Drought alert, Italy at risk of desertification: causes, remedies and dry plants

Drought warnings are sounding across the country: Italy, and the Mediterranean in general, are the places most severely affected by climate change, and are at the greatest risk of desertification. Temperatures are rising rapidly, and by more than just a few degrees, while the abundant rainfall typical of the Mediterranean climate is becoming increasingly scarce. We no longer have the mild climate typical of the influence of Mare Nostrum, and more quickly than we expected we are approaching a tropical climate, with extreme weather events – flash floods, tornadoes, and heatwaves – and, above all, drought.

We should get used to the dry climate, but not to the arid land. Just now that curbing global warming is becoming urgent, the presence of plants on our territory becomes fundamental. That good greenery, which absorbs CO2 and helps us counteract the effects of climate change is now an imperative for our survival. But how to stimulate the growth of plants when drought reigns across Italy?

1. Drought in Italy and its consequences
2. Drought-resistant plants as a remedy to desertification

Drought in Italy and its consequences

The terrible symbol of the disastrous drought situation in Italy is the Po. The country's longest river is the protagonist of an unprecedented drought, which has seen the level of its waters at a threshold that has never been so low in over seventy years. The level has fallen below sea level, and salt water has begun to rise along the empty riverbed, resulting in a disaster. Salt water invading a freshwater river destroys the ecosystems within it, damages flora and fauna that cannot withstand the saltiness, and annihilates the life of that already dying system. In addition, the disastrous invasion has also affected the lands irrigated by the Po, and, poisoned by saltiness, much of the harvest was lost.

What is happening to the Po is not a one in a million case, but the glaring example of how drought is making its way through the Mediterranean scrub, is moving up the peninsula, and is leading to an inevitable desertification of our lands. Currently, more than a fifth of the Italian territory is at risk of desertification, with a percentage of precipitation reduced by a third compared to previous years. It was a dry winter, which will be followed by an even more arid summer.

The impact of drought does not only concern the environmental sphere, but has a lot to do with the daily life of society. With a severe water shortage, first of all, it is difficult to produce energy. The European energy situation is already in deep crisis and, due to the scarcity of water resources – used to cool the plants or for the production of hydroelectric energy –, it further reduces the already small percentage of energy produced without the use of fossil fuels.

With less water, then, agricultural production is also forced to face a severe crisis. According to the latest estimates, the water emergency will cause a drop of 10,000 hectares of sowing of some products, such as rice, wheat, fruit, and vegetables, which require a water supply that is now impossible to provide. And if the thirsty lands lack sustenance, the crops necessary to feed the livestock also enter into crisis.

In addition to the obvious damages of drought in Italy, there are also indirect ones, consequences that we do not think about but that afflict our health. A report on the relationship between health and climate change prepared by the WWF reports that drought causes an increase in waterborne and foodborne diseases, and the reduction in food production and the consequent malnutrition exposes the population to a greater risk of falling ill with numerous pathologies.

Drought-resistant plants as a remedy to desertification

If desertification in Italy is a new reality that we must deal with, surrendering to it is not an option. It, as a consequence of drought and high temperatures, inevitably depends on climate change. The more the global temperature increases, the more arid our lands become.

To put a brake on this vicious circle – we have repeated it often – there is a solution: planting trees. Surrounding ourselves with plants, filling our world with greenery, is the most natural, and the most effective, way to absorb CO2, the dreaded greenhouse gas responsible for global warming. The plant world, with its photosynthesis, offers us the perfect solution to our problems. But with the advancing drought, the solution becomes less feasible, because plants feed on water, and in a water emergency and in a desertification alert, we do not have water left to feed them.

It is at this juncture that low-water-use plants can intervene, an ecological solution to curb the problem of drought – in Italy and not only. These are plants, lawns, and trees that need a much lower water supply compared to more common plants and that allow you to save up to 80% of water resources.

Botanical Dry Garden specializes in this type of plant. Italy's first dry botanical garden was born precisely with the goal of providing a wide selection of eco-sustainable plants and lawns, which can survive and thrive even with a climate very different from the mild Mediterranean climate we are used to. The dry philosophy that guides the activity allows, in fact, to find forward-looking, economical, and sustainable solutions, capable of respecting the environment to do good to the environment.

The selection of low-water-use lawns allows you to obtain a green and lush garden by watering it only a few times a year, and also the great selection of plants allows you to have shrubs and small trees that require very little maintenance.

The dry philosophy and low-water-use plants are the solution of the future. The drought warning will not recede soon, and the increase in temperatures is destined to worsen, but we must never stop taking care of the environment and trying to remedy all the damages that desertification is causing.