Land-use and spatial resilience changes in the Spanish olive socio-ecological landscape

Ortega, M.; Pascual, Susana; Elena-Rosselló, Ramón; Rescia, Alejandro J.

doi:10.1016/j.apgeog.2020.102171

Cited by 36 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…Similarly, a breakdown of prevailing social cohesion due to the division of the society into different political groups, ongoing feuds throughout national politics, and frequent institutional changes also led to farmland abandonment [42]. This diverse causes is reflected not only in the spatial location of abandonment but also in the regional variations in the characteristics of socioeconomic development and land use practices [43,44]. Such information supports regional planners and policymakers to implement effective countermeasures, such as controlling possible environmental impacts of farmland abandonment or preventing its expansion by issuing new laws and regulations [45].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Synopsis of Farmland Abandonment and Its Driving Factors in Nepal

Chaudhary

Wang

Dixit

et al. 2020

Land

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Farmland abandonment is considered as an important phenomenon for changing eco-environmental and sociocultural landscapes of mountainous rural landscape. Many studies have analyzed farmland abandonment, its driving factors, geophysical processes and consequences at landscape: however, very few have focused on mountainous developing countries such as in Nepal, which is a rapidly urbanizing country suffering from serious farmland abandonment. Therefore, our study was an attempt to (i) assess the spatiotemporal extent of farmland abandonment in Nepal, (ii) explore driving factors of farmland abandonment, and (iii) discuss on the eco-environmental and sociocultural consequences in Nepal. We reviewed various literature, documents, and national reports to obtain a dataset pertaining to the overall status of farmland use and changes along with political and socioeconomic changes, economic development processes, and policy and governance in Nepal. Our results showed that farmland abandonment is widespread; however, it is more prevalent in the hilly and mountainous regions of Nepal. A total of 9,706,000 ha, accounting for 23.9% of the total cultivated farmland in Nepal, was abandoned during the period of 2001 to 2010. The driving factors included population growth, scattered distribution of settlements, urbanization, socio-economic development, poor access to physical services, and poor implementation of agriculture development policies. Furthermore, the increasing extent of natural disasters, malaria eradication, land reform and resettlement programs, the complex system of land ownership, land fragmentation, political instabilities, and the intensification of trading in agricultural products also acted as drivers of farmland abandonment in Nepal. Farmland abandonment generates negative effects on rural societies eco-environmentally and sociologically. Abandoned plots were subjected to different forms of geomorphic damage (e.g. landslide, debris flows, gully formation, sinkhole development etc.). Farmland landscape fragmented into a group of smaller interspersed patches. Such patches were opened for grassland. Furthermore, farmland abandonment also has effects on the local population and the whole society in terms of the production of goods (e.g., foods, feed, fiber), as well as services provided by the multi-functionality (e.g. sociocultural practices, values and norms) of the agricultural landscape. Therefore, this study plays an important role in planning and implementing eco-environmental management and social development processes in Nepal.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Synopsis of Farmland Abandonment and Its Driving Factors in Nepal

Chaudhary

Wang

Dixit

et al. 2020

Land

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“…Permanent Olive Groves have seen their concentration and intensification increase like in other Mediterranean countries [81]. Olive Grove time series show shorter and more interrupted diagonals (Figure 5); therefore, this land cover class is less periodic and less persistent than the century-old olive groves, which are more sparsely distributed probably because the management is based on traditional ecological knowledge and it is considered a best sustainable practice with benefits for the provision of landscape services.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

“…In addition, the slight increasing trend of EVI time series of Olive Groves (Figure 3) may reflect the merging and enlarging of olive groves with the transition from ancient and traditionally managed farms, consisting of widely spaced century-old olive trees surrounded by a grassland matrix used for grazing animals, to modern and mechanical managed farms where olive trees are tightly packed with fewer grasses and more shrubs [81]. This replacement can be interpreted in terms of biodiversity loss as well as a decrease in the landscape services provided by century-old olive groves.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Resilient Recurrent Behavior of Mediterranean Semi-Arid Complex Adaptive Landscapes

Petrosillo

Valente

Mulder

et al. 2021

Land

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Growing external pressures from human activities and climate change can exacerbate desertification, compromising the livelihoods of more than 25% of the world’s population. The dryland mosaic is defined by land covers that do not behave similarly, and the identification of their recurring or irregular changes over time is crucial, especially in areas susceptible to become desertified. To this aim, the methodological approach of this research is based on the integration of non-linear data analysis techniques, such as recurrence plots (RPs) and recurrence quantification analysis (RQA), applied to the Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), which is a functional ecological proxy of above ground net primary production. The research exploits the recurring change detected in vegetation cover over time to gauge the predictable (resilient) behavior of the EVI as well as its chaoticity in a semi-arid Mediterranean region (Apulia, Italy). Interestingly, the results have shown the spatial rendering of recurrence variables, confirming the well-known hot spots of soil degradation and desertification taking place in the region, which are characterized by greater EVI chaoticity, but they have also identified new potential candidate sites. As a result, the susceptibility to land degradation, as measured by the EVI-RQA approach, can help in measuring land desertification with evident operational benefits for landscape planning. The novelty of the research lies in the spatially explicit identification of resilient and less resilient areas to desertification that can support the definition of more targeted interventions and conservation priorities for better planning and sustainable management of Mediterranean drylands.

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“…Therefore, numerous studies on ecological vulnerability assessment have been conducted in different landscape types and regions. For example, Ortega et al [51] assessed the spatial resilience of the Spanish olive socioecological landscape in Spain and found that the index of spatial resilience of olive landscapes was low in southern Spain and medium in the northeast and central Spain, with an increase in it throughout the time series considered. Christmann et al [52] assessed the vulnerability and resilience constructions in Lübeck and Rostock cities based on the heuristic model for empirical analysis.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of Ecological Vulnerability on Northern Sand Prevention Belt of China Based on the Ecological Pressure–Sensibility–Resilience Model

Song

Xie

et al. 2021

Sustainability

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Quantitative assessment of ecological vulnerability is of great significance for ecological protection and restoration in ecologically vulnerable regions. Here, the ecological vulnerability of the northern sand prevention belt (NSPB) of China was assessed using an ecological pressure–sensibility–resilience model from 2000 to 2015. Results showed that the ecological vulnerability index (EVI) displayed low values in the eastern part and high values in the western part of the study region. The EVI ranged from 0.29 to 1.32 in 2000, with the mean value of 0.88, whereas it averaged 0.78 in 2015, ranging from 0.21 to 1.26. Decreasing EVI from 2000 to 2015 indicated that the ecological status has been improved. Moreover, the area proportion of moderately, heavily, and extremely ecological vulnerability levels occupied approximately 87% in both 2000 and 2015, indicating a high ecological vulnerability level. Furthermore, the change in area proportion of different ecological vulnerability levels were associated with the change in the spatial distribution of vegetation coverage, indicating that eco-environmental protection projects were indeed effective. These findings indicated that differential strategies in different restoration zones should be adopted, especially in the western parts of the study region, and eco-environmental protection projects should be reinforced to improve the ecological restoration.

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Land-use and spatial resilience changes in the Spanish olive socio-ecological landscape

Cited by 36 publications

References 43 publications

A Synopsis of Farmland Abandonment and Its Driving Factors in Nepal

A Synopsis of Farmland Abandonment and Its Driving Factors in Nepal

The Resilient Recurrent Behavior of Mediterranean Semi-Arid Complex Adaptive Landscapes

Assessment of Ecological Vulnerability on Northern Sand Prevention Belt of China Based on the Ecological Pressure–Sensibility–Resilience Model

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