Impacts of Land Abandonment on Flood Mitigation in Mediterranean Mountain Areas

Preserving the Values of Mediterranean Enclosed Fields with Dry Stone Walls, an Example of Vulnerable Natural and Rural Heritage

“…From a functional point of view, the rural landscape in Europe, and specifically in Mediterranean territories, suffered the consequences of dynamic abandonment and territorial transformations during the XX century, fundamentally the simplification of a complex and multifunctional landscape towards achieving a much more homogeneous one [2,23,33,38,44,62,100]. However, efforts should be made to ensure that the essential elements responsible for establishing the character of the landscape are maintained, correctly preserved, and interpreted [1].…”

“…This is one of the most extensive landscapes in Europe, which not only has value in identifying terrains [19] but that is also a key element in the design of green infrastructures and networks [24]. Field enclosures are the best studied of these two landscapes and they are widely distributed in the Mediterranean area, in countries like Italy [25][26][27], Cyprus [28,29], Greece [30], Portugal [31], and Spain [32,33]. Two subtypes of these enclosures can be differentiated, the first of which extends over large areas of central and northern Europe and that are associated with an oceanic climate (annual rainfall between 1000 and 2000 mm).…”