Desertification offers a comprehensive overview of the subject and clearly emphasizes the link between local and global desertification processes and how past and current policy has affected arid environments and their populations.This text adequately applies the research undertaken during the last 15 years on the topic. Desertification has become increasingly politicized and there is a need to present and explain the facts from a global perspective. This book tackles the issues surrounding desertification in a number of ways from differing scales (local to global), processes (physical to human), the relationship of desertification to current global development and management responses at different scales. Desertification has been mainstreamed and integrated into other areas of concern and has consequently been ignored as a cross cutting issue. The book redresses this balance.Making use of much original data and information that has been undertaken by many scientists andpractitioners during the last decade in different parts of the world, Desertification, Land Degradation and Sustainability is organised according to the principles of adaptive management and hierarchy theory and clearly explains desertification within a framework of evolving and interacting physical and socio-economic systems. In addition to research data the book also draws from the National Action Plans of different countries, the IPCC Fourth Assessment on Climate Change and the Millennium assessments.Clearly structured throughout, the content of the book is organised at different scales; local, regional and global. It also specifically explains processes linking top-down and bottom- up interactions and has a strong human component. The historical, cultural and physical context is also stressed.Clearly organised into the following distinct sections:a) Concepts and processesb) Datac) Impactsd) Responsese) Case studies.This text is essential for anyone studying desertification as part of an earth and environmental science degree.

Preface xiAcknowledgement xvIntroduction: Scope and approach 1Part I The Nature of Desertification 31 Desertification, its causes and why it matters 51.1 The nature of desertification 71.2 The links between global and local desertification 271.3 Discussion: desertification as a world-wide and historical phenomenon 271.4 Discussion: life and its feedback with the environment 311.5 Discussion: the adaptation of people and cultures to desertification 321.6 Discussion: Data and evidence for land degradation 341.7 Conclusion: why land degradation and desertification occur 35References and further reading 362 Responses to desertification 412.1 Finding answers 412.2 Conclusion: The causes of land degradation today 512.3 Conclusion: strategies to mitigate desertification 52References and further reading 533 Desertification indicators: from concept to practice 573.1 Introduction 573.2 Approaches to desertification indicators 623.3 Global and regional indicators of land degradation and desertification 653.4 Applying selected concepts in practice 683.5 Desertification, resilience and stability 753.6 The soil and water conservation and protection functions 843.7 Spatial variability and discontinuity 953.8 Hydrological indicators of desertification 1003.9 Water in the soil and landscape 105References and further reading 109Part II Local Desertification Impact and Response 1154 Key processes regulating soil and landscape functions 1174.1 Introduction 1174.2 Fine scale processes 1234.3 The provision of the hydrological function, runoff and sediment transport 1304.4 The protection function of the land and erosion 1324.5 The long-term impact: the vigil network sites in the USA 1344.6 Hydrological response: what happens to the land when it rains 1354.7 Water 1364.8 Nature, natural capital and land degradation 1424.9 Soil stability 1444.10 Soil response and soil behaviour 1454.11 Catchment response, hydrology and the soil 1464.12 Discussion: vegetation patterns as responses to land degradation processes 1484.13 Controlled desertification experiments 149References and further reading 1495 Human impact on degradation processes 1555.1 Introduction 1555.2 Soil erosion processes 1565.3 Response of soil structure to cultivation and farming 1585.4 Gully erosion 1625.5 Grazing and erosion 1655.6 The impact of fire on land degradation processes 1675.7 Case 1: Blue Ridge Foothills 1685.8 Case 2: Human impact in the Atlantic States 1695.9 Case 3: Impact of forest logging in California Casper Creek 1695.10 Case 4: Karuah Forest, New South Wales, Australia 1705.11 Case 5: Afforestation in Spain 1715.12 Case 6: Soil erosion impacts in Europe 1715.13 Case 7: Human impact in the Central Cordillera of Columbia 1745.14 Case 8: Bolivia Tarije 1755.15 The sediment load and soil erosion 1765.16 Monitoring methods to verify impact and management on erosion 1775.17 Water resource development irrigation as responses 1795.18 Soil conservation principles and erosion 1805.19 Conceptual approaches to soil conservation 182References and further reading 1856 Responses to land degradation from perception to action 1916.1 Introduction 1916.2 Environmentally sensitive areas 1996.3 The European policy, response, and governance 2006.4 Applying the adaptive systems approach explicitly 2076.5 Responding with laws to protect the land and soil 2136.6 European law and the requirements of the convention 2176.7 The European soil strategy 2196.8 Romania: A model national action plan 2206.9 Italy and the convention 225References and further reading 230Part III Global Desertification Impact and Response 2377 Global desertification today 2397.1 Desertification today 2397.2 Global balances and fluxes 2477.3 Case study: desertification and the crash in property prices 2547.4 Brazil 2577.5 Namibia 2597.6 Dust and sandstorms in China 262References and further reading 2638 Desertification, ecosystem services and capital 2678.1 Introduction 2678.2 Interactions between desertification and ecosystem services 2818.3 The impact of desertification on ecosystem services 284References and further reading 2909 The way forward: global soil conservation and protection 2939.1 Introduction 2939.2 Iceland 2949.3 The call for action 2969.4 Europe 2999.5 Support to the UNCCD 3019.6 The importance of international co-operation 302References and further reading 303Appendix A: Soil basics 305References and further reading 309Index 311