Traditional Farming Landscapes Research Articles

Local population decline of the threatened Lesser Grey Shrike Lanius minor is linked to the modernisation of the rural landscape

Summary Landscape changes and the intensification of agriculture in recent centuries were largely responsible for the dramatic decline in the biodiversity of farmlands. Rural settlements have also been subject to radical changes due to modernisation, but their impact on bird populations is poorly quantified. The Lesser Grey Shrike Lanius minor is a threatened farmland bird and already extinct in many areas. We monitored a population of this long-distance migrant in a traditional farming area in the Poľana Mountains (central Slovakia) in three breeding seasons (1996, 2016, and 2021). We analysed the impact of the increase in number of modern habitations and the decrease in traditional farmsteads on the population decline. The number of breeding territories decreased from 73 in 1996 to 38 in 2016 and 22 in 2021. As the population has declined, the breeding area has also shrunk significantly. While there were no modern homesteads in the breeding territories in 1996, by 2021 their number had increased to the number of traditional farmsteads. Building a single modern house in a territory reduced the probability of nesting to about 6%, and this effect was also seen when one or two farms were still present (17% and 40%, respectively). An additional modern homestead in the territory reduced the nesting probability to almost zero, even if a farmstead was already present. In this long-term empirical study, we identified these changes as a local threat factor for the species studied. The results presented can help in the design and implementation of conservation measures in traditional farming landscapes.

More than meat? Livestock farmers’ views on opportunities to produce for plant-based diets

Promoting plant-based diets as a response to climate crisis has clear implications for producers of animal derived foods, but surprisingly little research considers their perspectives on this. Our exploration focused on farming strongly associated with meat production in Wales, UK. Mindful of polarised debates around plant-based diets, we considered dietary transition as an opportunity to produce for new markets. The first aim was to identify whether transition towards plant-based diets might trigger transformation of livestock agriculture. Findings indicate a potential trigger event once livestock farmers are certain that consumer trends and climate mitigation require change. Livestock farmers who regard their meat as climate-friendly might resist transitions felt to unfairly disadvantage them. We then considered livestock farmers’ likely capacity to produce plant crops, and how this transformational capacity might be enhanced. Participants highlighted forms of financial and environmental inflexibility, plus social norms regarding “good” Welsh farmers, combining to make transformation risky. Transformational capacity might be enhanced through levering occupational and place attachments by portraying plant crops as a revival of historic practices from traditional farming landscapes. Improved linking capacity will also be beneficial, as producing for new markets requires connections to new supply chains, and learning across divisions within rural communities. We present these preliminary insights to livestock farmers’ attitudes and transformational capacity to inform future research with them to advance just agricultural transitions. Our study indicates potential to avoid confrontational discussion of dietary transition and we hope that others will pursue its focus on opportunities for farmers.

Effects of Traditional Orchard Abandonment and Landscape Context on the Beneficial Arthropod Community in a Mediterranean Agroecosystem.

Agricultural abandonment is one of the main land-use changes in Europe, and its consequences on biodiversity are context- and taxa-dependent. While several studies have worked on this topic, few have focused on traditional orchards, especially in different landscapes and under a Mediterranean climate. In this context, we aimed to determine the effects of almond orchard abandonment on the communities of three groups of beneficial arthropods and the role of the landscape context in modulating these effects. Between February and September 2019, four samplings were carried out in twelve almond orchards (three abandoned and three traditional (active orchards under traditional agricultural management) located in simple landscapes as well as three abandoned and three traditional in complex landscapes). Abandoned and traditional almond orchards harbor different arthropod communities and diversity metrics that are strongly conditioned by seasonality. Abandoned orchards can favor pollinators and natural enemies, providing alternative resources in simple landscapes. However, the role that abandoned orchards play in simple landscapes disappears as the percentage of semi-natural habitats in the landscape increases. Our results show that landscape simplification, through the loss of semi-natural habitats, has negative consequences on arthropod biodiversity, even in traditional farming landscapes with small fields and high crop diversity.

