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Land abandonment as a major challenge for Mediterranean countries
Fractured stone ruins overgrown by plants, the remains of residential buildings and agricultural infrastructure, uncultivated terraced landscapes – in southern Spain as in other Mediterranean countries, the disparity between densely populated, vibrant urban spaces and rural areas, where more and more land is becoming desolate and fallow, is very evident. The gradual abandonment of land in rural, mountainous and less economically developed areas is one of main land use changes currently taking place in the Mediterranean, and in many other parts of the world. In Europe alone, almost 120 mega hectares of land have been affected by this process since the 1990s.
Socio-cultural and ecological consequences of land abandonment
But what does actually happen when agricultural land is becoming abandoned? What are the social and ecological impacts of this process? A team of former and current researchers at the Chair of Socio-Ecological Interactions in Agricultural Systems, based at the Universities of Kassel and Göttingen, has conducted a comprehensive literature review to explore the impacts land abandonment is associated with on a socio-ecological level – its consequences on an ecological, social and cultural level, especially for the well-being of local communities.
"The literature mainly describes land abandonment in the Mediterranean as the stop of the use of agricultural land and traditional practices in olive groves, almond plantations and woodland pastures (the so-called 'dehesa'), and especially examines its ecological consequences," says Dr. Cristina Quintas-Soriano, former post-doctoral researcher at the University of Kassel. "This includes impacts on biodiversity, humus formation and habitat quality, but rarely socio-cultural impacts." Moreover, most of the 90 studies in the sample focused on the northern edge of the Mediterranean (Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece), while the situation in the southern Mediterranean countries – such as Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia – was completely ignored in the English- and Spanish-language literature examined.
"Overall, the negative impacts of land abandonment predominate, both in terms of indicators of 'Nature's Contributions to the People' and 'Good Quality of Life'," reports Head of Section Prof. Tobias Plieninger. Especially when it comes to cultural and immaterial values, the researchers almost exclusively found mixed or negative effects: "For local communities, land abandonment means a loss of local identities and the so-called 'sense of place', their cultural heritage and local ecological knowledge." Even singular evidence of increased income from nature-based tourism was not substantiated.
Moreover, many studies point to mixed and positive effects, especially in relation to soil formation and soil conservation. "The results do not point in only one direction: in the context of land abandonment, many factors – socio-cultural as well as ecological – have to be taken into account, which do not operate in isolation," Dr. Quintas-Soriano explains.
Future demands to policy and science
"Land abandonment is a policy challenge: how to deal with it is hotly debated, be it due to concerns about the loss of traditional agricultural and cultural landscapes, or to potential impacts on biodiversity and human well-being," concludes Prof. Tobias Plieninger. However, most studies and policies still treat it as a purely agricultural problem.
Since the process of land abandonment varies according to socio-cultural context, a better understanding of the drivers, consequences and tensions, but also of the extent, speed, different types and contexts of land abandonment is essential for further research. In particular, the consideration of the social dimension could moreover contribute to a better understanding of the impact of land abandonment on future generations.
Full Paper
Quintas-Soriano, C., Buerkert, A., Plieninger, T. 2022. “Effects of land abandonment on nature contributions to people and good quality of life components in the Mediterranean region: A review.” Land Use Policy, 116, 106053.
Contact
Marie Curie Researcher, SocioECOS Lab, Universitad de Almería
cristina.quintas[at]ual[dot]es
Head of Section Social-Ecological Interactions in Agricultural Systems
Georg-August University Göttingen / University of Kassel
plieninger[at]uni-kassel[dot]de
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