{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,23]],"date-time":"2026-06-23T17:26:27Z","timestamp":1782235587462,"version":"3.54.5"},"reference-count":87,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"19","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,10,6]],"date-time":"2023-10-06T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1696550400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Romanian National Meteorological Administration"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Remote Sensing"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Land degradation (LD) and desertification (DS) are a sensitive global issue including southern and south-eastern Europe, which is severely affected by climate change. In this study, a state-of-the-art approach for assessing the intensity of LD and DS processes using remote-sensing-derived indicators within a GIS environment was proposed. The analysis was carried out using the Principal Component Analysis based on integrating the significant trends of relevant biophysical parameters in Romania. The methodology was tested and validated at the national level in Romania. In total, 7.76% of the area was identified as LD and 60.8% of the total area tended to improve, and 31.44% was stable. Most of the regions with LD overlapped with the dryland areas, while improvement areas were identified outside of the drylands. In forested areas from high altitudes, a tendency to improve the condition of vegetation was observed, and most of the surfaces being protected were natural areas that have benefited from proper management. All these results can be used to adapt management practices to avoid, reduce, or restore the LD. The proposed model was based on globally available remote sensing datasets, with a high frequency of data acquisition and collection history that allows for the statistical analyses of changes on a global scale.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/rs15194842","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,10,6]],"date-time":"2023-10-06T07:49:29Z","timestamp":1696578569000},"page":"4842","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":24,"title":["Assessing the Recent Trends of Land Degradation and Desertification in Romania Using Remote Sensing Indicators"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6231-4070","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Irina","family":"Ontel","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Remote Sensing and Satellite Meteorology Laboratory, National Meteorological Administration, 97 Sos. Bucure\u0219ti-Ploie\u0219ti, 013686 Bucharest, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6412-1918","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sorin","family":"Cheval","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"National Institute for Research and Development in Forestry \u201cMarin Dracea\u201d, 077190 Bucharest, Romania"},{"name":"Department of Climatology, National Meteorological Administration, 97 Sos. Bucure\u0219ti-Ploie\u0219ti, 01686 Bucharest, Romania"},{"name":"Faculty of Geography, Doctoral School of Geography, Babe\u0219-Bolyai University, 5-7 Clinicilor Street, 400347 Cluj-Napoca, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0507-5277","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Anisoara","family":"Irimescu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Remote Sensing and Satellite Meteorology Laboratory, National Meteorological Administration, 97 Sos. Bucure\u0219ti-Ploie\u0219ti, 013686 Bucharest, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"George","family":"Boldeanu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Geography, Doctoral School \u201cSimion Mehedin\u021bi\u201d, University of Bucharest, Blvd. Nicolae B\u0103lcescu, no.1, 030018 Bucharest, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6681-1330","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Vlad-Alexandru","family":"Amihaesei","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Climatology, National Meteorological Administration, 97 Sos. 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