The island of Sri Lanka is free from serious natural hazards such as volcanic activity and earthquakes resulting from climatic extremes, but there are impacts of many natural disasters, such as landslides, floods and droughts, the intensity and frequency of which are increasing due to human interventions. Some areas of Sri Lanka are also periodically subject to cyclones that occur due to climatic conditions and geographical locations.Land degradation denotes all natural or anthropogenic processes that diminish or impair productivity of land.

Accurately quantifying changes in soil carbon (C) stocks with land-use change is important for estimating the anthropogenic fluxes of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere and for implementing policies such as REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation) that provide financial incentives to reduce carbon dioxide fluxes from deforestation and land degradation. Despite hundreds of field studies and at least a dozen literature reviews, there is still considerable disagreement on the direction and magnitude of changes in soil C stocks with land-use change.

In Morocco land degradation – mainly caused by soil erosion – is one of the most serious agroenvironmental threats encountered. However, only limited data are available on the actual magnitude of soil erosion. The study site investigated was an agricultural field located in Marchouch (6°42′ W, 33° 47′ N) at 68 km south east from Rabat. This work demonstrates the potential of the combined use of ¹³⁷Cs, ²¹⁰Pbₑₓ as radioisotopic soil tracers to estimate mid and long term erosion and deposition rates under Mediterranean agricultural areas.

Gully erosion is responsible for a substantial amount of soil loss and is generally considered an indicator of desertification. Hence, mapping these gully features provides essential information needed on sediment production, identification of vulnerable areas for gully formation, land degradation, and environmental and socio-economical effects.

The island of Sri Lanka is free from serious natural hazards such as volcanic activity and earthquakes resulting from climatic extremes, but there are impacts of many natural disasters, such as landslides, floods and droughts, the intensity and frequency of which are increasing due to human interventions. Some areas of Sri Lanka are also periodically subject to cyclones that occur due to climatic conditions and geographical locations.Land degradation denotes all natural or anthropogenic processes that diminish or impair productivity of land.

Land abandonment is a major issue worldwide. In Argentina, the Monte Desert is the most arid rangeland, where the traditional conservation practices are based on successional management of areas excluded to disturbances or abandoned. Some areas subjected to this kind of management may be too degraded, and thus require active restoration. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess whether passive succession-based management is a suitable approach by evaluating the status of land degradation in a protected area after 17–41� years of farming abandonment.

The island of Sri Lanka is free from serious natural hazards such as volcanic activity and earthquakes resulting from climatic extremes, but there are impacts of many natural disasters, such as landslides, floods and droughts, the intensity and frequency of which are increasing due to human interventions. Some areas of Sri Lanka are also periodically subject to cyclones that occur due to climatic conditions and geographical locations.Land degradation denotes all natural or anthropogenic processes that diminish or impair productivity of land.

This paper sheds light on changing farmers' land management practices in two mountain watersheds, with and without external assistance, in the western hills of Nepal. Information used in the analysis were obtained through a survey of 300 households, group discussion, key informant interviews, and field observation conducted during April–September 1999.

Human impacts have been severe on Icelandic soils and vegetation. In order to assess human impact on soils soil quality, soil organic C (SOC), soil bulk density (BD), soil moisture content (SMC), soil mass, and SOC sequestration were measured from two Histosol cores in West Iceland. The cores cover a period from around 665 BC to present, capturing the initial human settlement of Iceland in AD 871. Tephrochronology allowed for a reliable correlation and comparison between the two cores.

The dry rangelands of West Asia and North Africa are fragile and severely degraded due to low rainfall and mismanagement of natural resources. Rainwater harvesting (RWH) interventions are used to increase soil moisture content, vegetation cover, and productivity. However, adoption of rainwater harvesting by communities is slow. To understand adoption constraints and to develop options for sustainable integration of rainwater harvesting, a benchmark watershed was established in the dry rangelands of Jordan.

Repetitive armed conflicts may be directly and indirectly responsible for severe biophysical modification to the environment. This, in turn, makes land more susceptible to degradation. Mapping and monitoring land degradation are essential for designing and implementing post-conflict recovery plans and informed policy decisions. The aim of this work was to evaluate the effect of repetitive armed conflicts on land degradation along the coastal zone of North Lebanon using multi-temporal satellite data.