Chapter 4
REGIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGES
Application to Soil Erosion Modeling
DESERTIFICATION OF MEDITERRANEAN
AND MOUNTAINOUS REGIONS
Michel DUBOST
ICALPE, Casa pastureccia, Riventosa, 20250 Corte (Corsica) - France
ABSTRACT
Mountain areas are characterized by a delicate balance between ecosystem
productivity and human use of natural resources. This is particularly true in many
mountain regions of the developing countries like the Himalayas, the Andes or the
African ranges, where the growing demographic pressure initiates vicious circles
of degradation. Serious problems also concern mountain areas in developed
countries.
Deforestation, forest fires, erosion, agricultural decline, air pollution, massive
tourism, traffic, etc. are but a few examples which critically affect soil, vegetation,
water and other vital resources of mountainous areas. Good descriptions and case
studies of resource degradation are available from the Mediterranean, but an
overall understanding is currently missing, as is a theoretical framework to help
analyze the multiple-sided issue of desertification. Some research projects offer an
opportunity to compare several study areas with different methods throughout the
Mediterranean region. The study of desertification phenomena requires combining
various sources of information at different time and space levels.
C. Bardinet et al. (eds.), Geosciences and Water Resources: Environmental Data Modeling
© Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 1997
REGIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGES
Application to Soil Erosion Modeling
DESERTIFICATION OF MEDITERRANEAN
AND MOUNTAINOUS REGIONS
Michel DUBOST
ICALPE, Casa pastureccia, Riventosa, 20250 Corte (Corsica) - France
ABSTRACT
Mountain areas are characterized by a delicate balance between ecosystem
productivity and human use of natural resources. This is particularly true in many
mountain regions of the developing countries like the Himalayas, the Andes or the
African ranges, where the growing demographic pressure initiates vicious circles
of degradation. Serious problems also concern mountain areas in developed
countries.
Deforestation, forest fires, erosion, agricultural decline, air pollution, massive
tourism, traffic, etc. are but a few examples which critically affect soil, vegetation,
water and other vital resources of mountainous areas. Good descriptions and case
studies of resource degradation are available from the Mediterranean, but an
overall understanding is currently missing, as is a theoretical framework to help
analyze the multiple-sided issue of desertification. Some research projects offer an
opportunity to compare several study areas with different methods throughout the
Mediterranean region. The study of desertification phenomena requires combining
various sources of information at different time and space levels.
C. Bardinet et al. (eds.), Geosciences and Water Resources: Environmental Data Modeling
© Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 1997