Challenges and innovations for improving the sustainability of European agroforestry systems of high nature and cultural value: stakeholder perspectives

Rolo, Víctor; Hartel, Tibor; Aviron, Stéphanie; Berg, Staffan; Crous-Duran, Josep; Franca, Antonello; Mirck, Jaconette; Palma, J.H.N.; Pantera, Anastasia; Paulo, Joana Amaral; Pulido, Fernando; Seddaiu, Gioavanna; Thenail, Claudine; Varga, Andrea; Viaud, Valérie; Burgess, Paul J.; Moreno, Gerardo

doi:10.1007/s11625-020-00826-6

Cited by 25 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 66 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Many SPELs perform numerous functions for the environment and for humans by providing cultural and aesthetic ecosystem services and enhancing landscape attractiveness (Ungaro et al ., 2016). They are often created and/or maintained by people, and their persistence depends on perceptions of their value and function as well as on agricultural practices (Hunter et al ., 2016; Rolo et al ., 2020). However, many elements are disappearing from agricultural landscapes.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Small things are important: the value of singular point elements for birds in agricultural landscapes

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Farmland birds belong to the most endangered group of vertebrates in Europe. They are an important component of farmland biodiversity considering the numerous functions they perform (e.g. seed dispersal, improving germination, increasing gene flow, nutrient recycling, and pest control). Therefore, their decline imposes substantial risks on agricultural ecosystems. In general, farmland bird conservation includes land‐use and management alterations leading to less‐intensive farming and land‐sparing for breeding habitats (e.g. agri‐environment‐climate schemes, and organic farming). However, theoretical concepts describing farmland biodiversity maintenance and applied conservation measures usually ignore the role of singular, often very small, natural or man‐made elements in an agricultural landscape. These elements play a role in the populations of certain species, their biology and in the general species richness of farmland. Furthermore, the importance of these elements has never been empirically tested, which means that conservationists and practitioners are not aware of their measurable value for birds. Herein, we define and identify singular point elements in the agricultural landscape (SPELs) which are potentially important for breeding farmland birds. We also describe each SPEL and evaluate its importance for birds in farmland based on a systematic review of the available literature. Using a horizon‐scanning technique, we then polled field ornithologists about their personal observations of birds in relation to SPELs and the evaluation of the potential roles of such structures for birds. We identified 17 SPELs that vary in naturalness and age: singular trees, singular shrubs, erratic boulders, puddles, electricity pylons, wind turbines, spiritual sites, hunting platforms, fence and border posts, wells, road signs, scarecrows, piles of manure, piles of brushwood/branches, piles of stones/debris, piles of lime, and haystacks. Analysis of the literature revealed knowledge gaps, because some SPELs are frequently mentioned in ecological studies (e.g. trees, shrubs, pylons), but others such as spiritual sites, stones, hunting platforms, wells, road signs, or piles of lime are ignored. Despite the fact that some authors incorporate the effects of some SPELs in their studies, little research to date has aimed to assess the impact of various SPELs on farmland bird species numbers and distribution. Horizon scanning revealed that ornithologists often observe birds on various SPELs and thus, attribute to SPELs many functions that are important for maintaining bird populations. Horizon scanning also highlighted the importance of SPELs for many declining bird species and suggested possible mitigation of negative changes in the agricultural landscape by retaining SPELs within fields. We suggest that a better understanding of the role of SPELs for farmland birds is required. We also recommend that SPELs are considered as a potential tool for the conservation of birds, and existing conservation programs such as agri‐...

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Small things are important: the value of singular point elements for birds in agricultural landscapes

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Most HNV farmlands are subsistence or semi-subsistence systems that typically evolved from centuries-long humanenvironment interactions in cultural landscapes (Balázsi et al 2019, Rolo et al 2020. Although rich in biodiversity and with high environmental resilience potential at regional and continental scales (Fischer 2012, Barthel et al 2013, the farmers inhabiting and sustaining these landscapes often have socioeconomic aspirations with consumerist types of ideals (Hartel et al 2018).…”

Section: Conservation Of Colias Myrmidone In the European Unionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Limited effectiveness of EU policies to conserve an endangered species in high nature value farmland in Romania

