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

Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 721
Author(s):  
María F. Schmitz ◽  
Cecilia Arnaiz-Schmitz ◽  
Patricio Sarmiento-Mateos
Keyword(s):  
Traditional Ecological Knowledge ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Cultural Landscapes ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Rural Landscape ◽  
Ecological Knowledge ◽  
Area Network ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Rural Landscapes ◽  
Social Ecological

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.

scholarly journals The erosion of relational values resulting from landscape simplification

2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (11) ◽  
pp. 2601-2612 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maraja Riechers ◽  
Ágnes Balázsi ◽  
Lydia Betz ◽  
Tolera S. Jiren ◽  
Joern Fischer
Keyword(s):  
Social Relations ◽  
Sustainability Science ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Landscape Sustainability ◽  
Rural Landscapes ◽  
Relational Values ◽  
Social Ecological ◽  
The Social ◽  
Instrumental Values ◽  
Landscape Sustainability Science

Abstract Context The global trend of landscape simplification for industrial agriculture is known to cause losses in biodiversity and ecosystem service diversity. Despite these problems being widely known, status quo trajectories driven by global economic growth and changing diets continue to lead to further landscape simplification. Objectives In this perspective article, we argue that landscape simplification has negative consequences for a range of relational values, affecting the social-ecological relationships between people and nature, as well as the social relationships among people. A focus on relational values has been proposed to overcome the divide between intrinsic and instrumental values that people gain from nature. Results We use a landscape sustainability science framing to examine the interconnections between ecological and social changes taking place in rural landscapes. We propose that increasingly rapid and extreme landscape simplification erodes human-nature connectedness, social relations, and the sense of agency of inhabitants—potentially to the point of severe erosion of relational values in extreme cases. We illustrate these hypothesized changes through four case studies from across the globe. Leaving the links between ecological, social-ecological and social dimensions of landscape change unattended could exacerbate disconnection from nature. Conclusion A relational values perspective can shed new light on managing and restoring landscapes. Landscape sustainability science is ideally placed as an integrative space that can connect relevant insights from landscape ecology and work on relational values. We see local agency as a likely key ingredient to landscape sustainability that should be actively fostered in conservation and restoration projects.

scholarly journals The Role of Landscape Design in Cultural Rural Areas. A Didactic Exercise to Experiment a Research-by-Design Process Applied to an Italian UNESCO Wine Site

Architecture ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 117-139
Author(s):  
Catherine Dezio ◽  
Can Zhang ◽  
Yilan Zhang ◽  
Davide Marino
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
Cultural Landscapes ◽  
Design Method ◽  
Landscape Design ◽  
Rural Landscapes ◽  
Intangible Heritage ◽  
World Heritage List ◽  
Master's Thesis ◽  
Unesco Site

Rural landscapes all over the world are subject to great transformations, first being the continuous and slow depopulation of towns and villages. It is a dramatic phenomenon that causes devastating consequences for environmental systems and for the tangible and intangible heritage of entire territories. The situation becomes more ambiguous when it comes to cultural landscapes, especially those internationally recognized as exceptional (i.e., inscribed on the UNESCO (The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) World Heritage List). In this case, the risk is to abandon agricultural production in favor of consumerist tourist economies, which can damage the territorial authenticity. In this paper, we question the role of the landscape design in strengthening territorial resilience. In particular, a composite and interdependent action has been proposed between landscape design and implementation of a multifunctional agriculture model, oriented towards tourism. To undertake this investigation, a master’s thesis work on Landscape Architecture has been examined as an opportunity to test the research-by-design method through the didactic process. The application case is the Italian UNESCO site of Vignale Monferrato, a depopulated rural village, characterized by abandoned land and buildings. The paper concludes by outlining replicability application scenarios for the proposed model.

