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Estimating land degradation risk for agriculture in Italy using an indirect approach

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  • Salvati, Luca
  • Carlucci, Margherita

Abstract

This paper illustrates a two-step procedure for measuring land degradation (LD) risk in agriculture. The procedure estimated the potential costs of LD from a standard index of land sensitivity to degradation (ESAI) by calculating, over 784 local districts covering the entire Italian territory, a 'depletion factor' in relation to the agricultural value added. The procedure was based on changes in the ESAI (1990-2000) and ancillary variables (i.e., per capita value added, share of agriculture in the total production, and agricultural profitability). On average, the estimated costs of LD in Italy amounted to nearly 0.5% of the agricultural value added (which corresponded to 12[euro]/ha of cultivated surface). These figures are comparable to those presented in the literature for regions with similar environmental conditions. This paper contains descriptions of the assumptions under which the proposed scheme works and comments on their empirical plausibility.

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  • Salvati, Luca & Carlucci, Margherita, 2010. "Estimating land degradation risk for agriculture in Italy using an indirect approach," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(3), pages 511-518, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecolec:v:69:y:2010:i:3:p:511-518
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    3. Marcela Prokopová & Ondřej Cudlín & Renata Včeláková & Szabolcs Lengyel & Luca Salvati & Pavel Cudlín, 2018. "Latent Drivers of Landscape Transformation in Eastern Europe: Past, Present and Future," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(8), pages 1-17, August.
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    5. Marco Zitti & Adele Sateriano & Luca Salvati, 2013. "Agricultural Profitability And Susceptibility To Soil Degradation In A Changing Mediterranean Landscape," Romanian Journal of Regional Science, Romanian Regional Science Association, vol. 7(1), pages 81-102, JUNE.
    6. Valentina Santarsiero & Antonio Lanorte & Gabriele Nolè & Giuseppe Cillis & Biagio Tucci & Beniamino Murgante, 2023. "Analysis of the Effect of Soil Erosion in Abandoned Agricultural Areas: The Case of NE Area of Basilicata Region (Southern Italy)," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-22, March.
    7. Enrico Maria Mosconi & Andrea Colantoni & Filippo Gambella & Eva Cudlinová & Luca Salvati & Jesús Rodrigo-Comino, 2020. "Revisiting the Environmental Kuznets Curve: The Spatial Interaction between Economy and Territory," Economies, MDPI, vol. 8(3), pages 1-20, September.
    8. Chen, Lili & Song, Ge & Meadows, Michael E. & Zou, Chaohui, 2018. "Spatio-temporal evolution of the early-warning status of cultivated land and its driving factors: A case study of Heilongjiang Province, China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 280-292.
    9. Ji Chai & Zhanqi Wang & Hongwei Zhang, 2017. "Integrated Evaluation of Coupling Coordination for Land Use Change and Ecological Security: A Case Study in Wuhan City of Hubei Province, China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-21, November.

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