Detecting temporal changes in the extent of High Nature Value farmlands: The case-study of the Entre-Douro-e-Minho Region, Portugal
Graphical abstract
Introduction
Agriculture is a dominant use of the land and a major driver of environmental change in the Anthropocene (DeClerck et al., 2016, Rockström et al., 2017). Increasing population growth and demand for food production places an unprecedented demand on agricultural land, with intensification and climate change resulting in degradation of the world’s natural capital through erosion of biodiversity and ecosystem services (Foley et al., 2011, Tscharntke et al., 2012). Representing ~40% of global terrestrial area, agricultural landscapes and underlying farming systems are essential to meet key sustainable development goals such as those related to food security and environmental sustainability (DeClerck et al., 2016). The potential of low-intensity farming systems to support biodiversity while contributing to the delivery of multiple ecosystem services to society has been increasingly highlighted (Power, 2010, Rockström et al., 2017, Swinton et al., 2007).
Within the European Union (EU), the recognition of High Nature Value farmlands (HNVf) from a nature conservation viewpoint goes back to the 90s’ (Andersen et al., 2004, Bignal et al., 1996, Lomba et al., 2014). HNVf are landscapes dominated by agriculture where high nature value, often reflected by the occurrence of species and habitats with conservation interest, depend on the maintenance of specific low-intensity High Nature Value (HNV) farming systems (Andersen et al., 2004, Halada et al., 2011, Lomba et al., 2014). HNV farming systems are adapted to local climatic, geographic and environmental conditions. They are characterized by low levels of agro-chemical inputs, mechanization, and livestock stocking levels and frequent rotational uses of the land, thereby maximizing the appropriation of local natural resources for food security while assuring ecosystem stewardship (Oppermann et al., 2012, Plieninger and Bieling, 2013). The cultural and natural value of HNVf results from the intertwined relationship between farmers and nature over centuries, and therefore represent complex socio-ecological systems (SES) (Lomba et al., 2014, Plieninger and Bieling, 2013). The intrinsic nature value of HNVf relates primarily to: (i) the prevalence of a high proportion of semi-natural habitats (referred as HNVf type 1; hereafter HNVf1); and (ii) the presence of landscape mosaics where crop fields are intermingled with small-scale elements, such as field margins, hedgerows and tree lines (HNVf type 2, hereafter HNVf2). An additional HNVf type 3 is used to indicate the presence of species of conservation interest (e.g. farmland birds, reptiles), in often more intensively managed farmlands, but it was not assessed in the landscape-level case study under consideration here (Andersen et al., 2004, Lomba et al., 2014, Mäkeläinen et al., 2019).
Estimates highlight that about 30% of all EU farmland correspond to HNVf (Paracchini et al., 2008). Currently, such farmlands are mainly found on marginal landscapes under natural constraints to agriculture (e.g. poor soils, steep slopes, often in remote areas), often within Less Favoured Areas and Natura 2000 sites (Brunbjerg et al., 2016). Essential to meet the EU 2020 Biodiversity Strategy Target 3, the extent and condition of HNVf are among the agro-environmental indicators that Member States (MSs) are required to monitor within the EU Common Monitoring and Evaluation Framework (CMEF) of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) (Keenleyside et al., 2014, Lomba et al., 2017). Whilst recent analysis reports a sharp decline of areas under HNV farming systems due to socio-economic drivers (market pressures and agricultural policies, lowering farm income and rural population decline) (Keenleyside et al., 2014, Pe'er et al., 2017), dynamics of HNVf in space and time have seldom been scrutinized (Benedetti, 2017, Lomba et al., 2014, Morelli and Tryjanowski, 2017, Morelli et al., 2014).
