Modeling how land use legacy affects the provision of ecosystem services in Mediterranean southern Spain

Abstract

Land use decisions induce legacies that affect the welfare of future generations. Here, we present a spatial modeling approach for quantifying how past land use decisions influence provision of multiple ecosystem services (ESs) based on different land use trajectories. We modeled the effect of past land use changes on water regulation, soil protection and habitat quality in southern Spain, one of the most transformed areas of the Mediterranean region. We demonstrate a measurable influence of antecedent land use changes on the capacity of a given land use to provide ESs, and that the effect size can vary among different services and land use trajectories. Our results suggest that afforestation programs may decrease habitat quality but not alter soil protection, depending on whether the previous land use was cropland or shrubland. Although it is well-established that land use legacies motivated by past land decisions are ubiquitous and crucially important for effective landscape management, the question of how the magnitude and spatial distribution of ES supply vary under different land use trajectories remains unknown. Our approach enables quantification of how land use legacy affects ecological processes that underpin ES capacities at a regional scale, which will allow land managers to develop more accurate landscape planning strategies for preserving ESs.

Telecoupling through tomato trade: what consumers do not know about the tomato on their plate

“…Since 1960, development strategies and the lack of land use planning resulted in socioeconomic development in coastal areas and caused one of the most dramatic land use transformations in Europe (Quintas-Soriano et al , 2019), currently representing approximately 4% of the provincial surface area. The promotion of greenhouse horticulture has resulted in very significant social and economic benefits for the Almería province, while also having important negative impacts on native biodiversity and natural resources (Quintas-Soriano et al , 2016a; Requena-Mullor et al , 2018), as well as creating social challenges (Aznar-Sánchez et al , 2011; Muñoz-Rojas et al , 2011; Quintas-Soriano et al , 2018a, 2018b). The economic contribution of the greenhouse horticulture sector represents approximately 13% of the GDP of Almería, in contrast with the agricultural sector in Spain that represents 2.5% of the national GDP (Castro et al , 2019).…”

“…The development model was fundamentally limited by water scarcity, and it was dedicated to subsistence dryland agriculture characterized by low yields (Quintas-Soriano et al , 2016a). It was not until the 1970s that this socioeconomic model changed, led by the development of greenhouse agriculture, the tourism sector and the construction industry (Aznar-Sánchez et al , 2011; Muñoz-Rojas et al , 2011; Quintas-Soriano et al , 2016b; Requena-Mullor et al , 2018). In particular, the rapid development of greenhouse agriculture has produced the alteration and fragmentation of the habitats of numerous plant species, such as Maytenus senegalensis subsp.…”

Hunting as land use: Understanding the spatial associations among hunting, agriculture, and forestry

“…In Sweden, municipal plans define landscape planning and seek to mediate among conflicting land-use interests (Bjärstig et al 2018, Svensson et al 2020, explaining the strong imprint of municipalities. Finally, land-use legacies shape landscapes and ecosystem service bundles (Renard et al 2015), because they influence the capacity to provide services and therefore should be considered in land-use decision making (Requena-Mullor et al 2018). This should also be the case for wildlife distributions and wildlife-related services, e.g., long-term effects of forest clear-cutting (Apollonio et al 2010).…”

Trends in Ecosystem Services across Europe Due to Land-Use/Cover Changes

“…Such land use changes from several decades ago are partly reflected in land cover changes and still influence ES supply today in case of a reduction of use [61,83]. Understanding such legacy effects is important for anticipating the consequences of today's management decisions on future ES values [83][84][85][86].…”