Policy impacts on regulating ecosystem services: looking at the implications of 60 years of landscape change on soil erosion prevention in a Mediterranean silvo-pastoral system

Abstract

Abstract:Context Policy decisions form a major driver of land use change, with important implications for socially and environmentally susceptible regions. It is well known that there can be major unintended consequences, especially where policies are not tailored to regionally specific contexts. Objectives In this paper we assess the implications of 60 years of agricultural policies on soil erosion prevention (SEP) by vegetation, an essential regulating ecosystem service in Mediterranean Europe. Objectives In this paper we assess the implications of 60 years of agricultural policies on soil erosion prevention (SEP) by vegetation, an essential regulating ecosystem service in Mediterranean Europe. Methods To assess these implications we produced and analysed a time series of land cover/use and environmental conditions datasets (from 1951 to 2012) in relation to changing agricultural policies for a specific region in the southern Portugal. Set of indicators related to SEP allowed us to identify that land use intensification as increased soil erosion in the last 60 years. Results Particularly in the last 35 years, as a consequence of head age payments for cattle, the agricultural policy had a significant effect in the density and renewal of the tree cover, resulting in drastic effects for the provision of the SEP service. These are more significant after 1986, coinciding with the implementation of several Common Agricultural Policy instruments focused on increasing the modernization and productivity capacity of farm systems. Conclusions The results show some unintended effects of agricultural policy mechanisms on ecosystem service provision and highlight the need for context-based policies, tailored to the environmental constrains and potentials of each region.

Assessing the Sodium Exchange Capacity in Rainfed and Irrigated Soils in the Mediterranean Basin Using GIS

“…The planet's population will increase, by 2050, to 10,000 million and at the same time will lose between 150 and 300 million hectares of arable land for food production due to salinization, erosion, and urban intensification [2][3][4][5][6][7]. There is then a tendency for an inverse evolution of these two factors and we may recognize the near future challenge in agriculture: to be able to produce more with fewer resources.…”

Ecosystem service change caused by climatological and non‐climatological drivers: a Swiss case study

“…Our analysis contributes to this challenge by quantifying cumulative and individual contributions of climatological drivers to ES change, as well as the spatial structure of other nonclimatological drivers. Only a few studies ) combined both types of drivers in their analysis, while most focused exclusively on climate change (Nelson et al 2013, Scholes 2016 or land use change , Schirpke et al 2013, St€ urck et al 2015, Guerra et al 2016b, Martinez-Harms et al 2017. Therefore, our analysis represents a step forward in tackling the challenge of investigating effects of both climatological and non-climatological drivers on ES.…”

“…, Guerra et al. ). This determines a gap since identifying the actual impact of change drivers on ES allows evaluating the effect and efficiency of past decisions and can improve decision‐making in landscape planning and conservation.…”

“…Furthermore, most known causal relationships between ES and change drivers are based on future projections of ES dynamics that only consider land use and climate change scenarios , Lawler et al 2014, Rosenzweig et al 2014, Martinez-Harms et al 2017. Still, few studies evaluate the effect of change drivers on actually measured ES trends (Nelson et al 2013, Schirpke et al 2013, Egarter Vigl et al 2016, Guerra et al 2016b). This determines a gap since identifying the actual impact of change drivers on ES allows evaluating the effect and efficiency of past decisions and can improve decision-making in landscape planning and conservation.…”

Governance Discourses Reflecting Tensions in a Multifunctional Land Use System in Decay; Tradition Versus Modernity in the Portuguese Montado

“…This is reflected in a push towards intensification of the system and a simplification of its complexity, with a focus on beef production as the most important outcome of the system. In effect, this leads to a rapid degradation of the system's capacity to provide sustainable grazing practices [47,48], multi-functionality [49,50], and the related delivery of ecosystem services [51,52], including those related to the cultural values of rural and historical Mediterranean landscapes [53,54].…”