Loos¹,

Gallersdörfer²,

Hartel³

et al. 2021

E&S

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Colias myrmidone is extinct in most European countries of its historic range, and few populations remain in Poland, Slovakia, and Romania. In Romania, this butterfly occurs in traditional farming landscapes of Transylvania dominated by high nature value (HNV) grassland. Parts of these landscapes were recently designated as Natura 2000 areas. In this article, we share insights from our engagement in these Natura 2000 areas, in which agricultural intensification as well as abandonment threaten the survival of Colias myrmidone. We unravel which factors hinder the effective conservation of this rare farmland and ecotone species despite the legally binding nature of Natura 2000 and financial support for HNV grassland in Romania through the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). Firstly, current financial incentives to maintain low-intensity agricultural practices are insufficient to avert land-use intensification or abandonment. Secondly, a lack of knowledge of the wider landscape beyond target areas limits our understanding of population dynamics and dispersal, which impedes the ability to inform conservation management adequately. Thirdly, the target areas have unclear governance arrangements regarding responsibilities and powers, which prevents transparent collaboration and management structures. To improve support for the HNV systems that are crucial for the conservation of endangered species of traditional agricultural landscapes at the local level, we recommend greater collaboration in conservation governance with small-scale farmers, co-development of management plans, and a shift toward results-based payments for conservation actions. At the EU level, we recommend adapting the CAP to genuinely support small-scale farming and to establish a pan-European monitoring scheme for indicator species of HNV farmland such as Colias myrmidone.

show abstract

“…1). Interestingly, a number of articles describe comparative research that has been performed across two regional landscape corridors (Buck et al 2020); between two protected areas (Therville et al 2020); between the four tropical countries of Honduras, Indonesia, Peru, and Uganda (Zinngrebe et al 2020); across the Mediterranean Basin (Flinzberger et al 2020;Wolpert et al 2020); and across ten agroforestry landscapes and landuse systems in the European Union (Rolo et al 2020). Studies were carried out at local (n = 3), regional (n = 6), national (n = 1), and supranational scales (n = 1).…”

Section: Characteristics Of This Special Featurementioning

confidence: 99%

“…The contributions typically triangulate various qualitative and quantitative methods and partly combine approaches from the social, ecological, agronomical, and geographical sciences. Many rely on participatory methods, such as serious games (Andreotti et al 2020), Delphi assessments (Flinzberger et al 2020), or stakeholder deliberations (Rolo et al 2020).…”

Section: Characteristics Of This Special Featurementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Blue areas indicate studies that compared multiple study areas. Purple areas indicate single-area studies Rolo et al (2020) look at how traditional agroforestry systems are declining across Europe, largely driven by their poor economic performance. This loss of agroforestry is ongoing although such land-use systems deliver a wide range of ecosystem services, and thus can be considered as high-value-farming systems.…”

Section: Social-ecological Drivers Processes and Impacts Of Expansimentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Agroforestry for sustainable landscape management

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Agroforestry and sustainable landscape management are key strategies for implementing the UN-Sustainable Development Goals across the world's production landscapes. However, both strategies have so far been studied in isolation from each other. This editorial introduces a special feature dedicated to scrutinizing the role of agroforestry in sustainable landscape management strategies. The special feature comprises eleven studies that adopt inter-and transdisciplinary perspectives, integrating ecological, agricultural, and socioeconomic sciences, and in some cases also practical knowledge. The studies relate to a range of different ecosystem goods and services, and to a diversity of societal sectors (e.g., agriculture, forestry, nature conservation, urban planning, landscape protection) and demands, including their mutual synergies and trade-offs. They inform land-use policy and practice by conceptualizing agroforestry as a set of "nature-based solutions" useful to help tackle multiple societal challenges. The studies encompass four themes: social-ecological drivers, processes, and impacts of changes of agroforestry landscapes; the sustainability outcomes of agroforestry at landscape scale; scaling up agroforestry through multi-stakeholder landscape strategies; and development of conceptual and operational tools for stakeholder analysis in agroforestry landscape transitions. Key steps to harness agroforestry for sustainable landscape management comprise: (i) moving towards an "agroforestry sustainability science"; (ii) understanding local land-use trajectories, histories, and traditions; (iii) upscaling agroforestry for landscape-scale benefits; (iv) promoting the multiple economic, environmental, social, and cultural values of agroforestry; (v) fostering inclusive forms of landscape governance; and (vi) supporting the innovation process of agroforestry system analysis and design.

show abstract

Challenges and innovations for improving the sustainability of European agroforestry systems of high nature and cultural value: stakeholder perspectives

Cited by 25 publications

References 66 publications

Small things are important: the value of singular point elements for birds in agricultural landscapes

Small things are important: the value of singular point elements for birds in agricultural landscapes

Limited effectiveness of EU policies to conserve an endangered species in high nature value farmland in Romania

Agroforestry for sustainable landscape management

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About