adversely affect both issues through common mechanisms. The fact that the various drivers may operate through different mechanisms and sometimes they do not even produce consistently positive or negative results calls for a site-specific understanding of the mechanisms. As many of the processes generating these patterns are not reversible, e.g. intensification of agriculture or tourism growth, ways should be sought to reconcile them with conservation.
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