CASCADE Study Sites
- Details
- Published: Monday, 16 January 2012 14:02
- Written by Joost Vlaming (SU)
CASCADE has 6 study sites which are located in southern Europe in a transect from West to East.
An overview of the CASCADE Study Sites together with a summary of the major characteristics is given in the table below. The 6 sites together cover the whole European part of the Mediterranean, as they range from Portugal to Cyprus. Most sites have distinctly semi-arid climate; the only exception being Portugal. However, despite the higher rainfall amount in Portugal, this site is also seasonally dry and is therefore fully representative for Mediterranean conditions.
Table 1. CASCADE Study Site overview.
|
Study Site Name |
Area (km2) |
Yearly rain (mm) |
Average elevation a.s.l. (m) |
Pop. density (persons |
Main eco-systems (%) |
Main ecosystem services |
Indications for irreversible change & tipping points |
Drivers of change |
Download Study Site description |
|
400 |
1500 |
300 |
< 100 |
Managed forests (90%) |
Wood and biomass production, water resources, flooding control |
Shallow soils, extensive stone lags, slow and contracted vegetation recovery after fire |
Wildfire frequency and severity, post-fire land management |
|
|
|
300 |
286 |
150-500 |
150 |
Semiarid Mediterranean Shrublands |
Recreational use, marginal grazing, wildlife habitat |
Loss of ecosystem functions, very low plant cover, altered landscape patterns, flooding |
Synergetic effect of past exploitation and management with harsh environmental conditions, infrastructure |
|
|
|
1000 |
350-700 |
600-900 |
100 |
Shrubland, pine woodland, abandoned cropland |
Regulating water and erosion, cultural (tourism), forest products (timber & non-timber), habitat |
Changed composition vegetation, decreased ecosystem resilience |
Increased fire incidence |
|
|
|
74,3 |
400-600 |
700-1900 |
25 |
Rangeland (> 40%) |
Rangelands support a large livestock industry (sheep and goats mainly), accommodate important watershed functions and provide valuable and biologically diverse resources |
Desiccation of pastures due to changing climate and the substitution of pasture with shrubs and woods. |
Population decrease, land abandonment, poor infrastructure and social services, failure in reaching niche markets, increasing employment outside pastoral sector, shepherd lifestyle not attractive |
|
|
|
611 |
400- 1100 |
50-2450 |
65 |
Cultivation (40%), livestock |
Water resources, Agriculture, grazing, tourism |
Drop groundwater level, drying up of springs and wetlands with associated species loss, pollution with garbage, seawater intrusion |
Growth agriculture, uncontrolled groundwater exploitation, oversized dams, overgrazing, waste dumping |
|
|
|
30 |
425 |
5-15 |
200 |
Irrigated agriculture |
Agricultural production, tourism |
Decreased number of species |
Development, economy |
|