Response of farmland reptiles to agricultural intensification: Collapse of the common adder Vipera berus and the western green lizard Lacerta bilineata in a hedgerow landscape

AbstractAgricultural landscapes cover a large portion of the planet and the intensification of farming is a primary cause of biodiversity loss. Changes in agricultural practices have been particularly marked in Western Europe over the last century. Hedgerow landscapes consist of complex mosaics of pastures, ponds, and hedges connected with forest patches that are favourable for biodiversity. Recently, however, these traditional farming landscapes have been profoundly simplified with a massive reduction in hedgerows. Reptiles are currently facing an important global decline, but the impact of the intensification of agricultural practices on their populations remains understudied. We studied the common European adder Vipera berus and the western green lizard Lacerta bilineata in Western France in a hedgerow landscape undergoing agricultural intensification. We first quantified the habitat changes (density of hedgerows and forest edges) from 1950 to 2015. Second, we documented changes in the distribution of V. berus and L. bilineata in the area between two surveys conducted 18 years apart (survey 1: 1994–1997 and survey 2: 2012–2015). The two species were more likely to be found at sites with dense hedgerows and forest edges at the first survey. We detected marked range contractions in the distributions of both species over 18 years (92% and 74%, respectively, for V. berus and L. bilineata). Population monitoring of the adder with capture‐mark‐recapture at two sites revealed marked declines related to the degradation of hedgerows and closure of the forest patches. Our results underline the importance of traditional agricultural landscapes for biodiversity conservation and the value of squamate reptiles as indicator speciesed in such landscapes.

Linking Cork to Cork Oak Landscapes: Mapping the Value Chain of Cork Production in Portugal

Traditional farming landscapes in South and Central Portugal, known as montados, are affected by global socio-economic and biophysical pressures, putting the sustainability of the systems in jeopardy. Cork oak trees (Quercus suber L.) are characteristic features of these complex agro-silvo-pastoral agroforestry systems, delivering a globally important product, cork. The increasingly distant, global scale of decision making and trade can consequently be observed on the local, landscape, scale. In this study, we use a value chain approach to test the concept that landscape products can ensure sustainable management of the landscape of origin. We interviewed agents—cork producers, intermediaries, industrial transformers, and winemakers—about the challenges they perceived in the business and how these were connected to the landscape of origin. We illustrate the network of agents and sub-actors involved in the sector and highlight the most prominent concerns. We conclude that this approach can reveal the major points for determining the future of the montado, and we suggest that collaboration amongst value chain agents can be a pathway to landscape sustainability.

Can landscape level semi-natural habitat compensate for pollinator biodiversity loss due to farmland consolidation?

Traditional farming landscapes in China consist of small irregular fields with an intimately interspersed semi-natural habitat network of field margins, but are increasingly converted into consolidated ones that consist of standardized fields with reduced areas of field margins and other semi-natural habitat. It is unclear how such farmland consolidation influences pollinator communities, and if there is a negative effect, whether this effect is mitigated by semi-natural habitat present in the wider landscape. We compared the diversity and abundance of wild pollinators in oilseed rape fields that were embedded in landscapes that consisted either of traditional or consolidated farmland. The landscapes spanned a range of semi-natural habitat area from 10% to 73% at a scale of one km radius in Jiangxi Province, China. Pollinators were sampled using pan traps during two years (2015 and 2019). Results showed that pollinator diversity was positively associated with the proportion of semi-natural habitat in both traditional and consolidated farming landscapes, but was higher in traditional farming landscapes. In both years, there was no difference in pollinator abundance between landscapes with traditional and consolidated fields. The results indicate that the network of field margins in traditional farmland supports a diverse pollinator community, and that land consolidation has equivalent effects on pollinator diversity as substantial decreases in semi-natural habitat in the wider landscape. The role of semi-natural habitat in supporting farmland biodiversity and its associated services needs therefore to be considered in plans for farmland consolidation.

