Historical evolution of dryland ecosystems Authors: Ioannis Daliakopoulos, Ioannis Tsanis Technical University of Crete, Greece CASCADE REPORT series April 12th 2014 Report number 04 – updated version Series: Scientific reports Deliverable 2.1 DOCUMENT SUMMARY Project Information Project Title: Catastrophic Shifts in drylands: how can we prevent ecosystem degradation? Project Acronym: CASCADE Call Identifier: FP7 --- ENV.2011.2.1.4-2 - Behaviour of ecosystems, thresholds and tipping points Grant agreement no.: 283068 Starting Date: 01.01.2012 End Date: 30.09.2015 Project duration 66 months Web---Site address: www.cascade-project.eu Project coordinator: ALTERRA – Stichting Dienst Landbouwkundig Onderzoek (DLO) EU project representative: Prof. Dr. C.J. Ritsema - ([email protected])- +31 317 Project leader: Dr. Violette Geissen - ([email protected]) - +31 317 Deliverable Information Deliverable Title: Historical evolution of dryland ecosystems Deliverable Number: D.2.1 Work Package: WP2 WP Leader Technical University of Crete (TUC) Nature: Public/Restricted Dissemination: Editor (s): WP2: Daliakopoulis, I.N & Tsanis, I.K. E---Mail(s): [email protected] Telephone Number: +30 28210 37800 Date of Delivery August 31, 2013 1 - the Project Consortium No Name Short name Country 1 STICHTING DIENST LANDBOUWKUNDIG ONDERZOEK ALTERRA Netherlands 2 TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY OF CRETE TUC Greece 3 UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DELLA BASILICATA Unibas Italy 4 CENTRE NATIONAL DE LA RECHERCHE SCIENTIFIQUE CNRS France 5 UNIVERSIDAD DE ALICANTE UA Spain 6 UNIVERSIDADE DE AVEIRO UAVR Portugal 7 FONDAZIONE PER LO SVILUPPO SOSTENIBILE DEL MEDES Italy 8 UNIVERSITY OF LEEDS UNIVLEEDS United Kingdom 9 UNIVERSITAET BERN UNIBE Switzerland 1 UNIVERSITEIT UTRECHT UU Netherlands 1 JRC -JOINT RESEARCH CENTRE- EUROPEAN JRC Belgium 1 CYPRUS UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY CUT Cyprus 1 WAGENINGEN UNIVERSITEIT WU Netherlands FUNDACION CENTRO DE ESTUDIOS 1 CEAM Spain AMBIENTALES DEL MEDITERRANEO 4 CASCADE Deliverable 2.1 Historical evolution of dryland ecosystems Daliakopoulos, I.N & Tsanis, I.K. Technical University of Crete August 2013 Contents Contents ................................................................................................................................ 2 1 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 5 1.1 Definition of Dryland Systems ................................................................................. 5 1.2 Ecosystems in Drylands .......................................................................................... 5 1.3 Conditions and trends in drylands ........................................................................... 5 1.4 Remote Sensing ...................................................................................................... 7 1.5 Scope and Methods ................................................................................................ 8 1.5.1 Expert knowledge, existing literature and background datasets ....................... 9 1.5.2 Remote sensing data ..................................................................................... 10 1.5.3 Climate data ................................................................................................... 12 2 Várzea Study Site (PT) ................................................................................................. 14 2.1 Definition of the Várzea Study Site ........................................................................ 14 2.1.1 General information ........................................................................................ 14 2.1.2 Topography .................................................................................................... 14 2.1.3 Geology and Soils .......................................................................................... 15 2.1.4 Land Use ........................................................................................................ 16 2.1.5 Climate ........................................................................................................... 17 2.1.6 Main Ecosystems ........................................................................................... 19 2.1.7 Socioeconomic status .................................................................................... 20 2.1.8 Timeline of events .......................................................................................... 20 2.2 Main Causes of Land Degradation ........................................................................ 21 2.2.1 Human induced Drivers .................................................................................. 21 2.2.2 Natural Drivers ............................................................................................... 21 2.2.3 Indirect causes ............................................................................................... 23 3 Albatera Study Site (ES) ............................................................................................... 24 3.1 Definition of the Albatera Study Site ...................................................................... 24 3.1.1 General information ........................................................................................ 24 3.1.2 Topography .................................................................................................... 24 3.1.3 Geology and Soils .......................................................................................... 25 3.1.4 Land Use ........................................................................................................ 26 3.1.5 Climate ........................................................................................................... 27 3.1.6 Hydrogeology ................................................................................................. 28 3.1.7 Main Ecosystems ........................................................................................... 30 3.1.8 Socioeconomic status .................................................................................... 33 2 3.1.9 Timeline of events .......................................................................................... 33 3.2 Main Causes of Land Degradation ........................................................................ 34 3.2.1 Human induced Drivers .................................................................................. 34 3.2.2 Natural Drivers ............................................................................................... 35 4 Ayora Study Site (ES) .................................................................................................. 37 4.1 Definition of the Ayora Study Site .......................................................................... 37 4.1.1 General information ........................................................................................ 37 4.1.2 Topography .................................................................................................... 37 4.1.3 Geology and Soils .......................................................................................... 37 4.1.4 Land Use ........................................................................................................ 39 4.1.5 Climate ........................................................................................................... 40 4.1.6 Main Ecosystems ........................................................................................... 41 4.1.7 Socioeconomic status .................................................................................... 44 4.1.8 Timeline of events .......................................................................................... 45 4.2 Main Causes of Land Degradation ........................................................................ 45 4.2.1 Human induced Drivers .................................................................................. 45 4.2.2 Natural Drivers ............................................................................................... 47 4.2.3 Indirect causes ............................................................................................... 48 5 Castelsaraceno Site (ΙΤ) ............................................................................................... 50 5.1 Definition of the Castelsaraceno Study Site ........................................................... 50 5.1.1 General information ........................................................................................ 50 5.1.2 Topography .................................................................................................... 51 5.1.3 Geology and Soils .......................................................................................... 52 5.1.4 Land Use ........................................................................................................ 53 5.1.5 Climate ........................................................................................................... 55 5.1.6 Hydrogeology ................................................................................................. 57 5.1.7 Water quality .................................................................................................. 57 5.1.8 Main Ecosystems ........................................................................................... 58 5.1.9 Socioeconomic status ...................................................................................