ABSTRACT
Climate change can affect soil functions directly and indirectly. The direct effects include soil process changes in organic carbon transformations and nutrient cycling through altered moisture and T regimes in the soil or increased soil erosion rates due to an increased frequency of high‐intensity rainfall events. In this chapter we focus on how climate change may affect soil properties and land degradation processes. We mainly discuss the flowing effects of climate change: effects on soil properties (physical, chemical, and biological properties), effects on soil erosion processes, effects on soil salinization, and effects on soil acidification. Improved understanding of the impacts of climate change on land degradation processes could be perfect tools to develop the suitable soil management strategy to prevent loss of environmental function in soils and terrestrial ecosystems.