Mainstreaming Agricultural Biodiversity in Traditional Production Landscapes for Sustainable Development: The Indian Scenario

Mainstreaming biodiversity in production landscapes ensures conservation and sustainable use of agricultural biodiversity, the key objectives of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the projects supported by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) Global Environment Facility (GEF). Mainstreaming integrates biodiversity in existing or new programs and policies, both cross-sectoral and sector-specific. The conventional model of agricultural production with limited diversity in production systems and use of high chemical input has taught us a valuable lesson as it is adversely impacting the environment, the essential ecosystem services, the soil health and the long term sustainability of our food systems. Using a qualitative participant observation approach, our study investigated four distinct traditional Indian production landscapes to gage (i) the farming communities’ response to institutional policies, programs and agricultural biodiversity-related activities in traditional Indian production landscapes and (ii) opportunities and challenges for sustainable development in smallholder traditional Indian farming systems. Results indicate that the top-down decision-making regime is the least effective towards achieving sustainable development in traditional Indian farming landscapes and that farmers’ experiential knowledge on participatory biodiversity management, maintenance and use for sustainable development are of critical importance to India’s agriculture and economy. Reclaiming agriculture’s spiritual roots through organic farming and locally grown food emerged as key, including the need for designing and implementing a more sovereign food system. Revisiting traditional smallholder farming under the COVID-19 pandemic and lessons learned for repurposing India’s agricultural policy are also highlighted.

The Future of Smallholder Farming in India: Some Sustainability Considerations

The biodiverse, predominantly crop-livestock mixed-farming in India is key to ensuring resilience to climate change and sustainability of smallholder farming agroecologies. Farmers traditionally grow diverse crops as polyculture, and agriculture is mainly organic/biodynamic with spirituality in food systems deeply ingrained. Job-driven out-migration of rural youths, the family labor force, and globalization of contemporary food choices under corporate industrial agriculture both adversely affect sustainability of traditional farming landscapes and compromise the nutrition and health of rural farming communities. Besides documenting information on general agri-food system policy inputs, our paper presents the results of an exploratory study of four crucial community-level initiatives conducted in four distinct agroecological landscapes of India, aimed at bringing sustainability to traditional farming and food systems. The driving force for fundamental change in agri-food system, and in society, is the question of sustainability. The organic and local food movements are but specific phases of the larger, more fundamental sustainable agri-food movement. While it is very critical to increase farmer livelihood, it is even more important to increase overall rural economy. It was found that four important interventions viz. linking organic agriculture to community-supported agriculture (CSA) initiatives; linking small-holder farming to school meal (MDM) programmes; enhanced market access and value chain development for local agricultural produce; and creation of employment opportunities at community level for rural youths and reducing over-dependence of rural population on agriculture as source of income can make traditional farming more profitable and sustainable. The transition to more sustainable methods of farming by selling the farm produce “locally” helps both consumers and farmers alike and is considered a future strength of smallholder Indian agriculture.

Temporary pond loss as a result of pasture abandonment: exploring the social-ecological drivers and consequences for amphibians

Amphibian conservation in farming landscapes can be advanced through understanding of the social and ecological contexts. There are very few studies which combines habitat use studies on amphibians with socio-economic drivers of land use change. The goals of this study are: (i) to document the temporary pond loss in a traditional pasture due to land abandonment (period of 2009-2018 and 2019), (ii) to explore the influence of shrub encroachment on the formation of temporary ponds, (iii) to document changes in amphibian species assemblages in the temporary ponds and (iv) to explore the socio-economic and environmental drivers of abandonment. The results show a dramatic increase of shrub cover in the study area as a result of land abandonment. The formation of temporary ponds was negatively influenced by the increase of shrub cover in the vicinity of ponds. The loss of temporary ponds had significant negative influence on the amphibian species assemblages in the remaining temporary ponds. The social component of the research highlights a social-ecological feedback consisting of village depopulation, incorrect interpretation of nature protection law by officials, shrub encroachment caused by the abandonment of grazing and the loss of local’s motivations to restart traditional grazing due to the excessive shrub encroachment. A strong cooperation between farmers and conservation scientists can provide multiple benefits including conservation management of habitats, develop strategies for high nature value farming and tightening social-ecological links between locals and their pasture. We urge the implementation of holistic (social-ecological) research on amphibian conservation in traditional farming landscapes.

