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dynamics of the quality and quantity of land productivity. It is

based on the long-term fluctuations of the factors that affect

the conditions of standing biomass, specifically its productiv-

ity and phenology. In this context, for Portugal, such features

are approaching the Food and Agriculture Organization

concept of ‘land quality’, which synthesizes the cartography

of the Land Quality/Land Degradation Index (LDI) developed

for continental Portugal for 2000-2010.

This map shows that:

• LDI classes are distributed heterogeneously between the

various regions of Portugal

• with respect to soil conditions the residual frequency

pattern suggests that the northern region comprises the

most important part of the degraded lands

• regarding the regressive trends in the land quality

Alentejo is the region most affected.

For the period 2000-2010 the set of results also shows

geographic variation of the conditions and trends of land

quality, with settings that can be associated with ‘hotspots’

and ‘green spots’ of desertification in the Portuguese conti-

nent. A synthetic analysis found that:

• in terms of the land conditions 32.6 per cent of the

continental territory is in a degraded situation and 60.3

per cent is in reasonable/good condition

• in 67.8 per cent of the territory the vegetation is resilient

to inter-annual climate variations or accumulates biomass

over time

• the lands with static trends where primary productivity

remains without evolution represents 30.8 per cent of

the territory, thus corresponding to a high frequency of

occurrence

• processes with a regressive trend in the land quality only

persist in 1.5 per cent of the total area of the continent.

The strategic objectives of NAPCD 2014 include the

promotion and sustainable management of ecosystems

in areas susceptible to desertification and the recovery of

areas affected by desertification or land degradation. In this

context, it is important to stress a set of specific objectives

and associated operational actions undertaken concern-

ing the Mediterranean region, and particularly the Iberian

Peninsula, which is one of the regions most threatened by

climate change. Therefore, special responses are requested

regarding mitigation and adaptation, while also aiming to

generate global benefits and enhance synergies with the

processes of nature conservation and biodiversity.

Specific actions for soil protection and conservation, especially

those resulting of the national implementation of the Thematic

Strategy on Soil Protection for the European Union, include:

• implementation of support measures to increase

the resilience of ecosystems in areas susceptible to

desertification through specific interventions aiming

at the conservation of vegetation, soil and water, and

particularly in the headwaters of watersheds more prone

to erosion slopes or the surroundings of water lines of

torrential regimes

• promotion of soil drainage, when appropriate

• cultural interventions aiming at increasing carbon

sequestration in agricultural soils and forests

• monitoring of the physical and chemical characteristics of

soils with adequate periodicity

• promotion of a cartography (reference types and soil

quality) at national and regional scale

• assessment of the situation and evolution of national

agricultural reserve and erosion issues and others related

to the soil conservation of the National Ecological

Reserve, at local level (municipal).

Sustainable land management and fire prevention on the Estrela mountain,

central Portugal, promoted by the URZE forest association (Dryland

Champion 2013)

Sustainable landscape management on Portugal’s first private natural

reserve (north-east Portugal) promoted by Transumância e Natureza (Dryland

Champion 2013)

Image: URZE

Image: ATN

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