Pastoral Stone Enclosures as Biological Cultural Heritage: Galician and Cornish Examples of Community Conservation

Abstract

The role and importance of a built structure are closely related to the surrounding area, with interest in a given area having a concomitant effect on the relevance given to the constructions it may hold. Heritage interest in landscape areas has grown in recent times leading to a sound valorisation process. This connects with the recent concept of biological cultural heritage (BCH), or biocultural heritage (definition still in process), that can be understood as domesticated landscapes resulting from long-term biological and social relationships. Although pastoral enclosures (in large part dry-stone walling, whose construction has been recognised by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity since 2018) arise as traditional rural constructions linked with a way of life already disappearing, engaged local communities are recovering their biocultural value in terms of identity and positive conservation outcomes. In this sense, this article focuses on valuing traditional stone-built pastoral enclosures in two locations on the Atlantic coast of western Europe: Frojám (NW Iberian Peninsula) and Ladydown Moor (SW England). Findings concerning plant communities related to current or ancient pastoralism, and artefacts of built heritage are described, and an emphasis is placed on community engagement as a mechanism for conservation. The resilience of species-rich grassland communities is identified as a manifestation of biocultural heritage and an opportunity for habitat restoration. Finally, current trends and improvements in understanding of biological heritage and community conservation are addressed.

Sentinel 2 images enable reliable prediction of fine‐scale habitat dynamics of narrow endemic plant species in serpentine soils

“…Thus, the optimal habitat in the study area is a stable (on rocky skeletal soils) community of Sagino merinoi-Plantago radicatae, a low coverage of sparse scrubs and herbaceous species with characteristically exposed soils and low competition; this could explain the lower importance of the NDWI2 than of the NDWI, which makes a greater distinction between vegetation, soil and water bodies (McFeeters, 1996). Outside the bestconserved areas with skeletal soils, the elements of the serpentine community act as pioneer colonizers, only occurring at some track margins or in collapsed traditional serpentine stone walls (Figure 5), a longitudinal pattern captured by our SDM predictions and also a marker of biocultural heritage (Grove et al, 2020). Drought adaptations in the serpentine vegetation include smaller plants and reduced leaf-specific area, which explain the lesser importance of the predictors, as NDWI2 relates to the water content of plants.…”

Cultural Heritage and Sustainable Rural Development: The Case of Tàrbena, Spain

“…Dry stone structures are mainly found in rural areas, on steep land, both in and outside of inhabited areas. They also have given shape to numerous and varied landscapes, creating various forms of useful elements for agriculture and livestock farming [27][28][29][30][31].…”

Who Is Restoring Forest Landscapes? Analysis of Citizen Participation within the De-Eucalyptising Brigades in Galicia, Spain

“…This NGO contacted the Froxán Commons, a small community made up of five households, that one year before had started to organise calls for collective work in the forests-the "rogas"-followed by a feast in exchange for such work-the "albaroques". Considering the great success that the collective work reported in terms of landscape resilience and social engagement [51,52], Verdegaia and Froxán Commons together designed a pathway to spread the model in Galicia and potentially escalate it to a regional level.…”