Climate change generates negative impacts on human health. However, little is known about specific impacts on eye diseases, especially in arid and semi-arid areas where increases in air temperatures are expected. Therefore, the main goals of this research are: (i) to highlight the association between common eye diseases and environmental factors; and (ii) to analyze, through the available literature, the health expenditure involved in combating these diseases and the savings from mitigating the environmental factors that aggravate them. Mixed methods were used to assess the cross-variables (environmental factors, eye diseases, health costs). Considering Southern Spain as an example, our results showed that areas with similar climatic conditions could increase eye diseases due to a sustained increase in temperatures and torrential rains, among other factors. We highlight that an increase in eye diseases in Southern Spain is conditioned by the effects of climate change by up to 36.5%; the economic burden of the main eye diseases, extrapolated to the rest of the country, would represent an annual burden of 0.7% of Spain’s Gross Domestic Product. In conclusion, the increase in eye diseases has a strong economic and social impact that could be reduced with proper management of the effects of climate change. We propose a new concept: disease sink, defined as any climate change mitigation action which reduces the incidence or morbidity of disease.

New trends related to market incomes, cultural human development, non-sustainable soil management practices, and climate change are affecting land abandonment in Mediterranean sloping vineyards. It is generally accepted that hydrological processes and, subsequently, soil erosion rates are usually different between cultivated and abandoned soils. However, these alterations are still poorly studied in relation to the general weather conditions in vineyards and abandoned vineyards. Thus, the main goals of this research are to (1) estimate the differences in soil properties, (2) quantify water and soil losses due to rainfall and specific soil management practices, and (3) analyze which kind of weather type and rainfall event is able to generate specific surface flows and soil loss rates. To achieve these goals, we focused on the specific case of the sloping vineyards of the Montes de Málaga (South Spain). We used 4 paired-erosion plots with Gerlach troughs to quantify soil loss and surface flow and conducted an analysis of the weather conditions during each rainfall event. The weather types that generated the highest amount of rainfall in the studied area came from the western (32.6%) and southeast (28.2%) types. The low rainfall events came from the south type (5.9%) and at the 500 hPa level, whereas the rainiest ones came from the southwest (47.7%) and south (34.1%). It is confirmed that there is a bimodality in the rainfall patterns. The results of soil erosion showed that there is a mixed mechanism depending on the state of the soil (vegetation cover, compaction, and initial soil moisture), soil management (tillage, trampling effect, and the use of herbicides). It is observed that the intensity of surface flow is highly correlated to the total rainfall amount and intensity. In the poorly managed abandoned plot, it is important to remark that the effect of tillage in the past, the elimination of the vegetation cover to preserve the soil in bare condition, and its use as a grazing area by cultivating barley highly affects the generation of the highest erosive events. Therefore, it is confirmed that these soil management options are not the most sustainable way to conserve the soil after the abandonment of cultivation.

Rainfall is the key factor to understand soil erosion processes, mechanisms, and rates. Most research was conducted to determine rainfall characteristics and their relationship with soil erosion (erosivity) but there is little information about how atmospheric patterns control soil losses, and this is important to enable sustainable environmental planning and risk prevention. We investigated the temporal and spatial variability of the relationships of rainfall, runoff, and sediment yield with atmospheric patterns (weather types, WTs) in the western Mediterranean basin. For this purpose, we analyzed a large database of rainfall events collected between 1985 and 2015 in 46 experimental plots and catchments with the aim to: (i) evaluate seasonal differences in the contribution of rainfall, runoff, and sediment yield produced by the WTs; and (ii) to analyze the seasonal efficiency of the different WTs (relation frequency and magnitude) related to rainfall, runoff, and sediment yield. The results indicate two different temporal patterns: the first weather type exhibits (during the cold period: autumn and winter) westerly flows that produce the highest rainfall, runoff, and sediment yield values throughout the territory; the second weather type exhibits easterly flows that predominate during the warm period (spring and summer) and it is located on the Mediterranean coast of the Iberian Peninsula. However, the cyclonic situations present high frequency throughout the whole year with a large influence extended around the western Mediterranean basin. Contrary, the anticyclonic situations, despite of its high frequency, do not contribute significantly to the total rainfall, runoff, and sediment (showing the lowest efficiency) because of atmospheric stability that currently characterize this atmospheric pattern. Our approach helps to better understand the relationship of WTs on the seasonal and spatial variability of rainfall, runoff and sediment yield with a regional scale based on the large dataset and number of soil erosion experimental stations.