scholarly journals PHENOMENON OF ABANDONED VILLAGES AND ITS IMPACT ON TRANSFORMATION OF RURAL LANDSCAPES

2018 ◽  
Vol 40 (4) ◽  
pp. 467-480 ◽  
Author(s):  
Agnieszka Jaszczak ◽  
Katarina Kristianova ◽  
Gintarė Vaznonienė ◽  
Jan Zukovskis
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
Small Towns ◽  
Rural Landscape ◽  
Rural Settlements ◽  
Rural Landscapes ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Rural Depopulation ◽  
And Migration ◽  
Production Areas ◽  
Source Materials

The problem examined in this research is how the loss of rural settlements, small towns, villages and farms contributes to changes in rural landscape and how can this change be managed? The survey was conducted in matching locations in Poland, Slovakia, Germany and in the southern part of Cyprus. The research methods were based on the analysis of source materials and on field analyses in the studied regions. Source research included searching for information in a literature on the subject, as well as planning documents, strategies and studies of spatial development conditions. The main causes of the decline of abandoned rural areas are the decrease in population and migration to cities, the intensification of production and the increase in production areas and the change in the nature of the activities of rural homesteads. The results of the research also show that in addition to common trends comprising the transformation of landscapes in rural areas, each of the analyzed regions differs in terms of the degree of adverse changes, the period in which changes were noted and the possibilities to prevent these changes. In order to prepare a village rehabilitation strategy, a comprehensive diagnosis of whole changes is required, in which the state and causes of landscape changes are determined, and possible solutions for halting rural depopulation are foreseen.

scholarly journals The Scarecrow as an Indicator of Changes in the Cultural Heritage of Rural Poland

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (23) ◽  
pp. 6857 ◽  
Author(s):  
Król ◽  
Kao ◽  
Hernik
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Heritage ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Electronic Devices ◽  
Field Studies ◽  
Rural Landscape ◽  
Rural Landscapes ◽  
Agricultural Engineering ◽  
The Past ◽  
Interview Technique

Scarecrows were commonly featuredin rural landscapes until recently. There are numerous rituals associated with creating a scarecrow and erecting it in the field, with many legends being linked to this character.The scarecrow itself has counterparts in many countries worldwide. However, with civilisation progressingand characterised withan emphasis on economic efficiency and agricultural engineering in the present day, scarecrows are disappearing from the rural landscape. Advanced electronic devices replace them, while scarecrows end up in museums and open-air museums calledskansens, as well as beingon display at local village festivals. The goal of this paper is to investigate the past and present functions of the scarecrow in rural areas in Poland as an indicator of changes occurring inthe cultural heritage in these areas. The survey and field studies were carried out in selected localities in Małopolskie Voivodeship that exhibited distinct qualities related to rural cultural heritage. The study involved photographic documentation and a diagnostic survey using the structured direct interview technique. The interview focused on local community leaders. Resultingly, scarecrows were demonstrated to be an essential indicator of changes in Poland’s rural cultural heritage.

scholarly journals Ethnobotany of banana plants (Musa x paradisiaca) of Palintang Hamlet, Cipanjalu Village, Bandung, West Java, Indonesia

2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (6) ◽  
pp. 2059-2072
Author(s):  
JOHAN ISKANDAR ◽  
JOKO KUSMORO ◽  
MIRA MUBAROKAH ◽  
RUHYAT PARTASASMITA
Keyword(s):  
Traditional Ecological Knowledge ◽  
Local Knowledge ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Market Price ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
High Price ◽  
Ecological Knowledge ◽  
West Java ◽  
Good Taste

