Land-use changes and sustainable development in mountain areas: a case study in the Spanish Pyrenees |
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Authors: | José M García-Ruiz Teodora Lasanta Purificación Ruiz-Flano Luis Ortigosa Sue White Constanza González Carlos Martí |
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Institution: | (1) Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología, CSIC, Campus de Aula Dei, Apartado 202, 50080 Zaragoza, Spain;(2) Department of Geography, University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, Spain;(3) Department of Geography, University of La Rioja, Logrono, Spain |
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Abstract: | Land-use changes affecting Mediterranean mountains represent the intensification of use in valley bottoms, accompanied by land-use conflicts, and a generalized abandonment of the hillslopes, which in the past were perfectly integrated in the system of land management. Farmland abandonment, reforestation, diminution of the livestock pressure and substitution of cereal crops by meadows are the most outstanding features of the recent land-use changes. The question is whether the new spatial organisation is in accordance with a longterm policy of sustainable development in mountain areas. The results obtained confirm that farmland abandonment on steep slopes — and the resulting colonization of old fields by a dense shrub cover — and afforestation contribute to control both soil erosion and surface runoff. As a result some of the most important rivers and alluvial fans have recently stabilized their sedimentary structures. |
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Keywords: | land-use change sustainability farmland abandonment reforestation soil erosion runoff mountain areas |
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