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High Nature Value Farming Systems and Protected Areas: Conservation Opportunities or Land Abandonment? A Study Case in the Madrid Region (Spain)

Author

Listed:
  • María F. Schmitz

    (Department of Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolution, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain)

  • Cecilia Arnaiz-Schmitz

    (Department of Civil Engineering, Transport, Territory and Urbanism, Higher Technical School of Engineering of Roads, Channels and Ports, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain)

  • Patricio Sarmiento-Mateos

    (Regional Ministry of Education and Youth of the Government of Madrid, 28014 Madrid, Spain)

Abstract

European rural landscapes contain high nature value farmlands that, in addition to being the main economic activity in many rural areas, host habitats and species of great conservation value. The maintenance of these farming systems largely depends on traditional ecological knowledge and the rural lifestyles of the local populations. However, they have not been sufficiently appreciated and protected, and as a result, they are currently threatened. In this study, which was performed in the Madrid region (central Spain), we analyse the social-ecological changes of the rural landscape after the establishment of a protected natural area network. The obtained results highlight a significant loss of these high nature value farming systems and a marked increase in the rewilding processes characterised by scrub–forest transition and the development of forest systems. These processes are linked to the disruption of the transmission of traditional ecological knowledge, which may imply negative consequences for both the high biocultural diversity that these systems host and the cultural identity and the socioeconomics of the rural populations that live there. A useful methodological tool is provided for social–ecological land planning and the design of effective management strategies for the conservation of rural cultural landscapes.

Suggested Citation

  • María F. Schmitz & Cecilia Arnaiz-Schmitz & Patricio Sarmiento-Mateos, 2021. "High Nature Value Farming Systems and Protected Areas: Conservation Opportunities or Land Abandonment? A Study Case in the Madrid Region (Spain)," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-17, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:10:y:2021:i:7:p:721-:d:591065
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Patricio Sarmiento-Mateos & Cecilia Arnaiz-Schmitz & Cristina Herrero-Jáuregui & Francisco D. Pineda & María F. Schmitz, 2019. "Designing Protected Areas for Social–Ecological Sustainability: Effectiveness of Management Guidelines for Preserving Cultural Landscapes," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-20, May.
    2. Lacitignola, D. & Petrosillo, I. & Cataldi, M. & Zurlini, G., 2007. "Modelling socio-ecological tourism-based systems for sustainability," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 206(1), pages 191-204.
    3. Sims, Katharine R.E., 2010. "Conservation and development: Evidence from Thai protected areas," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 60(2), pages 94-114, September.
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    Cited by:

    1. Gema González-Romero & Rocío Silva-Pérez & Fulgencio Cánovas-García, 2022. "Territorialised Agrifood Systems and Sustainability: Methodological Approach on the Spanish State Scale," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-22, September.
    2. Rosyi Damayanti T. Manningtyas & Katsunori Furuya, 2022. "Traditional Ecological Knowledge versus Ecological Wisdom: Are They Dissimilar in Cultural Landscape Research?," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(8), pages 1-16, July.
    3. Alena Harbiankova & Elena Scherbina, 2021. "Evaluation Model for Sustainable Development of Settlement System," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-15, October.
    4. Juan F. Beltrán & John A. Litvaitis & Pedro Abellán, 2022. "Seeking Sustainable Solutions in a Time of Change," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-2, June.
    5. Yuting Xie & Jiaxin Ying & Jie Zou & Ruohao Li & Haoxun Zhang & Qie Shi & Yonghua Li, 2024. "Habitat Protection in Urban–Rural Fringes through Coordinated Ecological Network Construction and Territorial Planning," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-26, June.
    6. Rocío Silva-Pérez & Gema González-Romero, 2022. "GIAHS as an Instrument to Articulate the Landscape and Territorialized Agrifood Systems—The Example of La Axarquía (Malaga Province, Spain)," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-21, February.
    7. Erik Aschenbrand, 2022. "How Can We Promote Sustainable Regional Development and Biodiversity Conservation in Regions with Demographic Decline? The Case of UNESCO Biosphere Reserve Elbe River Landscape Brandenburg, Germany," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-18, September.

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