Assessment of the eutrophication status at Mediterranean sub-basin scale, within the European Marine Strategy Framework Directive.

The aim of this work is to define harmonized reference conditions and assessment thresholds for selected criteria elements of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) Descriptor 5 (Eutrophication) in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea and to test if a tool for integrated assessment of the status of marine systems can be used as a common methodological approach. In this frame, we tested two statistical approaches in order to set threshold values for four criteria of Descriptor 5: nutrients, chlorophyll a, transparency and dissolved oxygen in the bottom waters. It is noteworthy that this work revealed the need to apply common procedures in data treatment and assessment evaluation.

Global vulnerability of soil ecosystems to erosion.

Context: Soil erosion is one of the main threats driving soil degradation across the globe with important impacts on crop yields, soil biota, biogeochemical cycles, and ultimately human nutrition.

Objectives: Here, using an empirical model, we present a global and temporally explicit assessment of soil erosion risk according to recent (2001-2013) dynamics of rainfall and vegetation cover change to identify vulnerable areas for soils and soil biodiversity.

Methods: We used an adaptation of the Universal Soil Loss Equation together with state of the art remote sensing models to create a spatially and temporally explicit global model of soil erosion and soil protection.