Impact of the climate change on land resources of Imereti

Abstract

Soil is the most important natural resource that ensures the existence of diverse ecosystems on earth. Georgia is a unique country with soil diversity. Due to the current climate change and the increased temperature in the country and region, the frequency of abundant and extremely abundant (≥50 mm and ≥90 mm per day) precipitation has increased, both in the lowland and relatively high mountain areas. This created favorable conditions for soil erosion and degradation. The sensitivity of the land resource to water and wind erosion is determined by the total erosion index. For the current period, the average index for Georgia is 3.19, and for Imereti is 3.93.
In the process of adapting to climate change, the priority for Imereti in the short term is the reduction-stopping of land degradation and then the recovery-rehabilitation of the lost-eroded lands in the long-term perspective.
Against the background of current climate change, assessment of the adaptation and vulnerability of land resources is the most important task, on the basis of which other adaptive and preventive measures are planned to mitigate the negative impact of expected climate change on the resource.