Drivers of degradation and other threats

Forests in the Mediterranean region have been subject to environmental changes since time immemorial. The region’s geography and location has made it a conducive environment between biomes, resulting in significant biodiversity. Since the beginning of human history, forests have adapted to pressures caused by human development, resulting in a complex socio-ecological balance. These pressures, however, have never been more extreme than they are today. Global change, understood as the wide range of global forces resulting from human activity, is affecting the entire Mediterranean basin (Doblas-Miranda et al., 2017). The threats caused by global change pose particular risks to the principal characteristics of Mediterranean forests and forested habitats described in previous chapters: 1. Mediterranean forests and shrublands are highly sensitive to global atmospheric changes due to their proximity to arid regions; 2. a long history of land-use change may result in more frequent and intense fires, water scarcity and land degradation and; 3. a singular biota is linked to a higher vulnerability to global change-induced extinction. Moreover, the wide range of socioeconomic conditions and government policies that characterize the Mediterranean basin affect the intensity and dynamics of these threats. This chapter outlines the different threats to Mediterranean forest landscapes, structured according to indirect and direct causes of degradation. The anthropogenic origin of current global changes directly affecting Mediterranean forests is considered the underlying cause of degradation. Although in many cases these human forces have a global impact (such as greenhouse gas emissions caused by climate change), this chapter will consider their effect on the Mediterranean region in particular. This chapter will also consider the consequences of direct and indirect threats and the combination of both.