The role of regional products in preserving traditional farming landscapes in the context of development of peripheral regions – Lubelskie Province, Eastern Poland

The article presents the functioning of traditional farming landscapes in Eastern Poland, using the example of Lubelskie Province. This peripheral region, situated on the border of the European Union, demonstrates how the development of tourism, food tourism in particular, based on local crops and regional foodstuffs, helps to protect and promote local heritage and, at the same time, gain additional financial resources for its inhabitants. With a view to the aims set in the paper, the authors investigated the perception of the Lublin Region’s image as regards the predominant features of the natural and socio-economic environment. Moreover, they analysed the recognisability of the regional products and dishes among people from outside the province, who have visited it for tourism purposes. The research material was collected during international and Polish tourism fairs held in five largest Polish cities. The researchers collected 493 questionnaires, 220 of which underwent a detailed analysis. The study shows that the leading functions of Lubelskie Province include agriculture and tourism. The particular form of tourism that should be developed in the region is food tourism and related products due to the natural features and landscape assets. The conclusions drawn from the respondents’ answers as well as the query of strategic documents and promotional campaigns allowed the researchers to outline further directions as regards using traditional farming landscapes with the aim of development of the region. It appears that centuries-old forms of farming and methods of food production, resulting from the region’s history and natural conditions, may determine recognisability, build a brand based on the place of origin concept, and influence the socio-economic situation of the area, preserving traditional landscapes at the same time.

Wild Plant Food Resources as Component of Dietary Diversity, Nutrition and Livelihood Security of Native Farming Communities of Uttarakhand Hills in North-western India: Some Policy Considerations for Promoting Their Sustainable Use

Wild foods provide a greater dietary diversity to native communities of Uttarakhand hills in north-western India who rely on them. The wild plant resources supplement their diets which often are based on a narrow range of rainfed staples in traditional hill farming landscapes. The importance of wild plant food resources is exemplified mainly by their free and easy accessibility and nutritional richness, especially vitamins and micronutrients. The present study documents major factors responsible for lack of use of wild plant food resources as component of household dietary diversity negatively impacting community nutrition and health, prioritizing wild food plants for research and marketing interventions in specific agro-ecologies of Uttarakhand hills, and policy inputs for consideration of planners and policy makers for wild plant food resources conservation and their sustainable use. A strong policy support and political will for documentation and promoting LEK; preservation of natural habitats and CPRs; research on sustainable harvesting of wild plant resources for food and livelihood security, and developing nutrition composition database of wild plant resources aimed at facilitating cross-sectoral advocacy campaigns, etc., have been emphasized.

Long-term land-cover/use change in a traditional farming landscape in Romania inferred from pollen data, historical maps and satellite images

Traditional farming landscapes in the temperate zone that have persisted for millennia can be exceptionally species-rich and are therefore key conservation targets. In contrast to Europe’s West, Eastern Europe harbours widespread traditional farming landscapes, but drastic socio-economic and political changes in the twentieth century are likely to have impacted these landscapes profoundly. We reconstructed long-term land-use/cover and biodiversity changes over the last 150 years in a traditional farming landscape of outstanding species diversity in Transylvania. We used the Regional Estimates of Vegetation Abundance from Large Sites model applied to a pollen record from the Transylvanian Plain and a suite of historical and satellite-based maps. We documented widespread changes in the extent and location of grassland and cropland, a loss of wood pastures as well as a gradual increase in forest extent. Land management in the socialist period (1947–1989) led to grassland expansion, but grassland diversity decreased due to intensive production. Land-use intensity has declined since the collapse of socialism in 1989, resulting in widespread cropland abandonment and conversion to grassland. However, these trends may be temporary due to both ongoing woody encroachment as well as grassland management intensification in productive areas. Remarkably, only 8% of all grasslands existed throughout the entire time period (1860–2010), highlighting the importance of land-use history when identifying target areas for conservation, given that old-growth grasslands are most valuable in terms of biodiversity. Combining datasets from different disciplines can yield important additional insights into dynamic landscape and biodiversity changes, informing conservation actions to maintain these species-rich landscapes in the longer term.

