干旱区生态环境知识资源中心

Within the DeMon (''Desertification Monitoring'') project, carried out during the previous E.C. Framework Programme, tools were implemented and refined which permitted us to derive physical parameters from earth observation data and to relate them to soil degradation, and models on different scales were developed which permit to understand overall soil transport and susceptibility to erosion due to single rainfall events.

The DeMon-2 project aims at integrating these tools and models and demonstrate that they are adequate for operationally monitoring land degradation and desertification over relatively long time periods, with spatial and temporal resolutions compatible with the variability which is typical for the Mediterranean region. The modelling of ecosystems responses to observable environmental changes will permit to deduce risk of irreversable degradation versus the possibility of sustainable land management. The overall objective is to propose the specifications of an operational monitoring system of degradation processes in the Mediterranean Basin.