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1. Definition
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Name
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LAND USE TYPE
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Brief definition
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The land use type
can be separated into two categories: (a) major land
use, and (b) land utilization type. The major land
use is a broad category defining general land use
types such as agriculture, pastures, forests, recreation
areas, etc. The land utilization type is a more detailed
subdivision of the previous category defining the
specific land use type such as cereals, olive groves,
pine forests, etc. Therefore, this indicator distinguishes
both broad and more detailed types of land use.
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Agricultural
land utilization type including two land use types,
olive groves and almond trees (photo by C. Kosmas)
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Unit of measure
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Area
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2. Position within the
logical framework DPSIR
3. Target and political
pertinence
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Objective
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Contribution to
the definition and mapping of ESAs and assessment
of the desertification risk of an area
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Importance with
respect to desertification
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Vegetation and
land use are clearly important factors controlling
various processes affecting desertification, such
as fire risk and ability of vegetation to recover,
erosion protection offered to the soil, and drought
resistance. The dominant biotic land component in
terms of desertification is the vegetative cover controlling
water run-off generation. The processes listed strongly
affect vegetation cover.
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International
Conventions and agreements
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The UNCCD emphasizes
that combating desertification must be tackled within
the general framework of actions to promote sustainable
development.
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Secondary objectives
of the indicator
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Within the ESA
model objectives include investigation of the individual
processes linked to land degradation and desertification
...
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4. Methodological description
and basic definitions
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Definitions and
basic concepts
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Forest fires are
one of the most important causes of land degradation
in hilly areas of the Mediterranean region. The various
plant species react to fire in different ways. Forest
fires occur frequently in pine-dominated forests with
adverse consequences in terms of soil erosion and
biodiversity losses. The frequency of fire occurrence
is lower in grasslands and mixed Mediterranean macchia
with evergreen forests. The type of vegetation and
vegetation cover controls intensity and the frequency
of overland flow and surface wash erosion. Areas cultivated
with rainfed crops such as cereals, vines, almonds
become vulnerable to erosion and desertification because
of the decreased protection by vegetation cover in
reducing effective rainfall intensity at the ground
surface. Experimental data on soil erosion collected
under existing management practices in the Mediterranean
region have shown that some the prevailing land use
types can be graded in order of decreasing effect
on soil erosion as following: vines, eucalyptus, winter
wheat, shrubland and olives.
The various ecosystems
present various degrees of adaptation and resistance
to aridity. Under severe droughts, plant leaf area
index is reduced resulting in an increase in the probability
of enhanced soil erosion as protective vegetation
cover is reduced.
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Benchmarks Indication
of the values/ranges of value
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- Agriculture
- Pasture
- Shrub land
- Forest
- Mining
- Recreation
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Methods of measurement
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Land use type
can be measured by (a) simple field observation, (b)
aerial photographs or remote sensing images.
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Limits of the
indicator
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Frequent changes
of land use.
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Linkages with
other indicators
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Vegetation
cover, Drought
resistance, Soil
erosion control measures, Fire
risk, Tillage
operations, Rainfall,
Aridity index (1),
Soil depth, Slope
aspect, Flooding
frequency, Infiltration
capacity
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5. Evaluation of data
needs and availability
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Data required
to calculate the indicator
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Land use maps
(CORINE project)
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Data sources
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Necessary data
are usually available and accessible and the cost/benefit
ratio is reasonable.
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Availability of data from national and international
sources
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Data can be obtained from various regional, national
or international institutions involved in collecting
and elaborating land use data.
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6. Institutions that
have participated in developing the indicator
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Main institutions
responsible
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Agricultural University
of Athens
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Other contributing
organizations
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Universities of
Lisbon, Murcia, Basilicata, Amsterdam, Leeds
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7. Additional information
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Bibliography
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Kosmas, C., Kirkby,
M. and Geeson, N. 1999. Manual on: Key indicators
of desertification and mapping environmentally sensitive
areas to desertification. European Commission, Energy,
Environment and Sustainable Development, EUR 18882,
87 p.
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Other references
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Kosmas, C., Danalatos,
N., Cammeraat, L.H., Chabart, M., Diamantopoulos,
J., Farand, R., Gutierrez, L., Jacob, A., Marques,
H., Martinez-Fernandez, J., Mizara, A., Moustakas,
N., Nicolau, J.M. Oliveros, C., Pinna, G., Puddu,
R., Puigdefabregas, J., Roxo, M., Simao, A., Stamou,
G., Tomasi, N., Usai, D., and Vacca, A., 1997. The
effect of land use on runoff and soil erosion rates
under Mediterranean conditions. Catena, 29:45-59.
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Contacts Name
and address
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Agricultural
University of Athens
Dr Constantinos Kosmas
email: lsos2kok@aua.gr
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