Indicator-based approaches are often used to monitor land degradation and desertification from the global to the very local scale. However, there is still little agreement on which indicators may best reflect both status and trends of these phenomena. In this study, various processes of land degradation and desertification have been analyzed in 17 study sites around the world using a wide set of biophysical and socioeconomic indicators.

Salinization and sodication are abiotic soil factors, important hazards to soil fertility and consequently affect the crop production. Soil salinization is of great concern for irrigated agriculture in arid and semi‐arid regions of the world; sodicity is characterized by an excessively high concentration of sodium (Na) in their cation exchange system. In recent times, attention has been turned to study the impacts of these factors (salinity and sodicity) on soil microbial activities.

Soil erosion and contamination are two main desertification indices or land degradation agents in agricultural areas. Global climate change consequence is a priority to predict global environmental change impacts on these degradation risks. This agro-ecological approach can be especially useful when formulating soil specific agricultural practices based on the spatial variability of soils and related resources to reverse environmental degradation.

Understanding the patterns of land degradation indicators can help to identify areas under threat as basis for designing and implementing site-specific management options. This study sort to identify and assess the patterns of land degradation indicators in selected districts of western Kenya. The study employed the use of Land Degradation Sampling Framework (LDSF) to characterize the sites. LDSF a spatially stratified, random sampling design framework consisting of 10km×10km blocks and clusters of plots.

The development of sustainable agricultural and food systems is of significant importance considering the still-growing world population. For this, it is imperative to consider not only quantitative production issues, but also environmental issues such as water pollution, biodiversity loss, and land degradation as well as social and economic issues such as organization of supply chains and communication and coordination among stakeholders.

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.

Researches made in the most important part of protection plantations reforested on land degradation showed that the basic species is Pinus nigra and/ or Pinus silvestris replacing some stands with Hippophae associations. This stands have a fragile structure, not so good for protection functions. Sheltered regeneration and reforestation with local valuable species represents an efficient method for increasing the stability of stands in the reforestation of land degradation. In this way the degradation process was stopped and the vegetation was reinstalled.

Whether aggravated agricultural drought in the Sahel is related to a changing climate (meteorological drought, i.e., deficit of rainfall or unfavourable rainfall distribution) or to land use and land degradation (soil-water drought, i.e., decreased water infilitration and water holding capacity) is a much-debated issue.

Wildfires represent an important agent of land degradation in temperate sub-humid ecosystems, including southern European Mediterranean countries. Identification of integrated conservation approaches that can reduce or prevent degradational impacts is the aim of the EU-funded DESIRE research program, part of which is concerned with quantifying the likely benefit of acceptable alternative conservation strategies to wildfire.