Soils are a vital substrate for agricultural production, play a central role in regulating the global carbon budget, and are a valuable source of biodiversity. Yet estimates of the global area affected by soil and land degradation are continuing to increase. For decades, soil scientists have called for a legally binding, international policy framework to guide the sustainable use of soils, but a piecemeal legislative approach has prevailed instead. With over 200 international environmental agreements currently in force, there is political reluctance for another one.

Soil erosion and subsequent degradation has been a contributor to societal collapse in the past and is one of the major expressions of desertification in arid regions. The revised universal soil loss equation (RUSLE) models soil lost to water erosion as a function of climate erosivity (the degree to which rainfall can result in erosion), topography, soil erodibility, and land use/management.

Esta investigación analiza mediante la metodología Delphi varios indicadores de calidad del suelo del olivar español, en particular, la textura, la fertilidad, el color, la profundidad, la compactación, la aireación, la materia orgánica y la infiltración del agua. El objetivo consiste en describir la percepción de los olivicultores acerca del grado de erosión en la zona de estudio, teniendo en cuenta su propia autovaloración referida a su nivel de adopción de innovaciones y a su actitud frente al riesgo de aplicar nuevas tecnologías.

Caragana microphylla was the dominant plant species to be used to control desertification in semi-arid Horqin Sandy Land, China. To elucidate the cover effect of Caragana microphylla planted for 25 years on spatial distribution of soil nutrients including C, N, P and K, soil samples were taken from four soil depths (0-5 cm, 5-10 cm, 10-20 cm, 20-40 cm) and three slope positions (windward slope, top slope, and leeward slope). Soil nutrients under shrubs (US) and between shrubs (BS) were compared to investigate the enrichment effect of plantation.

La presente investigación se inscribe en el análisis de la problemática asociada al cambio climático global, aplicado a uno de los problemas más relevantes del ecosistema semiárido chileno, cual es la determinación de las tendencias de los caudales reales con que se contará para la planificación del desarrollo rural y urbano futuro.

En el presente documento se analizan los principales temas relacionados con el desarrollo agropecuario y rural, y la situación del medio ambiente y los recursos naturales de América Latina y el Caribe en el período 1990 a 2005. El documento está estructurado en torno a cinco ejes temáticos: i) desarrollo productivo; ii) deforestación; iii) degradación y desertificación; iv) factores sociales y demográficos, pobreza, ingreso y empleo, y cambios poblacionales, y v) cambio climático y desastres naturales.

This report highlights key developments and recent sustainability trends in agriculture, rural development, land, desertification and drought, five of the six themes being considered by the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) at its 16th and 17th sessions (2008-2009).

The state of the Arab environment stands at a pivotal juncture with numerous environmental problems both current and imminently threatening the region. Among the major challenges being faced are water scarcity, land degradation and desertification, inadequate waste management, coastal and marine environment degradation and air pollution.

Although several institutional and management approaches that address the degradation of the rangelands have been tested in the dry areas of Central and West Asia and North Africa (CWANA), impact has been limited. Nonetheless, the development of National Action Plans to combat desertification highlights the interest of governments to tackle this issue. Payment for Environmental Services (PES) may be a viable policy option, though, to date, most PES programs have focused on the management of different resources (forests, watersheds).