LAND SENSITIVITY TO DESERTIFICATION IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: AN ADAPTATION OF THE ESA METHODOLOGY

Abstract

ABSTRACT Many elements determine land sensitivity to desertification, whose analysis requires multifactorial approaches to be used. The environmental sensitive areas methodology is a well‐known approach to estimate sensitivity to desertification that accounts for multiple interacting driving forces, conceived and validated in a Mediterranean environment. We show that the environmental sensitive areas methodology can be used, with minor modifications, in a tropical context, where it allows the discrimination among environments with different degree of susceptibility to degradation and resilience. The results obtained for the Dominican Republic show that 48·4% of its territory is critically sensitive to desertification, and 16·4% of it is highly critically sensitive to desertification, mostly because of intense and inadequate land use practices. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.