The Experts below are selected from a list of 25617 Experts worldwide ranked by ideXlab platform
Mark Reed - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Land Degradation assessment in southern africa integrating local and scientific knowledge bases
Land Degradation & Development, 2007Co-Authors: Lindsay C Stringer, Mark ReedAbstract:Recent attempts to address Land Degradation have seen calls for greater integration of scientific expertise with local knowledges. In this paper we investigate the potential for such combined understandings to enhance the accuracy, coverage and relevance of Land Degradation assessment. We followed a participatory approach, using methods from a variety of disciplines, to elicit potential Land Degradation indicators from communities in Botswana and SwaziLand. These indicators were then assessed according to local and scientific understandings. We noted a significant overlap between scientific and local knowledges about Land Degradation in most instances. Where discrepancies occurred, the integrated participatory approach we used allows appropriate explanation to be reached, supporting the case that such an iterative process can lead to both accurate and relevant monitoring of Land Degradation. However, the incorporation of integrated knowledges into national policy has not been widespread in either country, suggesting that much greater efforts are required to institutionalise participatory Land Degradation assessment methodologies. Powerful, often neo-Malthusian narratives of Degradation continue to dominate policy discourse and limit the extent to which hybrid combined local and scientific knowledges can enhance Land Degradation assessment on a national and regional scale. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
D. P. Shrestha - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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modelling Land Degradation in the nepalese himalaya
Catena, 2004Co-Authors: D. P. Shrestha, J A Zinck, E Van RanstAbstract:Abstract Land Degradation is a crucial issue in mountainous areas and is manifested in a variety of processes. For its assessment, application of existing models is not straightforward. In addition, data availability might be a problem. In this paper, a procedure for Land Degradation assessment is described, which follows a four-step approach: (1) detection, inventory and mapping of Land Degradation features, (2) assessing the magnitude of soil loss, (3) study of causal factors, and (4) hazard assessment by applying decision trees. This approach is applied to a case study in the Middle Mountain region of Nepal. The study shows that individual mass movement features such as debris slides and slumps can be easily mapped by photo interpretation techniques. Application of soil loss estimation models helps get insight on the magnitude of soil losses. In the study area, soil losses are higher in rainfed crops on sloping terraces (highest soil loss is 32 tons/ha/year) and minimal under dense forest and in irrigated rice fields (less than 1 ton/ha/year). However, there is high frequency of slope failures in the form of slumps in the rice fields. Debris slides are more common on south-facing slopes under rainfed agriculture or in degraded forest. Field evidences and analysis of causal factors for Land Degradation helps in building decision trees, the use of which for modelling Land Degradation has the advantage that attributes can be ranked and tested according to their importance. In addition, decision trees are simple to construct, easy to implement and very flexible in adaptations.
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Modelling Land Degradation in the Nepalese Himalaya
Catena, 2004Co-Authors: D. P. Shrestha, J A Zinck, E. Van RanstAbstract:Land Degradation is a crucial issue in mountainous areas and is manifested in a variety of processes. For its assessment, application of existing models is not straightforward. In addition, data availability might be a problem. In this paper, a procedure for Land Degradation assessment is described, which follows a four-step approach: (1) detection, inventory and mapping of Land Degradation features, (2) assessing the magnitude of soil loss, (3) study of causal factors, and (4) hazard assessment by applying decision trees. This approach is applied to a case study in the Middle Mountain region of Nepal. The study shows that individual mass movement features such as debris slides and slumps can be easily mapped by photo interpretation techniques. Application of soil loss estimation models helps get insight on the magnitude of soil losses. In the study area, soil losses are higher in rainfed crops on sloping terraces (highest soil loss is 32 tons/ha/year) and minimal under dense forest and in irrigated rice fields (less than 1 ton/ha/year). However, there is high frequency of slope failures in the form of slumps in the rice fields. Debris slides are more common on south-facing slopes under rainfed agriculture or in degraded forest. Field evidences and analysis of causal factors for Land Degradation helps in building decision trees, the use of which for modelling Land Degradation has the advantage that attributes can be ranked and tested according to their importance. In addition, decision trees are simple to construct, easy to implement and very flexible in adaptations. © 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Stefan Sperlich - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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some notes on the economic assessment of Land Degradation
Land Degradation & Development, 2011Co-Authors: M Requierdesjardins, B Adhikari, Stefan SperlichAbstract:Economic factors are an important direct and indirect driver of desertification and Land Degradation, associated with market failures and the lack of appropriate economic policies to address these failures. Hence, economic and political instruments and mechanisms are required to modify the market in such a way that it encourages Land owners to invest in sustainable Land management (SLM) options and thereby help to combat Land Degradation. This article synthesizes the economic aspects of Land Degradation, first in a rather general way. It then discusses existing valuation methods used to assign economic values to Land Degradation including the resulting problems which in turn hamper cost–benefit analyses. Finally, based on these points a brief review is given of potential financial mechanisms to combat Land Degradation and promote SLM. The paper argues that valuation of the economic costs of Land Degradation and desertification would increase awareness of the extent of the Land Degradation phenomenon and its impacts on rural development and agriculture. This could also be a useful tool for decision-making on sectoral orientations for development assistance targeted at desertification, Land Degradation and drought. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Michael Stocking - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Agriculture, Land Degradation and Desertification: Concluding Comments
