Objective The focus of RECONDES is to address the mitigation of desertification processes by the means of innovative techniques using vegetation in specific landscape configurations prone to severe degradation processes. Its major objective is to produce practical guidelines on the conditions for use of vegetation in areas vulnerable to desertification, taking into account spatial variability ingeomorphological and human-driven processes related to degradation and desertification. RECONDES will combine the understanding of the mechanisms of land degradation and of the critical soil conditions necessary for maintaining and restoring soil and land quality and ecosystem health to identify how and where vegetation could be used to mitigate desertification. It will identify the conditions or thresholds, which have to be attained or retained for vegetation growth and survival andexamine where those conditions are found. It will match those conditions against the processes of degradation to identify where treatments or restoration will be most effective. It will identify innovative measures, which might be taken to create or maintain conditions. Crucially, it will examine linkages within the landscape at different scales to determine the key points for intervention. The effects of vegetation treatments will be modelled and optimal strategies produced at scales from plot tocatchment. The practical guidelines produced will be disseminated to end-users. RECONDES is being applied in relation to the marginal lands of the north Mediterranean, the areas of southern Europe which are vulnerable to or have suffered desertification. The research is divided into six major work packages based on a hierarchy of land /use units found in these areas: Reforested land, Rainfedcropland, Semi-natural and abandoned land, Hill slopes, River valleys, Catchments. Fields of science engineering and technologymechanical engineeringvehicle engineeringaerospace engineeringsatellite technologynatural sciencesbiological sciencesecologyecosystems Keywords Soil erosion geomorphology vegetation Programme(s) FP6-SUSTDEV - Sustainable Development, Global Change and Ecosystems: thematic priority 6 under the Focusing and Integrating Community Research programme 2002-2006. Topic(s) SUSTDEV-2002-3.IV.1.a - Research on mechanisms of desertification and soil quality. Call for proposal FP6-2002-GLOBAL-1 See other projects for this call Funding Scheme STREP - Specific Targeted Research Project Coordinator UNIVERSITY OF PORTSMOUTH HIGHER EDUCATION CORPORATION EU contribution No data Address University House, Winston Churchill Avenue PORTSMOUTH United Kingdom See on map Links Website Opens in new window Total cost No data Participants (5) Sort alphabetically Sort by EU Contribution Expand all Collapse all CONSEJO SUPERIOR DE INVESTIGACIONES CIENTIFICAS Spain EU contribution No data Address Serrano, 117 MADRID See on map Links Website Opens in new window Total cost No data CONSIGLIO NAZIONALE DELLE RICERCHE Italy EU contribution No data Address Piazzale Aldo Moro 7 ROMA See on map Links Website Opens in new window Total cost No data KATHOLIEKE UNIVERSITEIT LEUVEN Belgium EU contribution No data Address Oude markt 13 LEUVEN See on map Links Website Opens in new window Total cost No data UNIVERSITEIT VAN AMSTERDAM Netherlands EU contribution No data Address Spui 21 AMSTERDAM See on map Links Website Opens in new window Total cost No data UNIVERSITÉ CATHOLIQUE DE LOUVAIN Belgium EU contribution No data Address Place de l'Université 1 LOUVAIN-LA-NEUVE See on map Links Website Opens in new window Total cost No data