Functional diversity and trait composition of butterfly and bird communities in farmlands of central romania

Cultural landscapes all over the world harbor species communities that are taxonomically and functionally diverse. In Eastern Europe, but also in many other regions of the world, the conservation of this farmland biodiversity is threatened by land use intensification and abandonment. In order to counteract the negative effects of land use change in such landscapes, a thorough understanding of the functional relationships between species and their environment is crucial. In this study, we investigated the relationship of functional traits of butterfly and bird communities and environmental conditions in 120 sites in traditional farmlands of southern Transylvania, Romania. First, we compared taxonomic diversity (i.e., Shannon diversity) with functional diversity (i.e., functional dispersion), and second, we linked species traits to environmental variables by performing RLQ analyses. Functional traits indicating reproduction, movement, and feeding behavior related with environmental variables describing heterogeneity, amount of woody vegetation, and topography at three different spatial scales. We found positive relationships between taxonomic and functional diversity, as well as strong linkages between species traits and environmental conditions for both groups. Specifically, butterfly composition was most strongly influenced by land use type and life‐history strategies. Bird composition was most strongly related to the amount of woody vegetation and nesting and foraging strategies. We conclude that maintaining the typical features of traditional farming landscapes, especially a small‐scale heterogeneity in arable land and gradients of woody vegetation cover, would be desirable in order to sustain a high functional diversity in southern Transylvania in the future.

Socioecological drivers facilitating biodiversity conservation in traditional farming landscapes

Traditional farming landscapes have evolved as tightly coupled socioecological systems that support high biodiversity. However, land‐use change severely threatens the high biodiversity of these landscapes. Navigating nature conservation in such landscapes requires a thorough understanding of the key drivers underpinning biodiversity. Through empirical research on mammals, birds, butterflies, and plants in a traditional cultural landscape in Romania, we revealed seven hypothesized drivers facilitating biodiversity conservation. Similar proportions of three main land‐use types support the landscape species pool, most likely through habitat connectivity and frequent spillover between land‐use types. Landscape complementation and supplementation provide additional habitat for species outside their core habitats. Gradients of woody vegetation cover and gradients in land‐cover heterogeneity provide mosaic landscapes with wide ranges of resources. Traditional land‐use practices underpin landscape heterogeneity, traditional land‐use elements such as wood pastures, and human–carnivore coexistence. Top‐down predator control may limit herbivore populations. Lastly, cultural ties between humans and nature have a central influence on people’s values and sustainable use of natural resources. Conservation approaches should aim to maintain or restore these socioecological drivers by targeting the heterogeneous character of the forest–farmland mosaic at large scales through “broad and shallow” conservation measures. These large‐scale measures should be complemented with “deep and narrow” conservation measures addressing specific land‐use types, threats, or species. In both cases, conservation measures should integrate the entire socioecological system, by recognizing and strengthening important links between people and the environment.

Biodiversity conservation in traditional farming landscapes: the future of birds and large carnivores in Transylvania

Biodiversity conservation in traditional farming landscapes: the future of birds and large carnivores in Transylvania

Traditional Farming Landscapes for Sustainable Living in Scandinavia and Japan: Global Revival Through the Satoyama Initiative

Traditional, pre-industrial farming was adapted to the natural environment-topography, geology, hydrology, climate, and biota. Traditional land use systems are still to be traced in Scandinavia as an "infield/outland landscape", and in Japan as a "Satoyama landscape." There are obvious similarities and differences in land use-the main difference being that pasturing of cattle and sheep has been less important in Japan. These land use systems can be traced back to early sedentary settlements 1500-2500 years ago. In both regions, traditional management almost ceased in the mid-twentieth century leading to afforestation and decreased biological diversity. Today, there is in Japan a growing movement for landscape restoration and promotion of a sustainable living countryside based on local agrarian and forestry production, local energy, tourism, etc. With this background, the so-called Satoyama Initiative has been organized and introduced as a global socio-ecological project with ecosystem services for human well-being.

