European olive and wine production at risk due to soil drying out | Science & Planet

The production of grapes, olives and nuts in Europe is threatened by soil erosion as a result of rising temperatures. Greek and Swedish scientists warn against this.




Fields and orchards in Mediterranean countries risk turning into deserts, the study says. Organic matter in the soil falls, while salinity rises, according to findings from the Navarino Environmental Observatory in Greece and the KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden.

Some soils are approaching the point where they can no longer be worked. Declining levels of organic matter combined with pollution, surfacing and erosion endanger worms, ants and other organisms that provide biodiversity and enrich soils.

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