Whatever the reason, in southern parts of Europe the desert is constantly advancing, a process known as desertification. This inevitably has consequences for the production of olives. There are many thousands of cultivars of olives that have adapted to the local climate and soil over thousands of years.
Due to the expected climatological changes, the annual amount of precipitation will decrease and with it the level of the groundwater. Some cultivars will inevitably get into trouble as a result, causing the harvest to decline. There may even come a point where agriculture will no longer be possible in some places, according to recent scientific research [2] .
Declining levels of organic matter, together with pollution, erosion and soil compaction (which hampers root growth), are endangering soil organisms such as fungi and bacteria, which enrich the soil and often live in symbiosis with the roots of olive trees.
In Tunisia, the problem of soil desiccation will be less urgent. The regionally widely planted cultivar, Chemlali, is already particularly well adapted to dry conditions. It may even represent an opportunity for Tunisian olive production.
[1] Walker et al: Timing of emergence of modern rates of sea-level rise by 1863 in Nature Communications - 2022. See here .
[2] Ferreira et al: Soil degradation in the European Mediterranean region: Processes, status and consequences in Science of The Total Environment – 2022. See here .
