|
1. Definition
| Name |
MANAGEMENT
QUALITY INDEX |
| Brief definition |
This index
is calculated using classifications of the following parameters:
land use intensity and policy enforcement. |
| Unit of measure |
MQI = (land
use intensity*policy enforcement) **1/2 |
| Spatial scale |
Regional |
| Temporal
scale |
Annual
for some contributing parameters |
2. Position
within the logical framework DPSIR
3. Target and
political pertinence
| Objective |
To condense
knowledge about management properties into an index that can
be used on it's own or in conjunction with other quality indexes
associated with desertification. |
| Importance
with respect to desertification |
Management
of land use is affected by climate, and changes under the influence
of environmental, social, economic, technological and political
factors. Stresses on the land due to management decisions may
exacerbate desertification. |
| International
Conventions and agreements |
A variety of
transboundary legislation exists, as well as EC directives.
|
| Secondary
objectives of the indicator |
To
contribute to an overall measure of sensitivity to desertification
in the classification of Environmentally Sensitive Areas. |
4. Methodological
description and basic definitions
| Definitions
and basic concepts |
Extensive deforestation
of hilly areas, and intense cultivation with e.g. rainfed
cereals, across the Mediterranean has already led to accelerated
erosion and degradation in the last century. Cultivation regimes
often leave the soil bare at the same time in the year as
rainfall of high intensity and duration is likely to occur.
This can cause a marked increase in soil erosion. Where cultivated
soils have limiting subsurface layers such as petrocalcic
horizons or bedrock, under high erosion rates and hot, dry
climatic conditions the yields of agricultural crops may decline,
leading to land abandonment. Land abandonment may lead to
improved resistance to erosion if there is sufficient plant
cover to create a barrier to wind and water erosion processes,
partly by improving soil organic matter and soil structure.
If vegetation cover cannot be sustained overland flow and
soil erosion may result in irreversible degradation. Abandonment
of terraced land in hilly areas has further implications.
It may be expensive to maintain the terraces, but breakdown
of terraces causes very rapid removal of soil, removing the
vegetation and the possibility of future cultivation.
Other important factors
in reducing vegetation cover through management are overgrazing
by livestock, and fire damage. Livestock remove new growing
shoots, forage for fleshy roots and compact the soil by trampling
(reducing infiltration and increasing overland flow of rainwater.
In addition to the loss of vegetation, forest fires induce
changes in physico-chemical properties of soils such as water
repellency, loss in nutrients and increased run-off and erosion.
Fires also destroy wildlife habitats, cause loss of human
life and damage infrastructure. They are frequently started
by careless people.
For the purpose of the
Management Quality Index land use is classified into five
classes: cropland, pasture, "natural" areas, mining
areas, and recreation areas. As the intensity of land use
in these categories has different effects on desertification
they are each subdivided into three intensity classes (low,
moderate, high) according to suitable measurable criteria.
For pasture it is according to stocking rate, for natural
areas it is according to the ratio between actual and sustainable
yield, for mining areas there are three classes of degree
of erosion control, and for recreation areas the ratio between
the actual and permitted number of visitors per year is used.
There are many policies
in existence to protect land from degradation but their effectiveness
depends on the degree to which they are enforced. It may not
be easy to measure policy enforcement but e.g. for terraces
it can be the ratio of protected terraces to total existing
terraces in an area. The information on the existing policies
is collected and then the degree of implementation/enforcement
is evaluated.
|
| Benchmarks
Indication of the values/ranges of value |
According to
the class of each management quality indicator (land use intensity
and policy enforcement) a numerical value is assigned. The geometric
mean of the two management quality indicators is calculated.
Three classes of Management Quality Index are then distinguished:
high quality, moderate quality, and low quality. For ranges
of weighting indices see Kosmas, Kirkby and Geeson, 1999. |
| Methods
of measurement |
Management
Quality Index = (land use intensity*policy enforcement)**1/2.
For the components of this calculation, 3 classes of land use
intensity and three classes of policy enforcement must be assessed. |
| Limits of the
indicator |
The Management
Quality Index has been developed particularly for the Greek
island of Lesvos, and the weighting indices may require adjustment
for other areas. |
| Linkages with
other indicators |
Vegetation
cover, Rainfall erosivity,
Soil erosion, Land
use intensity, Land use policy, Tourism
change, Livestock stocking rate, Land
abandoned from agriculture, Climate
quality index, Vegetation
quality index, ESI. |
5. Evaluation
of data needs and availability
| Data required
to calculate the indicator |
Data are required
relating to land use intensity according to land use group,
and policy existence and enforcement. |
| Data sources |
Basic management
information is usually available in a cost-effective format. |
| Availability
of data from national and international sources |
Data
can be obtained from national agencies and various regional
institutions involved in collecting and processing data. |
6. Institutions
that have participated in developing the indicator
| Main
institutions responsible |
Agricultural
University of Athens, Greece.
|
| Other contributing
organizations |
Universities
of Lisbon, Murcia, Basilicata. |
7. Additional
information
| Bibliography
|
Kosmas, C.,
Kirkby, M. and Geeson, N. 1999. Manual on: Key indicators of
desertification and mapping environmentally sensitive areas
to desertification. European Commission, Energy, Environment
and Sustainable Development, EUR 18882, 87 p. |
| Other references |
Brandt, J., and Thornes,
J., 1996 Mediterranean Desertification and Land Use. J. Wiley
& Sons, Chichester, England, 554.
Kosmas C., Ferrara A.,
Gerontidis, St. Bellotti B., Detsis V., Faretta S., Mancino
G., and Pisante, M. 1999. A comparative analysis of the physical
environment of two Mediterranean areas threatened by desertifciation.
Mediterraneo M. 127-148.
Conacher, A., and Sala,
M., 1998. Land Degradation in the Mediterranean Environments
of the World: Nature and Extent, Causes and Solutions. J.
Wiley & Sons, Chichester, 491 p.
|
| Contacts
Name and address |
Dr. Constantinos Kosmas
Agricultural University of Athens, Greece
email: lsos2kok@aua.gr
|
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