Preface

Arid environments are characterized by a severe lack of water besides high temperature. Such harsh conditions complicate plant growth, animal life development, and human social activities. Rainfall in arid environments may, in most cases, be associated with torrential events causing risk for extensive soil erosion. Large difference between daytime and night temperature furthers negative impacts on the environment in arid regions.

The term sustainability is derived from the Latin word *sustinere*. Sustain can mean "main‐ tain," "support," or "endure." However, sustainability has different definitions in various disciplines; for example, sustainability in ecology is the property of biological systems to remain diverse and productive indefinitely. In more general term, sustainability is the long durability of systems and processes within various adapted environmental conditions. Sus‐ tainability is supported by three crucial pillars: environmental, social, and economic. The most important one among these three pillars is of course environmental sustainability. Without handling environmental sustainability issues, the other pillars weaken as they are highly dependent on the thriving system of the environment.

Studies on sustainability of arid environments are becoming more critical with the advent of urbanization and climate change due to serious threats to plant, animal, and social life. These studies certainly provide insights into the problems despite local and/or regional concerns. Nevertheless, sharing such experiences among the scientists and decision-makers will deliver comprehensive approaches to solve and emphasize solutions to specific or general sustaina‐ bility problems. Due to the high vulnerability of arid environments, the associated problems require fast, effective, and stable solutions to avoid recurrence of similar problems in the fu‐ ture. For better, secure, and sustainable environment, decisive actions are absolutely needed.

This book is divided into four sections: "Land Degradation," "Arid Rangeland," "Climatic Hazards," and "Water Resources and Policies." Each section contains chapters addressing various issues related to arid environments and sustainability.

Several experts have provided progressive contributions for the development of this book. The editor and coeditor of the book are thankful for their remarkable collaborative support and efforts to complete this book. Finally, the editors would like to thank all the staff of Inte‐ chOpen for their invitation and enthusiasm during all the stages of development of the book.

> **Dr. Hasan Arman** United Arab Emirates University Al Ain, UAE

> > **Prof. Dr. Ibrahim Yuksel** Yildiz Technical University Istanbul, Turkey

**Section 1**

**Land Degradation**

**Section 1**

**Land Degradation**

**Chapter 1**

**Provisional chapter**

**Strategies to Enhance Sustainability of Land Resources**

The ability to effectively maintain the functions of the ecosystem is closely related to the assessment of land resources within a conservation-utilization balance. Land degradation is one of the most significant environmental treats on arid region ecosystems in terms of the use of these resources. In this chapter, the aim was to attract the attention to land degradation processes in Turkey and analyze the current conditions in the context of policy-science interaction by performing the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) analysis and develop the effective strategies for sustainable use of land resources. Thus, anthropogenic effects on sustainability of land resources and its relation with drought and productivity, and insufficient legal regulations were analyzed for developing strategies to enhance sustainability of land resources. Results showed that Turkey is at the point of breaking for sustainability of its natural resources. Insufficient topographic and soil conditions, administrative problems and negatively changing climatic conditions made the condition adverse. Therefore, the significant strategies were defined for sustainable resource management under the integrated approach from ecological, economic, political and sociological perspectives. In this context, assessments have been made in order to prevent weaknesses and possible threats to the sustainable

**Strategies to Enhance Sustainability of Land Resources** 

DOI: 10.5772/intechopen.72492

© 2016 The Author(s). Licensee InTech. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution,

© 2018 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use,

distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

At the historical development of human beings, we see that many civilizations had been established from the hunter-gatherer system (the Neolithic period) to the premodern 9000 period that had caused the great pressures on natural resources [1]. It is known that human activities such as overgrazing, deforestation, wrong or inappropriate land uses/conversions

**Keywords:** land degradation, sustainability of land resources, SWOT, Turkey

**in Arid Regions**

**in Arid Regions**

Selen Deviren Saygin

**Abstract**

use of this resource.

**1. Introduction**

Selen Deviren Saygin

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.72492

**Provisional chapter**

## **Strategies to Enhance Sustainability of Land Resources in Arid Regions in Arid Regions**

**Strategies to Enhance Sustainability of Land Resources** 

DOI: 10.5772/intechopen.72492

Selen Deviren Saygin Selen Deviren Saygin Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.72492

#### **Abstract**

The ability to effectively maintain the functions of the ecosystem is closely related to the assessment of land resources within a conservation-utilization balance. Land degradation is one of the most significant environmental treats on arid region ecosystems in terms of the use of these resources. In this chapter, the aim was to attract the attention to land degradation processes in Turkey and analyze the current conditions in the context of policy-science interaction by performing the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) analysis and develop the effective strategies for sustainable use of land resources. Thus, anthropogenic effects on sustainability of land resources and its relation with drought and productivity, and insufficient legal regulations were analyzed for developing strategies to enhance sustainability of land resources. Results showed that Turkey is at the point of breaking for sustainability of its natural resources. Insufficient topographic and soil conditions, administrative problems and negatively changing climatic conditions made the condition adverse. Therefore, the significant strategies were defined for sustainable resource management under the integrated approach from ecological, economic, political and sociological perspectives. In this context, assessments have been made in order to prevent weaknesses and possible threats to the sustainable use of this resource.

