Environmental change in the Mediterranean region : past, present and future

Environmental change in the past, present and towards the future is studied in semi-arid and arid regions surrounding the Mediterranean Basin. Because of the complexity of the problem, a multi approach is used. This refers as well to the different scientific disciplines (regional geography, geomorphology and quaternary geology, soil science, forestry and archaeology) as to the techniques that are applied (multi temporal field survey, remote sensing and geographical information systems). The study of the environmental change in the past mainly deals with the reconstruction of the former landscape in general and at specific archaeological sites. Environmental change in the present is studied for different aspects. The most important are the degradation processes due to wild fires, depopulation, the agricultural policy and grazing. The different influencing factors are studied with the aim to model the hazard and to predict the possible environmental degradation towards the future.

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