Land Degradation in Mediterranean Environments of the World Book

The book is an integrated geographical assessment of land degradation in the worlds Mediterranean regions. Part I, written by specialist contributors, comprises a brief geography of the Mediterranean-climate regions - the Mediterranean basin, California, central Chile, the Southwest Cape and southern Australia - to provide a context for Parts II and III. Material written by the regional contributors has been compiled into an integrated set of thematic chapters for these major sections. Part II discusses the nature, extent, history, causes and implications of land degradation in the regions. Major problems include soil, vegetation and water degradation, fire, drought, flooding and sedimentation. Historical and contemporary human responses to these problems are also considered and indeed at times become part of the problem. Solutions - actual and potential -are evaluated in Part III, and include those dealing with animals, cultivation, horticulture, engineering-type practices, agro-forestry, whole farm planning, integrated catchment management and regional planning. Throughout there is an emphasis on the distinctive nature of the Mediterranean-type environments - especially the seasonally hot, dry climates, the species-rich and highly inflammable vegetation, steep topography and coastal orientations - and the ways in which these environments interact with human populations with their contrasting histories and cultures to result in a special set of environmental problems and responses.