The state of agricultural landscapes in the Mediterranean: smallholder agriculture and land abandonment in terraced landscapes of the Ricote Valley, southeast Spain

Abstract

The fast and broad adoption of mechanization and chemical inputs in Mediterranean terraced agriculture, combined with warming climate trends, has led to the progressive degradation of environmental and social conditions. These factors have concurred with the increasing abandonment of smallholder agriculture. We aimed to detect and quantify the progression of cultivated and abandoned terraced fields in the Ricote Valley between 2016 and 2019 while also exploring reasons for land abandonment over the past decades. To quantify cultivated and abandoned agricultural terraces, we conducted (1) a terrace detection based on Lidar and cadaster data, (2) a land use classification based on Sentinel imagery, and (3) an investigation of the reasons for land abandonment based on participant observation and an expert survey. Our results show high rates of abandonment compared to the total available agricultural terraced area in the Ricote Valley. In 2016, 56% of the detected terraced area was classified as not cultivated. In 2019, the percentage decreased to 40%. Small parcels are cultivated to a higher percentage than large or medium-sized parcels. We identified five main reasons underlying land abandonment: (1) low income of farmers; (2) land fragmentation resulting in higher transaction costs; (3) lack of interest in agricultural activities among young generations; (4) lack of modernization; and (5) emotional bonds preventing the sale of abandoned parcels. We stressed the importance of a place-based mixed method approach to gain a comprehensive understanding of the specificities of a given research area.

Stone-walled terraces restoration: conserving biodiversity and promoting economic functions of farmlands in Lebanon

“…The abandoned terraces have suffered two different types of processes: (i) soil erosion due to the lack of maintenance of the stone walls and steep slopes, and (ii) fast secondary forest colonization on more stable terraces where the soil has been maintained, although the accumulation of dry biomass increases the risk of fires (Abdallah, 2012). Similar pattern are found across Mediterranean countries (Brunori et al, 2018;Heider et al, 2021;Modica et al, 2017;Rühl et al, 2006). According to the time of abandonment and the stability of the slopes, different deterioration stages are seen in the terraces.…”

Integration of Abandoned Lands in Sustainable Agriculture: The Case of Terraced Landscape Re-Cultivation in Mediterranean Island Conditions

“…The reasons for ceasing crop cultivation were mainly cost-related, due to high individual financial investment requirements. Land fragmentation resulting in higher transaction costs in combination with lack of modernization and low farmers' income, are recognized among the major drivers of terrace abandonment [71]. The implementation of an LS plan on the island managed to resolve issues regarding land fragmentation and collective cultivation.…”

Grain Production Space Reconstruction and Its Influencing Factors in the Loess Plateau

“…Social and economic development bring more employment opportunities and income to individuals, and increases the opportunity cost of agricultural production. Driven by individual economic interests, farmers abandon their original grain production space for population migration and restore to natural vegetation in original grain production space (Subedi et al, 2021;Heider et al, 2021). In addition, the national ecological compensation policies also lead farmers to return farmland to forests or grasses spontaneously to obtain a higher income than farmland.…”