Degrado del paesaggio e società: verso un approccio quali-quantitativo?

Socioeconomic drivers are the basis of landscape degradation processes. Various evaluation methods have been developed by considering a number of indicators through quantitative approaches and are sometimes integrated into composite indices of vulnerability. For example, land vulnerability in the Mediterranean region was assessed through indicators of climate, soil, vegetation and land management quality as well as through variables assessing anthropogenic factors dealing with population and the level of land protection. These variables are of interest when they relate to the historical evolution of socio-ecological processes or allow to make projections of the conditions of vulnerability in the short term. Land degradation can be thus evaluated in the past - and scenarios developed for the future - providing a basis for developing sustainable land management strategies. Unfortunately, desertification in the Mediterranean has been less explored by the qualitative point of view, for example through specific sociological investigations. This contribution is intended to provide a brief review of results obtained so far on this issue with particular reference to Italy and proposes new lines of interpretation through approaches overcoming the dichotomy between quantitative models and narrative approaches.