Sustainability

Ecosystems

Mediterranean Scrubs

Desertification

Desertification is a process of degradation with regressive alterations of the water cycle, of the fertility of the soil and of the biodiversity of ecosystems. In Mediterranean scrub areas, especially in the Mediterranean basin, deep economical and social changes have been taking place since the Fifties which led to leave the countryside, to change the use of the soil, to increase the demand for water and to urbanise rural and coastal areas. These territorial exploitation phenomena have increased the gravity of erosive processes and degradation and desertification risks. In particular, deforestation and the loss of the vegetal covering cause the soil to lose much of its ability to retain water, so this impoverished soil is no longer productive.