Objective The overall goal of Project 3 is to develop a set of regional indicators which provide a planning tool for application to desertification at regional, national and European scales. This will be achieved through a set of four closely linked modules which are integrated into the overall structure of the MEDALUS III project.In Project 3, the target areas identified within MEDALUS are used to identify Environmentally Sensitive Areas (ESAs) through regional indicators, and develop a broad scale methodology, relying principally on Remote Sensing but also making use of other regional data as and where available, to identify and prioritise degradation risks on a pan-European scale. There are strong cross-links with other MEDALUS projects, particularly in defining target areas (Project 1) and ESAs (Project 2). The first module develops the physical scientific basis for the regional indicators proposed. A one-dimensional model for hydrology, vegetation (cropped and uncropped, including the effects of grazing) and soil erosion is being developed for interpreting regional data and extending it in a forecasting framework for the coming decades. Development of existing research on remotely sensed images will provide data on regional scale changes in vegetation and land use to provide a relevant time series for model calibration. Comparable regional data on climatic time series will be provided by from METEOSAT data. These three components provide the core methodology for implementation of the model as a forecasting tool. The development of regional economic and social approaches to desertification (module 2) is much less well advanced in MEDALUS than the physical modelling, and relies crucially on socio-economic data collected and provided by the Project 2 groups. The core of module 2 lies in innovative modelling, involving the use of neural networks and other methods, using supercomputers to annualise the large data sets available and provide dynamic forecasts which explicitly link the socio-economic impacts to the physical indicators developed in module 1. Modules 3 and 4 are both concerned with generating climatic scenarios, derived from analysis and projection from archive data and from GCM forecasts. They provide the climatic basis for applying the models developed in modules 1 and 2 into forecasts for the next century of prospective global climate change. Together, therefore, the component modules of Project 3 will provide an important planning tool. with the capacity to assess the most probable directions of change, the assumed scenarios on which these forecasts are made, and the uncertainties surrounding them. Fields of science natural sciencesearth and related environmental scienceshydrologyengineering and technologymechanical engineeringvehicle engineeringaerospace engineeringsatellite technologynatural sciencesearth and related environmental sciencessoil sciencesland-based treatmentnatural sciencesearth and related environmental sciencesatmospheric sciencesclimatologyclimatic changesnatural sciencescomputer and information sciencesartificial intelligencecomputational intelligence Programme(s) FP4-ENV 2C - Specific programme of research and technological development in the field of environment and climate, 1994-1998 Topic(s) 01010403 - Land resources and the threat of desertification and soil erosion in Europe Call for proposal Data not available Funding Scheme CSC - Cost-sharing contracts Coordinator UNIVERSITY OF LEEDS. EU contribution No data Address Woodhouse Lane LEEDS United Kingdom See on map Links Website Opens in new window Total cost No data Participants (6) Sort alphabetically Sort by EU Contribution Expand all Collapse all Ente Regionale di Sviluppo Agricolo della Lombardia Italy EU contribution No data Address Milano 2 20090 Segrate Milano See on map Total cost No data European Communities - Commission of the European Communities Joint Research Centre Italy EU contribution No data Address Via E. Fermi 1 21020 Ispra See on map Total cost No data FUNDACION UNIVERSIDAD EMPRESA DE LA REGION DE MURCIA Spain EU contribution No data Address 1,Campus de la Merced 30001 MURCIA See on map Total cost No data UNIVERSITY OF EAST ANGLIA United Kingdom EU contribution No data Address University Plain NR4 7TJ NORWICH See on map Links Website Opens in new window Total cost No data Universidade de Lisboa Portugal EU contribution No data Address 1,Campo Grande 1700 Lisboa See on map Total cost No data University of Leeds United Kingdom EU contribution No data Address Woodhouse Lane LS2 9JT Leeds See on map Total cost No data
