Long-Term Forest Dynamics and Land-Use Abandonment in the Mediterranean Mountains, Corsica, France

Abstract

ABSTRACT. Human practices have had an impact on Mediterranean ecosystems for millennia, particularly through agricultural and pastoral activities. Since the mid-19th century, land-use abandonment has led to the expansion of shrubland and forest, especially in the mountainous areas of the northern Mediterranean basin. Knowledge of these factors is vital to understanding present forest patterns and predicting future forest dynamics in the Mediterranean mountains. We aimed to analyze and understand how land-use abandonment affected spatial modifications of landscapes in two study areas, 44,000 ha and 60,000 ha, located on the island of Corsica, France, representing a typical Mediterranean environment with chestnut forests. Our approach used land-cover archive documents from 1774, 1913, 1975, and 2000, and human population history, 1770 to present day, to describe landscape patterns following land-use abandonment. This research showed that dramatic changes in landscape at the two study areas were caused by the suspension of human influence and the interruption of traditional farming practices. Over the study period, both study sites showed significant reforestation of shrubland and cultivated areas marked by the presence of Quercus ilex forests (+3. 40% yr-1 between 1975 and 2000) and by Pinus pinaster (+3.00% yr-1 between 1975 and 2000) at one study site that had experienced heavy rural exodus. At the same time, areas containing chestnut forests decreased by 50% between 1774 and 2000 (-0.09% yr-1 between 1774 and 1975 and -1.42% yr-1 between 1975 and 2000). Shrubland expansion remained limited at both study sites. Our study highlights the value of small-scale approaches for understanding the ecological consequences of land-use abandonment and present and future land-management decisions. Discussion concludes on the importance of working with long-term series for studies on resilience in social-ecological systems and on the consequences in terms of provision of ecosystem services.

Impacts of Global Change on Mediterranean Forests and Their Services

“…These new forests are mostly rapidly growing young trees that have been able to store 9% of the total C emitted in Spain between 1986 and 2007 [148]. A parallel history has been observed in the Corsica Mountains, where forest cover has spread and where natural native forests of Q. ilex and P. pinaster Aiton have expanded against Castanea sativa Miller forests, which were previously maintained by human management but are now abandoned [149].…”

Does the persistence of sweet chestnut depend on cultural inputs? Regeneration, recruitment, and mortality in Quercus- and Castanea-dominated forests

“…The sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa Mill.) is one of the most managed trees in Europe and covers more than 2.5 million ha (Amorini et al 2000;Scarascia-Mugnozza et al 2000;Conedera et al 2004Conedera et al , 2016San Roman Sanz et al 2013). Palynological, anthracological, and macrofossil evidence indicates that C. sativa survived the main glacial events that occurred in favorable refuges, ranging from the west of the Iberian Peninsula to the east coast of the Black Sea-Caucasus region (Fineschi et al 2000;Conedera et al 2004;Krebs et al 2004), and it is considered a component of European temperate broadleaf forests (Conedera et al 2016).…”

Analysing the effect of land use and vegetation cover on soil infiltration in three contrasting environments in northeast Spain

“…In addition to the hydrological consequences associated with substantial expansion of forests and scrub, other environmental issues occur, such as the increased risk of fire (García-Ruiz and Lana-Renault, 2011;San Román et al, 2013). The effect of fire on soil properties has also been studied (Badía and Martí, 2003;Pardini et al, 2004b), particularly the hydric effects of an ash layer covering the soil surface, where responses vary according to the severity of fire (Pereira et al, 2013), as well as those deriving from fire on water, and sediment yield on different soil types (Badía et al, 2008).…”