Indicators in the study sites

Table of Contents

1. Compilers and contributors
2. Introduction
3. Climate indicators
4. Water indicators
   1. Water quality
   2. Water quantity
   3. Ground water exploitation
   4. Water consumption/water demands
5. Soil indicators
6. Vegetation indicators
7. Water runoff indicators
8. Forest fires indicators
9. Agriculture indicators
10. Cultivation indicators
11. Animal husbandry indicators
12. Land management indicators
13. Land use indicators
14. Water use indicators
15. Tourism indicators
16. Human characteristics indicators
17. Institutional indicators
18. Conclusions
19. References

Water indicators

In the last four decades, favorable soil and climatic conditions, new technologies of farming, the increasing demands for foods and the availability of ground or surface water has resulted in intensive farming of the lowlands as well as hilly lands. Furthermore, the development of fast transportation means and the availability of cheap holiday-offers have encouraged the expansion of domestic and international mass tourism over the last 30 years. The increasing tourism exerts a series of impacts on the environment and particular on the land-use patterns and the allocation of water resources. Most of the population in Europe is concentrated near or in the coastal zones, and increasing tourism in the southern part causes a strong, seasonal water demand. Thus, uneven water demands in both space and time greatly increase the cost of making water accessible.

Currently water resources are under severe physical, social, economic and environmental stresses, compounding to the water uses problems. The need for intensification of agriculture to meet the high cost of production, the use of poor quality of water (sea water intrusion), the lack of drainage systems are in many cases responsible for soil degradation resulting from water logging, salinization, alkalinization, and soil erosion. Land degradation and water scarcity mutually re-enforce each other and drylands where water scarcity is increasing, the process of desertification becomes faster and extensive. Salinization is one of the key processes that could lead to desertification especially the plain areas along the coast. It is a growing problem all over the world and affects million of hectares in Europe. Agriculture plays a major role in by causing a high water consumption and water chemical degradation, but at the same time is the economic sector that is facing the most severe impacts. The selected indicators to be used related to water for assessing desertification risk in this project is: (a) water quality, (b) water quantity, (c) ground water exploitation, and water consumption/water demands. Water demands for irrigation should also include leaching requirements. Data related to water have been collected in 5 study sites (Table 2). The number of questionnaires filled in each study site and for each indicator appears in Table 2.

Table 2. Number of field sites in which the indicators related to water was recorded in the filled questionnaires