Research article Special Issues

The urgent call for land degradation vulnerability assessment for conserving land quality in the purview of climate change: Perspective from South Indian Coast

  • Received: 25 March 2016 Accepted: 30 June 2016 Published: 25 January 2016
  • Generating an extensive knowledge base on land degradation risk in different locations of the world is essential for developing effective mitigation and adaptation strategies. A changing climate will affect the land, soil and water resources in many ways. In this context, this study aimed to understand the possibility of present and future land degradation in the study area in the purview of global warming through the analyzing aridity index (AI), sea level rise trends and soil analysis. The study area is a semi-arid coastal region characterized by tropical climate. AI analysis shows possible drying trends for the end century period as the simulated AI values decline in the ranges of −3.25 to −7.5 mm/°C. The soil analysis revealed that the mean soil organic carbon (SOC) content in the study area is 0.43% which is far below the world standards and sea levels may likely be raised under climate change in this area. This study also showcases a frame work for assessing land degradation vulnerability in the context of climate change. Conducting land degradation vulnerability assessment is a highly essential prior to any flagship activities on sustainable land management.

    Citation: Dhanya Praveen, Ramachandran Andimuthu, K. Palanivelu. The urgent call for land degradation vulnerability assessment for conserving land quality in the purview of climate change: Perspective from South Indian Coast[J]. AIMS Agriculture and Food, 2016, 1(3): 330-341. doi: 10.3934/agrfood.2016.3.330

    Related Papers:

  • Generating an extensive knowledge base on land degradation risk in different locations of the world is essential for developing effective mitigation and adaptation strategies. A changing climate will affect the land, soil and water resources in many ways. In this context, this study aimed to understand the possibility of present and future land degradation in the study area in the purview of global warming through the analyzing aridity index (AI), sea level rise trends and soil analysis. The study area is a semi-arid coastal region characterized by tropical climate. AI analysis shows possible drying trends for the end century period as the simulated AI values decline in the ranges of −3.25 to −7.5 mm/°C. The soil analysis revealed that the mean soil organic carbon (SOC) content in the study area is 0.43% which is far below the world standards and sea levels may likely be raised under climate change in this area. This study also showcases a frame work for assessing land degradation vulnerability in the context of climate change. Conducting land degradation vulnerability assessment is a highly essential prior to any flagship activities on sustainable land management.


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