On the use of the Land Degradation Neutrality concept in mediterranean watersheds for land restoration and erosion counteraction

Abstract This study aims to implement the Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) concept on a test site: the 309 km2 Nahr Ibrahim watershed Lebanon, by integrating soil erosion as an LDN indicator given its status as a land degradation driver and common concern of the Mediterranean region. Land degradation was mapped, and erosion risk maps were also established. Through LDN's response strategy, an alternative LDN based land use/land cover (LU/LC) scenario was obtained. The LDN scenario was then tested for adoption as a counter-erosion measure. Under current land occupation conditions, a 63.54% (194 km2), 4.20% (12.82 km2) and 32.32% (98.7 km2) distribution of lands being underutilized, managed within their capability, and being used in a manner that exceeds their capability, respectively, was found. Soil erosion risks under current conditions were distributed as 3.88%, 38.19% and 54.48% low, moderate and high erosion risks, respectively. Following the proposed LDN scenario, 86.7 km2 (28% of the basin) were restored, while erosion risks shifted to 5.19%, 45.66% and 45.71% for low, moderate, and high erosion risks, respectively. The presented approach revealed the efficiency of LDN not only as a land restoration tool, but also as a powerful counter-erosion measure.