IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/lauspo/v99y2020ics026483771932383x.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Narrating abandoned land: Perceptions of natural forest regrowth in Southwestern Europe

Author

Listed:
  • Frei, Theresa
  • Derks, Jakob
  • Rodríguez Fernández-Blanco, Carmen
  • Winkel, Georg

Abstract

The abandonment of agricultural land leads to landscape changes in many parts of Europe, often followed by natural forest regrowth. These landscape changes have far-reaching social and ecological consequences. Our research addresses the question of how local actor groups involved in land management perceive natural forest regrowth on abandoned land. Based on 42 interviews with local actors, we analyse narratives on natural forest regrowth in four case studies, one in France and three in Spain. Across the case studies, we find three narratives: a rural fatalism narrative, a pro forest management narrative and a pro nature narrative, each with its own problem definitions and solution strategies on natural forest regrowth. Our analysis reveals regional nuances, which depend on land use characteristics that shape the perceptions of local actor groups. We conclude that natural forest regrowth holds different symbolic functions, ranging from lost territory to recovered land. Any assessment of trade-offs and opportunities needs to consider the local situation. Furthermore, management and governance approaches need to acknowledge different cultural beliefs, which shape the perception of actor groups.

Suggested Citation

  • Frei, Theresa & Derks, Jakob & Rodríguez Fernández-Blanco, Carmen & Winkel, Georg, 2020. "Narrating abandoned land: Perceptions of natural forest regrowth in Southwestern Europe," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:lauspo:v:99:y:2020:i:c:s026483771932383x
    DOI: 10.1016/j.landusepol.2020.105034
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S026483771932383X
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.landusepol.2020.105034?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Elands, Birgit H. M. & Wiersum, K. Freerk, 2001. "Forestry and rural development in Europe: an exploration of socio-political discourses," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 3(1-2), pages 5-16, September.
    2. Metodi Sotirov & Georg Winkel, 2016. "Toward a cognitive theory of shifting coalitions and policy change: linking the advocacy coalition framework and cultural theory," Policy Sciences, Springer;Society of Policy Sciences, vol. 49(2), pages 125-154, June.
    3. Tobias Plieninger & Cang Hui & Mirijam Gaertner & Lynn Huntsinger, 2014. "The Impact of Land Abandonment on Species Richness and Abundance in the Mediterranean Basin: A Meta-Analysis," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(5), pages 1-12, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Rodríguez Fernández-Blanco, Carmen & Górriz-Mifsud, Elena & Prokofieva, Irina & Muys, Bart & Parra, Constanza, 2022. "Blazing the trail: Social innovation supporting wildfire-resilient territories in Catalonia (Spain)," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 138(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ana D. Maldonado & Darío Ramos-López & Pedro A. Aguilera, 2019. "The Role of Cultural Landscapes in the Delivery of Provisioning Ecosystem Services in Protected Areas," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(9), pages 1-18, April.
    2. YIlmaz, Bülent & Dasdemir, Ismet & Atmis, Erdogan & Lise, Wietze, 2010. "Factors affecting rural development in turkey: BartIn case study," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 12(4), pages 239-249, April.
    3. Radomír Němec & Marie Vymazalová & Hana Skokanová, 2022. "The Impact of Fine-Scale Present and Historical Land Cover on Plant Diversity in Central European National Parks with Heterogeneous Landscapes," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-18, May.
    4. Hoogstra, Marjanke A. & Schanz, Heiner & Freerk Wiersum, K., 2004. "The future of European forestry--between urbanization and rural development," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 6(5), pages 441-445, August.
    5. Katarina Haugen, 2016. "Contested Lands? Dissonance and Common Ground in Stakeholder Views on Forest Values," Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie, Royal Dutch Geographical Society KNAG, vol. 107(4), pages 421-434, September.