Rivers condition natural and human ecosystems, providing fertile soils and water for irrigation and consumption in rural and urban uses. However, the intensification of human activities and inherent environmental conditions (e.g., topography, slope or climate) are changing the sustainability of fluvial soil ecosystems. This is problematic, especially in the Mediterranean belt, because of a lack of studies at the regional scale that evaluates soils traditionally associated with rivers such as the “Fluvisols” (IUSS‐WRB). Therefore, the main aim of this paper is to understand the current status of fluvial soils in the Málaga province (Southern Spain) within the Mediterranean belt considering: (1) different thematic maps; (2) soil profiles; and (3) a soil quality index. Fluvisols of the region were assessed using fieldwork, extensive soil data sources and soil profiles including specific information on soil physicochemical properties and crossing environmental conditions. A total of 195.22 km² of fluvisols can be found in Málaga. About 42.5% of the fluvisols are used for human activities such as agriculture (rainfed and irrigation fields, or woody crops such as olives or vineyards), mining, industries and services, urban areas or reservoirs. More than 58% of the fluvisols are located in the warmest territories registering the highest evapotranspiration rates and lowest rainfall amount. The soil quality index reaches lower scores for the fluvisols having mean values of 0.58 (1 = maximum possible score). We conclude that the characterization from a regional scale shed light on the current status of the fluvisols and possible responses against human impacts and river evolution dynamics.

El manejo del suelo es un tema clave para la correcta conservación del territorio, que permite contribuir al cuidado del medioambiente y garantizar la seguridad alimentaria. Su gestión poco sostenible, debido al uso de herbicidas, el laboreo o la intensificación de las plantaciones, dificulta la compleción de dichas metas. En la costa meridional de la Península Ibérica, en las provincias de Málaga, Granada y Almería, la sustitución de especies tradicionales (olivar, vid y almendro) por cultivos subtropicales está generando una desestabilización del suelo poco estudiada. El objetivo de esta investigación es el estudio exhaustivo de las condiciones del suelo utilizando perfiles y descripciones edáficas junto con análisis de suelo. El área de estudio es una parcela experimental en el Valle del Guadalhorce (Málaga) con cultivos de aguacate, mango y mandarinos. Los resultados muestran la degradación del perfil del suelo en todos sus horizontes y la pérdida de propiedades como consecuencia de un modelo de gestión poco sostenible. Esto repercute en la calidad de la producción y en la productividad. Son necesarias medidas de control de la degradación, no solo a nivel parcelario, si no a nivel regional para que dicho problema no se traslade a una mayor escala en el territorio.

Cataracts are ocular conditions characterized by the opacification of the natural lens within the eye, which develops gradually over time and can affect one or both eyes. This condition commonly results from age-related changes in the lens, but can also arise from various factors. Cataract surgeries are expensive, particularly in states such as Spain, where they receive full support from the Spanish social welfare system. Despite a significant body of research on cataracts, few studies address the social and environmental factors triggering their development or consider the spatiotemporal evolution of their impacts. We analysed the incidence of cataracts in a southern region of Spain, differentiating between senile cataracts (those over 60 years old) and early cataracts (those between 15 and 59 years old). Twenty-one socio-economic, climate, and air pollution variables were statistically analysed using bivariate correlation, cluster analysis, and Geographic Information Systems. Eleven years of observation show a decadal increase in annually averaged maximum temperature and a decrease in annual precipitation, partially explaining the rising incidence of operable cataracts in the following year (r = 0.77 and −0.84, respectively; p < 0.05). Furthermore, early cataracts responded spatially to % agricultural employment (r = 0.85; p < 0.05) and moderately to maximum temperatures, insolation, and various constituents.