**Keywords:** land degradation, sustainability of land resources, SWOT, Turkey

## **1. Introduction**

At the historical development of human beings, we see that many civilizations had been established from the hunter-gatherer system (the Neolithic period) to the premodern 9000 period that had caused the great pressures on natural resources [1]. It is known that human activities such as overgrazing, deforestation, wrong or inappropriate land uses/conversions

> Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. © 2018 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

© 2016 The Author(s). Licensee InTech. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons

and poor agricultural management practices are common causes of land degradation, but extreme climatic events also accelerate this process. It is reported that today 1.5 billion people worldwide are affected by land degradation processes [2]. Especially in arid and semiarid ecosystems, land degradation is one of the most significant environmental treats. The major problems encountered in terms of sustainable land management in these ecosystems are mentioned as the salinity, desertification and drought and soil erosion. However, these problems are defined in different forms in different sources. The result is the same for humans who base their life on agricultural bases. This is the gradual decline of the fertility capacity of the soil. At this point, it is extremely important that the soil, which is one of the main resources for living beings to survive on earth, is sustainable. Today, land resources in terms of soil and water are limited to meet the needs of future generations as we completely depend on these resources. In the world, it is estimated that 12 million hectares of land are degraded annually (corresponding to 23 ha per minute), which corresponds to 20 million tons of grain due to the results of drought and desertification. In the economical aspect, annual cost of land degradation is estimated to be about US\$300 billion. This includes losses to both agricultural production and other ecosystem services [3].

**2. Definition to the causes and results of land degradation in arid** 

As mentioned above, land degradation is one of the major environmental problems worldwide and has become particularly severe in the last decades in Turkey [5]. It causes the significant reduction of the ecosystem functionality with unfavorable effects on biodiversity, desertification and water resource quality [6–9]. FAO [10] figured that the main causes of land degradation are the deforestation, population growth, urban expansion, pollution and waste disposal, climate change and unsustainable land management practices, and their results led to discovering significant problems especially in the arid ecosystems having great water scarcity to survive ecosystem services at the optimal conditions. These problems are defined as biodiversity loss, salinization and sodification, nutrient imbalance, compaction, sealing, pollution, acidification, erosion and loss of soil organic carbon. As a result, water scarcity, food and nutrition insecurity, rapid climate change, poverty and social insecurity, migration and

Strategies to Enhance Sustainability of Land Resources in Arid Regions

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.72492

5

The rate of land degradation processes is closely related to the interactions between climate, soil, land use and topography. Today, Turkey is classified as degraded in terms of soil according to the degradation map [11]. In this context, it was stated that a large part of Turkey is rated highly susceptible to desertification in terms of climate, soils, topography and land cover status [12], although no region could be classified as "desert" in the country based on the general evaluation of the 1965–2007 period using the Aridity Index [13]. Ninety percent of Turkey's total land area is climatologically classified as arid and semiarid regions; especially, Aksaray, Cihanbeyli, Ereğli (Konya), Iğdır, Karaman, Karapınar, Konya, Nallıhan and Niğde stand out in the semiarid-very arid border. In general, Thrace, Central Anatolia, the interior of the Central Black Sea and eastern Anatolia are regions where arid and semiarid areas spread [13].

Other significant studies related to the long-term variability of climatic conditions over the rainfall regions of Turkey mostly indicated that annual and seasonal precipitation totals have been in the decreasing trends for many stations in Turkey, particularly at those in the Aegean and Mediterranean regions and South-eastern Anatolia and the continental interiors of Turkey that have significant potential to be arid lands in future. And it is estimated that these regions will become more sensitive to desertification in the future with anthropogenic effects such as forest fires, land conversion, urbanization, pollution, etc. [13–20]. Considering the variation of rainfall erosivity values, a trend analysis for the Mediterranean part of Turkey was performed (**Figure 1**) [21]. And, the obtained results showed that rainfall erosivity values statistically increased in the period of 1993– 2004. Not surprisingly, increasing rainfall intensities led to increase in flooding and water erosion risk in several parts of Turkey [22, 23]. This situation is not only specific to the Mediterranean region but also to the whole of arid areas. Although there is a decrease in the amount of rainfall with global warming, climate change scenarios state that rainfall intensities in dry areas significantly tend to increase [24]. Another potential threat is the degradation of soil moisture balance and the depletion of groundwater levels throughout the country as a result of reduced winter precipitations [17].

**and semiarid regions: current situation in Turkey**

reduction of the ecosystem services are basically affecting our lives.

To combat land degradation processes, many strategies have been defined by both governments and intergovernmental platforms under several titles such as United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Global Soil Partnership and Land Degradation Neutral World. In particular, Goal 2 (end hunger), Goal 3 (good health and well-being), Goal 12 (responsible consumption and production) and Goal 15 (life on land) of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that are planned to be reached for the period covering 2015–2030 include measures and policies related to the use of land and water resources [2]. Of course, the applied agricultural policies have direct and very important effects on land use. The subsidies, incentives and taxes imposed by governments have great implications for which crops are grown and where land is well managed. Inappropriate land management practices applied in marginal areas and fragile ecosystems that are sensitive to climatic, topographic and soil conditions cause the rapid deterioration of land resources. But, land resources are limited and demands for different land-use types especially in the developing countries are greater than the available land resources and these demands become more pressing on natural resources [4]. And so, the only way to protect and sustain soil and water resources from negative effects of erosion, salinity and desertification and other land degradation types in fragile ecosystems is to prepare and enforce appropriate land-use plans. Because of that, sustainable resource management can only be successful if it is based on appropriate land uses. In summary, sustainable promotion of soil and land management is necessary for the provision of healthy food and the environment. Within the scope of this chapter, the aim is to attract attention to land degradation processes in arid and semiarid regions (mostly focused on Turkey's conditions), to analyze the conditions in terms of policy-science interaction by performing situation analysis (SWOT) and develop the effective strategies for sustainable use of land resources under arid and semiarid Turkey conditions.