Land Degradation, 2020Co-Authors: Michael StockingAbstract:This COMLand Conference examined the current status of research and knowledge on several interconnected themes of Land Degradation, agriculture and desertification. The ultimate objective was to derive useful practices for Land Degradation control and appropriate policy responses. Topics upon which important contributions have been made include: soil erosion and Land Degradation processes, including the use of indicators, process modeling and geographical information systems; secondary salinisation of soil and water as exemplified so visibly in Western Australia; the ecological consequences of Land Degradation, especially in key areas such as ‘soil health’, pasture improvement and the heavy use of agro-chemicals; the social and economic consequences of Land Degradation, and how this impacts on policy issues such as Land reform, catchment planning and economic incentives; technical remedial measures, employing airborne geophysical survey methods as well as field methods for Land recovery; structural and agency solutions to Land Degradation, through the evaluation of policy approaches that have been found to work and the monitoring of specific practices for their adoptability; and social, economic and political solutions in SE Asia generally and Australia in particular.
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Land Degradation control and its global environmental benefits
Land Degradation & Development, 2005Co-Authors: Guðrun Gisladottir, Michael StockingAbstract:Acknowledged by world leaders as a global problem, Land Degradation has been taken seriously in three ways: its extent and the proportion of the global population affected; international environmental policy responses; and its inter-relation with other global environmental issues such as biodiversity. Messages about Land Degradation have, however, suffered from abuses, which have rendered appropriate policy responses ineffective. For control to be effective, the paper argues that the synergies between Land Degradation and the two other main global environmental change components (biodiversity and climate change) should be more fully exploited. A focus on the interlinkages, of which there are six possible permutations, is fully supported by empirical findings that suggest that Land Degradation control would not only technically be better served by addressing aspects of biodiversity and climate change but also that international financing mechanisms and the major donors would find this more acceptable. The DPSIR (Driving Force, Pressure, State, Impacts, Response) conceptual framework model is used to illustrate how Land Degradation control could be more effective, tackling not only the drivers of change but also major developmental issues such as poverty and food insecurity. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
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a handbook for the field assessment of Land Degradation
2001Co-Authors: Michael Stocking, Niamh MurnaghanAbstract:Preface * Acknowledgements * List of Acronyms and Abbreviations * Gaining a Farmer-perspective on Land Degradation * What is Land Degradation? * What About the Land User? * Indicators of Soil Loss * Indicators of Production Constraints * Combining Indicators * Consequences of Land Degradation for Land Users * The Benefits of Conservation * Appendix I: Visual Indicators of Land Degradation * Appendix II: Forms for Field Measurements * Appendix III: Glossary - Terms Closely Related to Assessment of Land Degradation * Appendix IV: Annotated Bibliography * Appendix V: Major Tropical Soils and their Susceptibility to Land Degradation * Appendix VI: Investment Appraisal * Appendix VII: Suggested Outline for a Two Week Training Workshop in Land Degradation Field Assessment * Notes * Index
E Van Ranst - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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modelling Land Degradation in the nepalese himalaya
Catena, 2004Co-Authors: D. P. Shrestha, J A Zinck, E Van RanstAbstract:Abstract Land Degradation is a crucial issue in mountainous areas and is manifested in a variety of processes. For its assessment, application of existing models is not straightforward. In addition, data availability might be a problem. In this paper, a procedure for Land Degradation assessment is described, which follows a four-step approach: (1) detection, inventory and mapping of Land Degradation features, (2) assessing the magnitude of soil loss, (3) study of causal factors, and (4) hazard assessment by applying decision trees. This approach is applied to a case study in the Middle Mountain region of Nepal. The study shows that individual mass movement features such as debris slides and slumps can be easily mapped by photo interpretation techniques. Application of soil loss estimation models helps get insight on the magnitude of soil losses. In the study area, soil losses are higher in rainfed crops on sloping terraces (highest soil loss is 32 tons/ha/year) and minimal under dense forest and in irrigated rice fields (less than 1 ton/ha/year). However, there is high frequency of slope failures in the form of slumps in the rice fields. Debris slides are more common on south-facing slopes under rainfed agriculture or in degraded forest. Field evidences and analysis of causal factors for Land Degradation helps in building decision trees, the use of which for modelling Land Degradation has the advantage that attributes can be ranked and tested according to their importance. In addition, decision trees are simple to construct, easy to implement and very flexible in adaptations.
