LAND RESOURCES OF THE MEDITERRANEAN: STATUS, PRESSURES, TRENDS AND IMPACTS ON FUTURE REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Abstract
ABSTRACT The Mediterranean region covers about 854 million ha, but only 118 million (or 14 per cent) are suitable for agricultural production. In North Africa and the Middle East (MENA), agricultural land covers about 5 per cent; in Egypt and Algeria, it occupies less than 4 per cent and, in Libya, less than 2 per cent of the total national land area. Across the Mediterranean region land use divides between natural pastures/rangelands (ca. 15 per cent), forests and woodlands (ca. 8 per cent), with the ca. 63 per cent remaining desert sands, shallow, rocky, saline, sodic soils and areas effectively sealed by urbanisation. Land degradation is a severe problem in most Mediterranean countries. Estimates for the period 1961 to 2020 show that although the Mediterranean population is likely to more than double, ca. 8.3 million ha of agricultural land (7 per cent) may be lost as a result of continued urbanisation and land degradation. If these estimates are correct, agricultural land per capita would more than halve from ca. 0.48 ha (1961) to ca. 0.21 ha in 2020. Food security is likely to become increasingly problematic, especially in the MENA countries, which require a major reassessment of their agricultural development policy. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
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Conventional tillage involves a tillage frequency of 3 to 5 times a year, withholding natural vegetation to grow, and causes biophysical land degradation.
“conventional tillage, which involves a tillage frequency of 3 to 5 times a year withholding natural vegetation to grow and therefore causing biophysical land degradation (Zdruli, 2014).”
From Almond farm profitability under agroecological management in south-eastern Spain: Accounting for externalities and opportunity costs (2020) · cites this paper as Zdruli, 2014
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De Leijster, V., Verburg, R. W., Santos, M. J., Wassen, M. J., Martínez-Mena, M., de Vente, J., & Verweij, P. A. (2020) · Agricultural Systems · doi:10.1016/j.agsy.2020.102878 · Cited by 52 · see citing works
“Organic certificates, however, do not include criteria on orchard floor management, and therefore the mainstream floor management of these organic orchards is conventional tillage, which involves a tillage frequency of 3 to 5 times a year withholding natural vegetation to grow and therefore causing biophysical land de…”
BackgroundSharma, K. K., Palakolanu, S. R., Bhattacharya, J., Shankhapal, A. R., & Bhatnagar-Mathur, P. (2022) · Frontiers in Genetics · doi:10.3389/fgene.2022.999207 · Cited by 24 · see citing works
- Authors
- Zdruli, P.
- Affiliations
- International Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies (FR)
- Corresponding author
- Zdruli, P.
- ORCID
- Zdruli, P.
- Venue
- Land Degradation & Development
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2012-03-21
- Volume
- 25
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 373-384
- ISSN
- 1085-3278 (ISSN-L)
- 1099-145X
- OpenAlex
- W1518366545
- Cited by
- 146
- References
- 30
- Citations by year
- 2026: 10 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 9 · 2023: 32 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 7 · 2020: 14 · 2019: 7 · 2018: 7 · 2017: 15 · 2016: 16 · 2015: 9 · 2014: 8 · 2013: 2 · 2012: 2
- FWCI
- 5.56
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Land Degradation and Development (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- European Commission
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › Land Use and Ecosystem Services
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › General Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Agriculture, Land Use, Rural Development
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Soil Science › Soil erosion and sediment transport
- Keywords
- agricultural land loss, land degradation, urbanization, food security, land use, desertification, agricultural development policy, Middle East and North Africa, North Africa, regional development, land use change
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