Land abandonment is an important factor in Mediterranean land use change and is still expected to increase. The abandonment of land often leads to deterioration of agricultural land management systems such as terraces and terrace walls, rill or gully formation which enhance soil degradation. It is also expected that land abandonment, especially of marginal lands will increase in the near future. This session will be devoted to the (complex interaction of) geomorpological, hydrological, pedological and vegetation succession processes that determine the evolution of abandoned fields and influence soil degradation in these environments.