Desertification assessment in the Lesvos island in Greece and methodology for mitigation action planning.
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2008 |
| Type | Article in Proceedings |
| Conference | Proceedings: International Advanced Workshop on Information and Communication Technologies for Sustainable Agri-production and Environment |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Field | Earth magnetism, geography |
| Keywords | desertification - risk modelling - GIS |
| Attached files | |
| Description | Desertification is a threat common to many countries surrounding the Mediterranean Basin, including Greece. The depletion of soils, the reduction of the biomass and the appearance of multiple signs of the degradation of the natural capital are expected if the authorities do not implement appropriate prevention and mitigation measures. As a step forward, a methodology for desertification assessment is proposed in the present work. The re sults presented are relative to the Greek island of Lesvos. The methodology consists in combining into a unique desertification index various indicators relative to the climate, vegetation, soil and management conditions. A second significant contribution of this work is the provision of a methodology for identifying areas most threatened by desertification in which prevention and mitigation actions must be first conducted. Examples of measures applicable in the Lesvos island are proposed. |