Conservation policy in traditional farming landscapes

AbstractMany traditional farming landscapes have high conservation value. Conservation policy in such landscapes typically follows a “preservation strategy,” most commonly by providing financial incentives for farmers to continue traditional practices. A preservation strategy can be successful in the short term, but it fails to acknowledge that traditional farming landscapes evolved as tightly coupled social–ecological systems. Traditionally, people received direct benefits from the environment, which provided a direct incentive for sustainable land use. Globalization and rural development programs increasingly alter the social subsystem in traditional farming landscapes, whereas conservation seeks to preserve the ecological subsystem. The resulting decoupling of the social–ecological system can be counteracted only in part by financial incentives, thus inherently limiting the usefulness of a preservation strategy. An alternative way to frame conservation policy in traditional farming landscapes is a “transformation strategy.” This strategy acknowledges that the past cannot be preserved, and assumes that direct links between people and nature are preferable to indirect links based on incentive payments. A transformation strategy seeks to support community‐led efforts to create new, direct links with nature. Such a strategy could empower rural communities to embrace sustainable development, providing a vision for the future rather than attempting to preserve the past.

Exploring public preferences for traditional farming landscapes

Given that an increasing share of budgetary resources are now being spent on measures aimed at protecting the visual quality of agricultural landscapes it will be important to better understand individuals’ landscape preferences and the factors that influence those preferences. Within this context, using a nationally representive survey of Irish residents, the central aim of this study was to gain more insight into people's preferences regarding traditional farming landscapes. Individuals rated agricultural landscapes in terms of beauty quite highly but given a choice prefer traditional more extensive farming landscapes over more modern intensive farming landscapes. Moreover, the results suggest that there are systematic differences in preferences for traditional farm landscapes between different demographic groupings and also depending on individuals’ environmental value orientations. Accordingly, in studying preferences for agricultural landscapes in particular areas it will be necessary to consider the social and demographic characteristics of the population as well as the physical aspects of the landscape.

Long-Term Changes in Game Species Over a Long Period of Transformation in the Iberian Mediterranean Landscape

Agricultural change has transformed large areas of traditional farming landscapes, leading to important changes in the species community assemblages in most European countries. We suspect that the drastic changes in land-use that have occurred in Andalusia (southern Spain) over recent decades, may have affected the distribution and abundance of game species in this region. This article compares the distribution of the main game species in Andalusia during the 1960s and 1990s, using data from maps available from the Mainland Spanish Fish, Game and National Parks Service and from recent datasets on hunting yield distributions, respectively. Big-game and small-game species were significantly segregated in southern Spain during the 1990s, as two clearly independent chorotypes (groups of species whose abundances are similarly distributed) were obtained from the classification analysis. In contrast, big-game and small-game species were not significantly segregated several decades ago, when there was only one chorotype consisting of small-game species and wild boar. The other three ungulates did not constitute a significant chorotype, as they showed positive correlations with some species in the group mentioned above. These changes seem to be a consequence of the transformations that have occurred in the Iberian Mediterranean landscape over the last few decades. The abandoning of traditional activities, and the consequent formation of dense scrubland and woodland, has led to an expansion of big-game species, and a decrease of small-game species in mountain areas. Moreover, agricultural intensification has apparently depleted small-game species populations in some agricultural areas. On the other hand, the increasingly intensive hunting management could be artificially boosting this segregation between small-game and big-game species. Our results suggest that the conservation and regeneration of traditional agricultural landscapes (like those predominating in the 1960s) should be a priority for the conservation of small-game species.

The Aesthetics of Agricultural Landscapes and the Relationship between Humans and Nature

The continuum between nature and artefact is occupied by objects and environments that embody a relationship between natural processes and human activity. In this paper, I explore the relationship that emerges through human interaction with the land in the generation and aesthetic appreciation of industrial farming in contrast to more traditional agricultural practices. I consider the concept of a dialectical relationship and develop it in order to characterise the distinctive synthesising activity of humans and nature which underlies cultivated environments. I argue that a more harmonious relationship, and greater aesthetic value, may be located within traditional farming landscapes. This position is supported and illustrated through a discussion of two agricultural practices in the UK, hedge-laying and stonewalling.