Vulnerability of the Mediterranean region to the soil hydrophobia

Abstract

Water repellence or hydrophobicity is a hydrological process that is favoured by the Mediterranean characteristics of a large part of Iberian Peninsula: intra-annual rainfall distribution, water deficit during the summer, vegetation that produces hydrophobic substances, forest fires, etc. The conclusions of the last report edited by the IPCC (Intergovernmental Pane! on Climatic Change) suggest a probable increase in the frequency and intensity of hydrophobicity that will further worsen the present fragility of Mediterranean ecosystems in relation to degradation processes. This circumstance suggests the appropriateness of developing research projects aimed at evaluating the consequences of these processes.