Human geography of drylands. I. Planning the database: Physical, built-up, chemical, biological (ecological), and social indicators

We propose a method based on multilayered mapping for investigating the current problems of people who live in drylands and we urge decision-makers to support such studies to establish the foundations for future decisive and preventive actions. This paper contains an expandable compilation of the environmental indicators (mostly mappable) that may influence the human geography of a certain region. We believe that this geospatial approach may help to resolve convoluted physical, chemical, and social relation­ships and, at the same time, generate a valuable database for further research. The application of the concept, if successful, will give directions to tackle certain contem­porary problems in drylands and predict future ones caused by global climate change.