Jucker Riva, Matteo; Baeza, Jaime; Bautista, Susana; Christoforou, Michalakis; Daliakopoulos, Ioannis N.; Hadjimitsis, Diofantos; Keizer, Jan Jacob; Liniger, Hanspeter; Quaranta, Giovanni; Ribeiro, Cristina; Salvia, Rosanna; Tsanis, Ioannis K.; Urgeghe, Anna M.; Valdecantos, Alejandro; Schwilch, Gudrun (2018). How does land management contribute to the resilience of Mediterranean forests and rangelands? A participatory assessment. Land degradation & development, 29(10), pp. 3721-3735. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. 10.1002/ldr.3104
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In Mediterranean forests and rangelands, the supply of important ecosystem services
can decrease or cease as a consequence of disturbances and climatic oscillations. Land
managers can sometimes prevent or mitigate the negative effects of disturbances
through appropriate land management choices. In this study, we assess the contribution of land management practices (LMPs) to the resilience of eight Mediterranean
forests and rangelands to multiple disturbances. The study uses a transdisciplinary
approach, involving scientists, land managers, and local administrators. Data about
disturbances, ecosystem services, the role of LMPs, and the resistance of LMPs to
disturbances are combined using a semiquantitative index and analysed to evaluate
how the LMPs implemented are suited to the disturbances affecting each study site.
Our results indicate that the practices analysed are particularly effective in improving
resilience of ecosystems against wildfires and torrential rainfalls. However, droughts
are more difficult to address, and the examined practices were heavily affected by
their occurrence. Tree planting appears to be highly affected by disturbances.
Practices that selectively reduce the amount of vegetation appear to be beneficial
in fostering recovery of ecosystems. Our assessment also suggests that it is particularly difficult to increase resilience to droughts and fires simultaneously. Practices that
aimed to mitigate the impact of land use did not always prove valuable in terms of
resilience. Finally, study sites that included efforts to address disturbances in their
management objectives also displayed practices making the biggest contribution to
resilience.
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