A first series of informal field visits and inedepth interviews
with key informants (n ¼ 12) made it possible to gain insights into
people's concerns over key land degradation-related problems in
the area. Information from a literature review on soil functions and
services provided for semi-arid pastoral systems was also collected.
The Ecosystem Services are classified in three types: provisioning,
regulating and cultural Two expert meetings with the participation
of European research staff (two soil ecologists, one ecological
economist, one biologist) and local research staff (one agricultural
economist, two students in environmental science) enabled discussions
on the link between ecological processes, key ecosystem
functions and services provided by soils in semi-arid grazing systems,
and how losses are characteristic of land degradation.