    6. Paula Meli & Karen D Holl & José María Rey Benayas & Holly P Jones & Peter C Jones & Daniel Montoya & David Moreno Mateos, 2017. "A global review of past land use, climate, and active vs. passive restoration effects on forest recovery," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(2), pages 1-17, February.
    7. Mack, Philipp & Kremer, Jakob & Kleinschmit, Daniela, 2023. "Forest dieback reframed and revisited? Forests (re)negotiated in the German media between forestry and nature conservation," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 147(C).
    8. Baulenas, Eulàlia & Sotirov, Metodi, 2020. "Cross-sectoral policy integration at the forest and water nexus: National level instrument choices and integration drivers in the European Union," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 118(C).
    9. Linkevičius, Edgaras & Borges, José G. & Doyle, Marie & Pülzl, Helga & Nordström, Eva-Maria & Vacik, Harald & Brukas, Vilis & Biber, Peter & Teder, Meelis & Kaimre, Paavo & Synek, Michal & Garcia-Gonz, 2019. "Linking forest policy issues and decision support tools in Europe," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 103(C), pages 4-16.
    10. Manuschevich, Daniela, 2016. "Neoliberalization of forestry discourses in Chile," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 21-30.
    11. Jiang Du & Miao Zeng & Zhengjuan Xie & Shikun Wang, 2019. "Power of Agricultural Credit in Farmland Abandonment: Evidence from Rural China," Land, MDPI, vol. 8(12), pages 1-14, December.
    12. Baulenas, Eulàlia, 2021. "She’s a Rainbow: Forest and water policy and management integration in Germany, Spain and Sweden," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).
    13. Valentina Santarsiero & Antonio Lanorte & Gabriele Nolè & Giuseppe Cillis & Biagio Tucci & Beniamino Murgante, 2023. "Analysis of the Effect of Soil Erosion in Abandoned Agricultural Areas: The Case of NE Area of Basilicata Region (Southern Italy)," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-22, March.
    14. Mann, Carsten & Loft, Lasse & Hernández-Morcillo, Mónica, 2021. "Assessing forest governance innovations in Europe: Needs, challenges and ways forward for sustainable forest ecosystem service provision," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 52(C).
    15. Dmuchowski, Wojciech & Baczewska-Dąbrowska, Aneta H. & Gworek, Barbara, 2024. "The role of temperate agroforestry in mitigating climate change: A review," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 159(C).
    16. J. Merganič & K. Merganičová & R. Marušák & L. Tipmann & L. Šálek & L. Dragoun & R. Stolariková, 2016. "Relation between selected indicators of forest stand diversity and quality of timber production in managed Central European forests," Journal of Forest Science, Czech Academy of Agricultural Sciences, vol. 62(3), pages 97-106.
    17. Malkamäki, Arttu & Ylä-Anttila, Tuomas & Brockhaus, Maria & Toppinen, Anne & Wagner, Paul M., 2021. "Unity in diversity? When advocacy coalitions and policy beliefs grow trees in South Africa," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    18. Enric Tello & Joan Marull & Roc Padró & Claudio Cattaneo & Francesc Coll, 2020. "The Loss of Landscape Ecological Functionality in the Barcelona Province (1956–2009): Could Land-Use History Involve a Legacy for Current Biodiversity?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-15, March.
    19. Sotirov, Metodi & Blum, Mareike & Storch, Sabine & Selter, Andy & Schraml, Ulrich, 2017. "Do forest policy actors learn through forward-thinking? Conflict and cooperation relating to the past, present and futures of sustainable forest management in Germany," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 85(P2), pages 256-268.
    20. Jiménez-Olivencia, Yolanda & Ibáñez-Jiménez, Álvaro & Porcel-Rodríguez, Laura & Zimmerer, Karl, 2021. "Land use change dynamics in Euro-mediterranean mountain regions: Driving forces and consequences for the landscape," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 109(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:lauspo:v:99:y:2020:i:c:s026483771932383x. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Joice Jiang (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/land-use-policy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.