"In recent years, land degradation and desertification have become common
problems due to various natural and man-induced processes. These processes have
rendered the land either infertile or not at all suitable for agriculture, and
to some extent for human habitat as well. There is thus a need to achieve a
better practical and theoretical understanding of land degradation and
desertification processes that affect the world s landscape. This volume, which
is an attempt in this direction, includes 26 scientific papers that deal with
the various issues relating to land degradation and desertification of different
morphogenetic regions such as arid, coastal, humid, mediterranean, mountainous,
periglacial and tropical. It contains