Hedgerows and Enclosures in Rural Areas: Traditional vs. Modern Land Use in Mediterranean Mountains

Abstract

The present paper highlights the importance of hedgerows and enclosures in the mountains of Central Spain. Now, these landscapes have suffered profound variations in terms of agroforestry practices, especially in the Mediterranean mountains where the characteristic multifunctional has largely been lost. The article analyzes land uses changes, dynamics, and their morphological features between the first half of the 20th Century (1956) and the second decade of the present time (2019). The paper was divided into three sections. First, the identification of land uses using orthophotograph and aerial photograph; after that the info was checked with fieldwork. Eleven categories were identified according to the dominant use and land use changes and size of land parcels were taken into consideration. Second, the configuration and the information collected through the type and intensity of change in land uses made it possible to recognise and quantify their distribution and trend between these two dates. Also, the kernel density algorithm available in the Arcgis 10.5 software was used to obtain density and changes in land parcels. Finally, an overview is given of the main role that this agroforestry plays due to the social, ecological, and economic benefits that they provide for allowing sustainable development.

Research on Land Use Versatility Evaluation, Spatiotemporal Coupling, and Influencing Factors Based on Multimethod Integration

“…The land use system is a composite ecosystem with specific attributes, and the functionality of land use intuitively reflects this system [15,16,28]. The multifunctionality of land use refers to the state and manifestations of the functions of land use in a specific region, including its economic, social, and ecological aspects, that is, the products and services provided to human production and life under different land use methods [15,[29][30][31].…”

“…As societal and economic progress continues, with the acceleration of industrialization, urbanization, and the modernization of agriculture, along with the increasing intensity of human activities [1,2], the scarcity of land resources in underdeveloped areas has become increasingly prominent. This scarcity leads to competition, where social development encroaches upon economic development spaces, economic growth divides ecological environmental spaces, Sustainability 2024, 16, 843 2 of 20 and social development areas lack ecological spaces [3]. Consequently, investigating land use multifunctionality is important for enhancing the comprehensive benefits of land resources, optimizing the national territorial spatial pattern, facilitating ecological civilization construction, and contributing to the building of a beautiful China [2,4,5].…”

“…They have noted that changes in land use functionality can impact regional sustainable development [15]. Qualitative and quantitative studies have been carried out in typical regions, including the Mediterranean area [16,17], central Europe [18], northern Spain [19], North America [20], the northeastern part of South Asia in the Ganges River Basin [21], and the Arctic region [22]. Domestically, scholars have conducted research at various scales, ranging from national and provincial to municipal levels, as well as finer scales, such as land parcels and grid cells.…”

El paisatge toponímic de Sant Llorenç del Munt i Serra de l’Obac

“…La riqueza biológica de estos prados, a pesar de la explotación mantenida de su vegetación, y su singularidad entre los paisajes del piedemonte de la Sierra de Guadarrama, han hecho que dediquemos muchos años a su estudio desde distintas perspectivas (Sanz y Molina, 1999;Sanz, López Estébanez y Molina, 2004, 2006Sanz, Molina y López Estébanez, 2010;Allende et al, 2021). El objetivo del trabajo, cuyos resultados se presentan aquí, es la valoración de los caracteres florísticos de estos paisajes y la diversidad de facies que la fenología de su flora aporta al paisaje.…”

Geografia, Paisatge I Vegetació

“…La riqueza biológica de estos prados, a pesar de la explotación mantenida de su vegetación, y su singularidad entre los paisajes del piedemonte de la Sierra de Guadarrama, han hecho que dediquemos muchos años a su estudio desde distintas perspectivas (Sanz y Molina, 1999;Sanz, López Estébanez y Molina, 2004Sanz, Molina y López Estébanez, 2010;Allende et al, 2021). El objetivo del trabajo, cuyos resultados se presentan aquí, es la valoración de los caracteres florísticos de estos paisajes y la diversidad de facies que la fenología de su flora aporta al paisaje.…”