Manual for describing land degradation indicators

Table of Contents

1. Editor
2. Introduction
3. Classification of indicators
4. Land degradation indicators
5. Evaluation and short-list of indicators
6. Explanations for filling the information sheets
   1. General information
   2. Climate indicators
   3. Water indicators
   4. Soil indicators
   5. Vegetation indicators
   6. Water runoff indicators
   7. Forest fires indicators
   8. Agricultural indicators
   9. Cultivation indicators
   10. Husbandry indicators
   11. Land management indicators
   12. Land use indicators
   13. Water use indicators
   14. Tourism indicators
   15. Social indicators
   16. Institutional indicators
7. Farm survey research
8. Focus group approach
9. References

Vegetation indicators

Major land use: The land use type can be separated into two categories: (a) major land use, and (b) vegetation cover type or land utilization type. The major land use is a broad category defining general land use types such as agriculture, pastures, forests, recreation areas, etc. The land utilization type is a more detailed subdivision of the previous category defining the specific land use type such as cereals, olive groves, pine forests, etc. Major land use can be defined by: (a) simple field observation, (b) aerial photographs or remote sensing images. The following categories of major land use can be distinguished: agriculture, pasture, shrubland, forest, mining area, recreation area, urban area, etc.

Vegetation cover type: Vegetation cover type defines the specific characteristics of land use such as vines, olives, cereals, pine forest, oak forest, etc. It can be defined by: (a) simple field observations, and (b) aerial photographs or remote sensing images. The following categories of plant cover can be distinguished to: cereals, olives, vines, almonds, oranges, vegetables, cotton, bare land, etc.

Plant cover: The percentage of soil which is covered by green vegetation is defined as plant cover. Leaf area index (LAI) is an alternative expression of the term plant cover which gives the area of leaves in m² corresponding to an area of one m² of ground. Vegetation cover can be easily measured in the field by assessing the percentage of the ground that it is covered by the existing vegetation. Aerial photographs or satellite images can be used for measuring vegetation cover of an extensive area. Four classes are used <10%, 10-25%, 25-50% , 50-75%, and >75%.

Deforested area: It is defined as the total deforested surface annually as a percentage of the total land surface. Data is available for forested areas for different periods and territory levels (FAO; EUROSTAT, ISTAT, CFS). It can be defined by using a combination of satellite-based earth observation and intensive field data collection to estimate deforestation process on a definite territory. The following four classes of deforestation can be used: (a) low, <1.5 % of total deforested surface/total territorial surface/ per year; (b) moderate, 1.5- 2.5 % of total deforested surface/total territorial surface/ per year; (c) high, 2.5-3.5 % of total deforested surface/total territorial surface/ per year; (d) very high, >3.5 % of total deforested surface/total territorial surface/ per year.