Iskandar J, Mubarokah M, Kusmoro J, Partasasmita R. 2018. Ethnobotany of banana plants (Musa x paradisiaca) of Palintang Hamlet, Cipanjalu Village, Bandung, West Java, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 19: 2059-2072. Rural people of West Java have traditionally farmed many varieties (landraces) of bananas (Musa x paradisca L) in the agroecosystem of homegardens and gardens. Because of the increasing human population, rapid rate of agricultural land conversion to other land uses, intensive penetration of market economy to rural areas, and introduction and selection in favor of banana landraces having good taste for culinary and high market price, some landraces of bananas have become rare, even locally extinct in rural areas. The main purpose of this study was to elucidate local knowledge of Palintang people on landraces, population, local farming management, and utilization of bananas. The mixed methods, qualitative and quantitative were applied in this study, while some techniques of collecting primary data, mainly observation, participant observation, semi-structured interview, structured interview, semi-quantitative population of banana plant were carried out. The results of study showed that 18 landraces of bananas have been recorded in Palintang hamlet. Local knowledge or traditional ecological knowledge of Palintang people on bananas have been predominantly obtained from individual personal experiences and from the parents and ancestors, inherited from generation to generation via oral communication. Most banana landraces cultivated by Palintang farmers have superior culinary aspect, particularly good taste, and high price. As a result, some landraces of bananas considered not having good taste and having low price have rarely been planted in the gardens. Banana trees have traditionally been cultivated by farmers of Palintang based on traditional ecological knowledge and which has been culturally embedded. There are 7 main stages of banana cultivation, namely preparation of banana suckers, land preparation, planting, caring, harvesting, post-harvesting management, and utilization of bananas for home consumption and sale through village middlemen and market. The banana cultivation has dramatically changed due to both ecosystem and rural community’s socio-cultural changes.

scholarly journals Importance of old rural areas of Lubuskie Lakeland and central Pomerania for maintenance of vegetation diversity

2016 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-66
Author(s):  
Maria Wojterska ◽  
Andrzej Brzeg ◽  
Katarzyna Jasińska
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Human Impact ◽  
Plant Communities ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Local Communities ◽  
Rural Landscape ◽  
Quantitative Character ◽  
Vegetation Diversity ◽  
Rural Landscapes

Abstract The study areas, located in northern and western Poland, comprised 30 villages of the Lubuskie Lakeland region and 18 in central Pomerania. A total number of recorded associations and local communities of similar rank was counted as 243. In the list prevailed natural and seminatural communities. The endangered associations composed about 47.3% of the whole list of communities. Altogether, 8 communities, assessed as directly endangered, occurred in the villages or their vicinity. Comparison of plant communities of both regions revealed that the structure of vegetation shows many affinities, while the differences are more of qualitative than quantitative character. The diversity of vegetation of rural landscapes was slightly higher in the central Pomerania. The rural landscape of Lubuskie Lakeland was more transformed, richer in ruderal communities, whereas in Pomerania more represented were natural and seminatural communities. The rural landscape of both studied areas is still rich and diversified but recently undergoes transformations leading to its impoverishment and unification as a result of either abandonment of land use or its intensification and new forms of human impact.

scholarly journals Designing in the Cultural Rural Landscape. A Teaching Opportunity to Experiment a Research-by-Design Process Applied to an Italian UNESCO Wine Site

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine Dezio ◽  
Can Zhang ◽  
Yilan Zhang ◽  
Davide Marino
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Landscapes ◽  
Design Method ◽  
Rural Landscape ◽  
Rural Landscapes ◽  
Intangible Heritage ◽  
World Heritage List ◽  
Proposed Model ◽  
Master's Thesis ◽  
Unesco Site

Rural landscapes all over the world are subject to great transformations, first of all the continuous and slow depopulation of land and villages. It is a dramatic phenomenon that causes devastating consequences for environmental systems and for the tangible and intangible heritage of entire territories. The situation becomes more ambiguous when it comes to cultural landscapes, especially those internationally recognized as exceptional (i.e. inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List). In this case, the risk is to abandon agricultural production in favor of consumerist tourist economies, which can damage the territorial authenticity. In this paper we question the role of the landscape project in strengthening territorial resilience. In particular, a composite and interdependent action is proposed between landscape design and implementation of a multifunctional agriculture model, oriented towards teaching and tourism. To undertake this investigation, a master's thesis work on Landscape Architecture is examined, as an opportunity for a research-by-design method. The application case is the Italian UNESCO site of Vignale Monferrato, a depopulated rural village, characterized by abandoned land and buildings. The paper concludes by outlining replicability application scenarios for the proposed model.

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