Harmonized Geospatial Databases of Environmental parameters to Assess Land Degradation and Support Sustainable Cultivation of Neglected and Underutilized Species in the Mediterranean Region

The Mediterranean region is increasingly affected by water scarcity, land degradation, and desertification processes driven by unsustainable land management practices and climate change, with significant impacts on agricultural sustainability and food security. In this context, Neglected and Underutilized Species (NUS), due to their adaptability to marginal and degraded environments and low input requirements, represent a viable option for enhancing agroecosystem resilience while contributing to sustainable land management and restoration efforts. In this study, a harmonized geospatial database at the scale of the Mediterranean basin was developed by integrating over 30 abiotic parameters, including soil properties, topography, vegetation, land cover, and climate indicators. Freely available global datasets were harmonized at a consistent spatial resolution and reference system and used to derive a set of key indicators that support cost-effective, large-scale assessments of soil health and climate stress over extensive areas. Both historical climate observations and CMIP6 future projections under SSP2-4.5 and SSP5-8.5 scenarios were considered.

Using internationally recognized classification standards and unsupervised clustering techniques, we performed a spatial zonation of abiotic environmental conditions by first classifying each individual parameter according to threshold-based schemes indicative of soil functional limitations or climate-induced stress. These classifications were subsequently integrated through a linear combination of the parameter-specific classes to jointly assess cumulative environmental constraints. This approach enabled the spatial identification of areas where an increasing concentration and severity of unfavourable conditions correspond to higher levels of land marginality and degradation susceptibility, and thus potential suitability for sustainable, low-input NUS cultivation across the Mediterranean basin.

This comprehensive dataset supports evidence-based land-use planning and climate-adaptation strategies, providing a foundation for scaling NUS cultivation to enhance ecosystem resilience and agricultural productivity under changing environmental conditions. The resulting database further underpins the development of decision-support tools for sustainable land-use planning and climate adaptation in Mediterranean agroecosystems.

This work was conducted in the framework of the project VENUS - “ConVErting marginal lands of the Mediterranean basin into productive and sustainable agroecosystems using low water demanding Neglected and Underutilized Species” funded by the PRIMA programme (Grant Agreement No. 2312) supported by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme.