Critical Environmental Issues Confirm the Relevance of Abandoned Agricultural Land

Abstract

Large areas worldwide have been affected by farmland abandonment and subsequent plant colonization with significant environmental consequences. Although the process of farmland abandonment has slowed down, vegetation recovery in abandoned lands is far from complete. In addition, agricultural areas and pasture lands with low-intensity activities could be abandoned in the near future. In this foreword, we review current knowledge of the impacts of farmland abandonment on water resources and soil conservation, and we highlight the open questions that still persist, in particular regarding terraced landscapes, afforested areas, abandonment of woody crops, traditional irrigated fields, solute yields, long-term trends in the response of abandoned areas, and the management of abandoned farmland. This Special Issue includes seven contributions that illustrate recent research into the hydrological, geomorphological, and edaphological consequences of farmland abandonment.

Interannual climate variability determines the efficiency of functional recovery in dry Mediterranean abandoned vineyards

“…When agricultural activity ceases, abandonment leads to the rapid recovery of plant species, increasing plant cover and diversity (Isbell, Tilman, Reich, & Clark, 2019;Kosmas, Gerontidis, & Marathianou, 2000;López-Bermúdez, Romero-Díaz, Martínez-Fernández, & Martínez-Fernández, 1998;Zhao, Xiao, & Liu, 2005), causing major changes in soil properties in terms of greater structural stability and waterholding capacity and reducing soil erodibility (López-Bermúdez et al, 1998;Romero-Díaz, Ruiz-Sinoga, Robledano-Aymerich, Brevik, & Cerdà, 2017;Zhu, Li, Li, Liu, & Xue, 2010). Agrosystem abandonment also enhances soil biological activity and microbial biomass (García & Hernández, 1997;Lana-Renault, Nadal-Romero, Cammeraat, & Llorente, 2020;Raiesi & Salek-Gilani, 2018;van Hall, Cammeraat, Keesstra, & Zorn, 2017). It is important to note that this abandonment is occurring under a climate change scenario, and the consequences of the interaction between climate change and the abandonment of agricultural activity on ecosystems are still little known.…”

Soil Quality Assessment of Different Land Use Types Based on TOPSIS Method in Hilly Sandy Area of Loess Plateau, Northern China

“…Many studies have also focused on vegetation restoration, soil nutrients and enzyme activities, soil fertility and heavy metal fixation [ 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 ]. In addition, with the increasing prevalence of farmers going out of business, the impact of long-term abandoned cropland on the environment has also attracted worldwide attention [ 15 , 16 ]. At present, the effective development of vegetation restoration and ecological construction has become an urgent scientific issue, especially for regions with poor ecological environment.…”