Citation:

KEPNER, W. G. INTRODUCTION: DESERTIFICATION AND SECURITY - PERSPECTIVES FOR THE MEDITERRANEAN REGION. Chapter 1, William G. Kepner, Jose L. Rubio, David A. Mouat, Fausto Pedrazzini (ed.), Desertification and Security - Perspectives for the Mediterranean Region. Springer Science and Business Media B.V;Formerly Kluwer Academic Publishers B.V., , Germany, , 3 - 9, (2005).

Impact/Purpose:

The primary objectives of this research are to:

Develop methodologies so that landscape indicator values generated from different sensors on different dates (but in the same areas) are comparable; differences in metric values result from landscape changes and not differences in the sensors;

Quantify relationships between landscape metrics generated from wall-to-wall spatial data and (1) specific parameters related to water resource conditions in different environmental settings across the US, including but not limited to nutrients, sediment, and benthic communities, and (2) multi-species habitat suitability;

Develop and validate multivariate models based on quantification studies;

Develop GIS/model assessment protocols and tools to characterize risk of nutrient and sediment TMDL exceedence;

Complete an initial draft (potentially web based) of a national landscape condition assessment.

This research directly supports long-term goals established in ORDs multiyear plans related to GPRA Goal 2 (Water) and GPRA Goal 4 (Healthy Communities and Ecosystems), although funding for this task comes from Goal 4. Relative to the GRPA Goal 2 multiyear plan, this research is intended to "provide tools to assess and diagnose impairment in aquatic systems and the sources of associated stressors." Relative to the Goal 4 Multiyear Plan this research is intended to (1) provide states and tribes with an ability to assess the condition of waterbodies in a scientifically defensible and representative way, while allowing for aggregation and assessment of trends at multiple scales, (2) assist Federal, State and Local managers in diagnosing the probable cause and forecasting future conditions in a scientifically defensible manner to protect and restore ecosystems, and (3) provide Federal, State and Local managers with a scientifically defensible way to assess current and future ecological conditions, and probable causes of impairments, and a way to evaluate alternative future management scenarios.

Description:

This book focuses on two basic concepts: security and desertification in the Mediterranean Region and their linkages. It emerged from a single meeting of the "Workshop on Desertification in the Mediterranean Region. A Security Issue" held in Valencia, Spain on 2-5 December 2003, which was sponsored by the NATO Science Committe and NATO Committee on Challenges of Modern Society.

The Workshop was organized into five special sessions dealing with consequences of degradation on social, economic, and political issues (especially food security and human migration): soil and vegatation monitoring techniques and programs; water resources and management; and forecasting techniques and advanced technologies. The workshop provided a multi-lateral forum for cooperation, information exchange, and dialogue among the environmental, development, foreign and security policy communities with the Mediterranean Region and the chapters that follow reflect the important presentation and discussion of that engagement.

Record Details: