Livestock husbandry and desertification in the Mediterranean region

Land degradation in Greece and in Mediterranean basin, in general, is mainly a result of human activities and a large percentage of rangelands is moderately to highly desertified. The lack of rational range management is responsible for their degradation. An increase in the number of grazing animals, along with gaps in the relevant legislation have brought up overgrazing as one of the major causes of vegetation cover reduction and soil erosion. The negative impacts of overgrazing are further aggrevated by wildfires set by shepherds in order to control the unpalatable woody vegetation. This paper is a brief review of the literature on the relationship between livestock husbandry and desertification in the Mediterranean region and suggests measures for applying a sustainable range management so that the negative effects of livestock husbandry to rangelands are avoided.