Desire for Greener Land

Major land degradation types per study site
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Botswana
Cape Verde
Chile
China
Greece/Crete
Greece/Nestos
Italy
Mexico
Morocco
Portugal/Gois
Figure 3: Major land degradation types per study site.
Area (* 100 Ha)
Major degradation types per (major) LUS
250
200
150
100
50
0
Cultivation
Forestry
Grazing /
Ranging
Mixed
Other
Settlement
B
H
P
C
E
W
NoDeg
Portugal/Maçao
DESIRE - WOCAT 2012
Figure 4: Major land degradation types per land use type.
See Figure 3 for explanation of symbols.
land all types of land degradation occur. In forest mainly
water erosion, chemical and biological degradation were
recorded. Due to its vegetation cover and the absence of
mechanical agricultural operations wind erosion and physical
soil deterioration are less likely to occur here.
The degree of degradation refers to the intensity of the
land degradation process. For example, in the case of soil
erosion it is the amount of soil washed or blown away. The
Russia/Dzhanibek
28 DESIRE – WOCAT Desire for Greener Land
Russioa/Novy
Spain
Tunisia
Turkey/Karapinar
Turkey/Eskisehir
B: Biological degradation
C: Chemical soil deterioration
E: Soil erosion by wind
H: Water degradation
P: Physical soil deterioration
W: Soil erosion by water
DESIRE - WOCAT 2012
larger part of degraded land in the DESIRE study sites was
recorded as being degraded at moderate to strong degrees
(Figure 5, Figure 6). Extreme forms, i.e. land degradation
beyond restoration were only recorded for the study sites in
Spain and Turkey. For the Turkish site the degradation refers
to wind erosion and soil fertility decline in the Karapinar
site, and to several degradation types in the Eskişehir site
(soil fertility decline, water erosion, biological degradation,
water degradation).
Rate of land degradation
While the degree of land degradation indicates the state of
degradation at the moment of observation, the degradation
rate indicates the trend of degradation over a recent period
of time (about 10 years). A severely degraded area may be
stable at present (i.e. low rate, no trend towards further
degradation), whereas an area that is currently only slightly
degraded may be characterised by a high degradation rate,
or a trend towards rapid further deterioration. Identifying
the rate of degradation is not only useful to prioritise areas
for SLM interventions, but also to reveal areas where land
health is improving due to SLM.
Land degradation appeared to have increased moderately to
rapidly in most of the DESIRE study sites, in particular in the
Italian and Portugese (Góis) sites, Tunisia, Botswana, Turkey
Tunisia, Cyprien Hauser Morocco, Gudrun Schwilch