Desertification, land degradation and sustainability / Anton Imeson.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

-- Contents Preface Acknowledgement Introduction: Scope and approach part I The Nature of Desertification 1. Desertification, its causes and why it matters 1.1. The nature of desertification 1.2. The links between global and local desertification 1.3. Discussion: desertification as a world-wide and historical phenomenon 1.4. Discussion: life and its feedback with the environment 1.5. Discussion: the adaptation of people and cultures to desertification 1.6. Discussion: Data and evidence for land degradation 1.7. Conclusion: why land degradation and desertification occur References and further reading 2. Responses to desertification 2.1. Finding answers 2.2. Conclusion: The causes of land degradation today 2.3. Conclusion: strategies to mitigate desertification References and further reading 3. Desertification indicators: from concept to practice 3.1. Introduction 3.2. Approaches to desertification indicators 3.3. Global and regional indicators of land degradation and desertification 3.4. Applying selected concepts in practice 3.5. Desertification, resilience and stability 3.6. The soil and water conservation and protection functions 3.7. Spatial variability and discontinuity 3.8. Hydrological indicators of desertification 3.9. Water in the soil and landscape References and further reading part II Local Desertification Impact and Response 4. Key processes regulating soil and landscape functions 4.1. Introduction 4.2. Fine scale processes 4.3. The provision of the hydrological function, runoff and sediment transport 4.4. The protection function of the land and erosion 4.5. The long-term impact: the vigil network sites in the USA 4.6. Hydrological response: what happens to the land when it rains 4.7. Water 4.8. Nature, natural capital and land degradation 4.9. Soil stability 4.10. Soil response and soil behaviour 4.11. Catchment response, hydrology and the soil 4.12. Discussion: vegetation patterns as responses to land degradation processes 4.13. Controlled desertification experiments References and further reading 5. Human impact on degradation processes 5.1. Introduction 5.2. Soil erosion processes 5.3. Response of soil structure to cultivation and farming 5.4. Gully erosion 5.5. Grazing and erosion 5.6. The impact of fire on land degradation processes 5.7. Case 1: Blue Ridge Foothills 5.8. Case 2: Human impact in the Atlantic States 5.9. Case 3: Impact of forest logging in California Casper Creek 5.10. Case 4: Karuah Forest, New South Wales, Australia 5.11. Case 5: Afforestation in Spain 5.12. Case 6: Soil erosion impacts in Europe 5.13. Case 7: Human impact in the Central Cordillera of Columbia 5.14. Case 8: Bolivia Tarije 5.15. The sediment load and soil erosion 5.16. Monitoring methods to verify impact and management on erosion 5.17. Water resource development irrigation as responses 5.18. Soil conservation principles and erosion 5.19. Conceptual approaches to soil conservation References and further reading 6. Responses to land degradation from perception to action 6.1. Introduction 6.2. Environmentally sensitive areas 6.3. The European policy, response, and governance 6.4. Applying the adaptive systems approach explicitly 6.5. Responding with laws to protect the land and soil 6.6. European law and the requirements of the convention 6.7. The European soil strategy 6.8. Romania: A model national action plan 6.9. Italy and the convention References and further reading part III Global Desertification Impact and Response 7. Global desertification today 7.1. Desertification today 7.2. Global balances and fluxes 7.3. Case study: desertification and the crash in property prices 7.4. Brazil 7.5. Namibia 7.6. Dust and sandstorms in China References and further reading 8. Desertification, ecosystem services and capital 8.1. Introduction 8.2. Interactions between desertification and ecosystem services 8.3. The impact of desertification on ecosystem services References and further reading 9. The way forward: global soil conservation and protection 9.1. Introduction 9.2. Iceland 9.3. The call for action 9.4. Europe 9.5. Support to the UNCCD 9.6. The importance of international co-operation References and further reading Appendix A Soil basics References and further reading Index