Agroforestry and the Climate Crisis: Prioritizing Biodiversity Restoration for Resilient and Productive Mediterranean Landscapes

Agroforestry and the Climate Crisis: Prioritizing Biodiversity Restoration for Resilient and Productive Mediterranean Landscapes

Date Issued

September 19, 2024

Type

Scientific journal article

Abstract

This study deals with the future of the traditional agroforestry systems (TAFSs) in the northern Mediterranean Basin. Important productive systems, such as ancient non-irrigated olive groves and extensive silvopastoral systems, from subalpine grasslands to coastal landscapes, are being irreversibly degraded, threatening the bio-cultural heritage of the Mediterranean region, an area recognized as a global biodiversity hotspot. In the midst of the global biodiversity and climate crisis, immediate actions are proposed for the protection and conservation management of TAFSs, within a new EU policy framework. Having the TAFSs of Greece in the spotlight of this analysis, a four-step approach was used in order to review the value of agroforestry in terms of (a) biodiversity (birds, mammals, invertebrates and soil biota), (b) agroforestry landscapes, such as traditional olive groves on terraces and valonia silvopastoral systems, (c) ecosystem services, especially concerning cultural values, and (d) the modern threats to traditional agroforestry. Through this research, problems are highlighted and European policy priorities are defined. Our conclusion is that there is an immediate need to revise the European Union rural, forestry, and environmental policies in the Mediterranean region, following the provisions of the new EU Nature Restoration Law, in order to revive agroforestry landscapes and make them productive and sustainable again for the benefit of rural economies, local communities, and biodiversity, especially in marginal Mediterranean mountainous and island areas, where depopulation and susceptibility to wildfires are major threats.

Additional information

Tsiakiris, Rigas, Kalliopi Stara, Yannis Kazoglou, Petros Kakouros, Dimitris Bousbouras, Anastasios Dimalexis, Panayotis Dimopoulos, Georgios Fotiadis, Ilias Gianniris, Ioannis P. Kokkoris, and et al. 2024. Agroforestry and the Climate Crisis: Prioritizing Biodiversity Restoration for Resilient and Productive Mediterranean Landscapes. Forests 15(9): 1648. https://doi.org/10.3390/f15091648

Subjects

Αγροδασοπονία

Βιοποικιλότητα

Κλιματική αλλαγή

File(s)

Name

1863.pdf

Description

Άρθρα

Size

1.75 MB

Format

Adobe PDF