Soil Quality Characterization of Mediterranean Areas under Desertification Risk for the Implementation of Management Schemes Aimed at Land Degradation Neutrality

Soil is a key component of ecosystems as it provides fundamental ecosystem functionsand services, first of all supporting primary productivity, by physical, chemical and biologicalinteraction with plants. However, soil loss and degradation are at present two of the most criticalenvironmental issues. This phenomenon is particularly critical in Mediterranean areas, whereinappropriate land management, in combination with the increasingly harshening of climaticconditions due to Climate Change, is leading to significant land degradation and desertification andis expected to worsen in the future, leading to economic and social crisis. In such areas, it is offundamental importance to apply sustainable management practices, as conservation/restorationmeasures, to achieve Land Degradation Neutrality. This approach is at the core of the LIFE projectDesert-Adapt “Preparing desertification areas for increased climate change” which is testing a newframework of sustainable land management strategies based on the key concept that themaintenance of ecosystems quality is necessarily connected to economic and social security in thesefragile areas. The project will test adaptation strategies and measures in 10 sites of threeMediterranean areas under strong desertification risk, Alentejo in Portugal, Extremadura in Spainand Sicily in Italy. We present the baseline data of soil quality analysis from 32 sites in the 10 studyareas of the project. Key drivers of soil quality and quantity were identified and used as basis toselect sustainable management strategies focused on the maintenance, improvement and/orrecovery of soil-based ecosystem services, with particular attention to climate change adaptationand land productivity. The final objective of the project is to demonstrate, according to the LDNapproach, the best adaptation strategies to recover degraded areas from low-productive systemsinto resource-efficient and low-carbon economies to preserve ecosystem quality and boostereconomy and social security