CASCADE study sites
CASCADE has investigated six areas (or study sites) in southern Europe in three climatic conditions (humid, subhumid or semiarid) and under three driving pressures (wildfires, overgrazing or land abandonment). In each of these study sites ecosystem shifts have occurred, or are likely to occur, with associated consequences for the vegetation, the animals, and the people living there.
This report presents information about the status and historical evolution of the six CASCADE Study Sites where ecosystem shifts have occurred or are likely to occur. The focus is on the collection and organization of background information that will frame the context and problems faced in each Study Site. Based on this information, meaningful and integrated descriptions have been compiled for use throughout the project. This historical evolution is relevant to the critical evaluation of drivers of change in drylands. It is on this information that subsequent work can be based in order to offer new insight and argument on the role of thresholds and tipping points in the land degradation process.
Please cite as: Daliakopoulos, I. and Tsanis, I. (eds) 2014. Historical evolution of dryland ecosystems. CASCADE Project Deliverable 2.1. CASCADE Report 04. 126 pp. Available at: www.cascadis-project.eu/documents