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OM est une collection du Ciheam dédiée au développement de l'agriculture méditerranéenne. Publiée en forme de périodique du 1970 à 1976, le titre OM a été donné à la collection Etudes du 1981 au 1989. Actuellement OM comprend trois collections: Séminaires Méditerranéens (Ser.A), Etudes et Recherches (Ser.B) et Cahier OM.
OM is a Ciheam series devoted to the development of Mediterranean agriculture. Having appeared in the form of a periodical from 1970 to 1976, the title OM has been given to the "Etudes" series from 1981 to 1989. To date, OM includes three series: Séminaires Méditerranéennes (Ser.A), Etudes et Recherches (Ser.B) and Cahier OM.
The 7th International Meeting on Soils with Mediterranean Type of Climate was held in Valenzano, Bari, Italy, from 23-28 September 2001. The International Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies (Ciheam) sponsored the Meeting through the Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Bari, along with the International Union of Soil Sciences, the Italian Society of Soil Science, and the European Soil Bureau of the European Commission. About 130 participants from 24 countries attended the Meeting. They mainly represented countries from the Mediterranean Region, the Balkan Peninsula and southern Europe, as well as participants from as far as Brazil and Iran.
The Meeting in Bari followed six successfull previous ones held in France (1946), Spain (1966), Turkey (1993), Greece (1995), Bulgaria (1997), and again Spain in 1999. Fifty-four oral presentations and forty-five poster papers were presented in ten sessions. They dealt with a wide range of topics including soil quality indicators in the Mediterranean environments, soil pollution and environmental protection, soil degradation and conservation, soil use and management, soil genesis, classification, and cartography, soil fertility and plant nutrition, and organic farming.
The selected papers included in this volume of Options Méditerranéennes deal with the critical problems that the Mediterranean Region is facing. They include desertification, scarcity of fertile land and water resources, urbanisation, salinisation and alkalinity, soil erosion, loss of biodiversity, and sustainable use and management of soils. It is presently widely accepted among concerned soil scientists, that soil science could play a crucial role in reducing these negative effects.
It is unfortunate to notice however, that there are still many examples throughout the Region and beyond that clearly show that land degradation is accelerating fertile lands are lost to urbanisation and tourism industry, salinisation is increasing, and soil erosion is continuously reducing the land resource base. Human-induced land degradation plays a great role in this situation. Possible global climate change scenarios suggest also that these adverse effects could worsen in the future.
The scope of this publication is not only to expose the evolution of the problems during the last decades, but also and mainly transferring and disseminating the advancement in knowledge and technology among all the stakeholders and concerned scientists to implement solutions. It is absolutely crucial that politicians and decision-makers understand that conservation of soil, land, and water resources is at stake for the very survival and well being of ever growing future generations.
The International Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies, through its Mediterranean Agronomic Institute in Bari and in collaboration with many other European, North African, Middle and Near East countries is actively involved in strengthening the links and sharing of scientific knowledge and information. The Institute in Bari is presently coordinating a thematic network to combat land degradation and to contribute to the advancement in the safeguarding of land resources in the coastal areas of the Mediterranean region following a participatory approach that involve farming communities, scientists and decision makers from almost all the countries surrounding the Mediterranean Sea.
