ABSTRACT
Geomorphological processes in Mediterranean environments are conditioned by the strong seasonality and frequently steep climatic gradients that were discussed in the previous chapter. The geological setting of the Mediterranean, at complex plate junctions, is one of intense tectonic activity, marked by earthquakes and vulcanism, as we saw in Chapter 2. This interaction of climate and tectonics has produced a landscape characterised by high relative relief, which in turn has been strongly affected by a long history of human settlement and changing land-use (Fig. 4.1). The long history of occupation in the Mediterranean has meant that virtually all cultivable land is exploited, as is the case on the southern slopes of the Troodos mountains in Cyprus, where the landscape has been farmed for in excess of 5000 years https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9781315832524/aaa1ae65-e324-4e25-8f13-0a5dd4f6d743/content/fig4_1_C.jpg" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"/>