Conceptual and methodological challenges have limited the ability of MSs to assess the extent and monitor HNVf trends (Lomba et al., 2014, Strohbach et al., 2015). Assessing the extent of HNVf implies understanding and integrating information on both the socio-economic (i.e. the farming system) and the ecological (i.e. nature value) dimensions of the SES underlying the nature value of farmlands. It also entails the ability to map areas being managed under HNV farming systems, which in itself requires the ability to define spatially-explicit indicators and associated ranges/thresholds able to discriminate between HNVf and non-HNVf at different scales (Lomba et al., 2014, Strohbach et al., 2015). Operational limitations revolve around the lack of common guidelines and methodological approaches and informative datasets with suitable temporal and spatial resolutions (Lomba, Alves, Jongman, & McCracken, 2015). Such challenges have been addressed over recent years, with several research projects developing the use of specific indicators e.g., the application of distinct datasets or methodological approaches for assessing HNVf types, from local (e.g. Pinto-Correia et al., 2018) and regional (e.g. Lomba et al., 2017), to national (e.g. Brunbjerg et al., 2016, Kikas et al., 2018) and EU scales (e.g. Paracchini et al., 2008). Overall, advances rely on the use of distinct sets of indicators defined according to available data at several scales, most of them surrogate indicators of the relevant social-ecological dimensions underlying HNVf (Benedetti, 2017). As a result, the methodological approaches used differ, compromising the ability to compare assessments across the full extent of the EU and thereby develop a common assessment of HNVf extent and trends (for a review of methods see also Lomba et al., 2014; for an overview of research see also Benedetti, 2017, Strohbach et al., 2015). In addition, most approaches described to-date have not been applied to other social-ecological contexts and scales using distinct sources of data. Lomba et al., 2015, Lomba et al., 2014 proposed a spatially-explicit approach which considers three sets of indicators (landscape elements, reflecting landscape structure and composition; extensive practices and crop diversity, informing on farming systems’ characteristics; and indicator species, reflecting the occurrence of species and habitats). This approach was first illustrated at the local scale in northern Portugal (Lomba et al., 2015), and has subsequently been applied in a contrasting social-ecological context at the regional context (the more intensive farmlands of Lower Saxony), using the high spatial (and temporal) resolution data from the parcel-level Integrated Administration and Control System (IACS) dataset (Lomba et al., 2017).
The aim of this current contribution is to evaluate the usefulness of the methodological framework described by Lomba et al. (2015) for assessing High Nature Value farmlands in space and time. To do that, we assessed HNVf extent in both 1989 and 2009, in the agrarian region of Entre-Douro-e-Minho region (EDM), Northwest Portugal. We analyse: (i) changes occurring between these two years, reflected as gains, losses or maintenance of HNVf and the main land use transitions underlying such changes; and, (ii) trends inside and outside areas designated for nature conservation. Finally, we discuss the implications of our results and future perspectives for effective monitoring of HNVf dynamics across the EU.
Section snippets
Study area
The agrarian region of Entre-Douro-e-Minho area (hereafter EDM), NorthWest Portugal (Fig. 1) occupies ~900 729 ha, comprises 6 NUTS III regions, 53 municipalities and 1341 civil parishes, each of the latter coinciding with a local administrative unit (LAU 2, Eurostat, http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/). Overall, 66.66% of the EDM region is designated as mountain/hill Less Favoured Area (LFA; article 3.3 of the Directive 75/268/EEC). With roughly 20% of the area (160 240 ha) within the EU Natura
Results
Overall, changes in the dominant land use were found when analysing dynamics between 1989 and 2009 in the EDM. In 1989, agriculture was the dominant use of the land (401,705 ha; 44.60% of EDM), followed by forest (356,276 ha; 39.56% of EDM) and urban areas (71,916 ha; 7.99% of EDM). Conversely, in 2009 forests were the dominant use of the land (387,679 ha; 43.05% of EDM), followed by agriculture (338,180 ha; 37.55% of EDM) and urban areas (119,492 ha; 13.27% of EDM). Similar patterns were found
Discussion
Understanding the dynamics of High Nature Value farmlands in space and time and the drivers underlying such change is key to halting ongoing social-ecological changes threatening their future persistence (Lomba et al., 2015). However, limitations to HNVf assessment and monitoring stem from the lack of tested methodological approaches, applicable to the diversity of EU High Nature Value farmlands across scales of decision, as well as to the lack of suitable data, at adequate spatial and temporal
Acknowledgements
This research is a result of project FARSYD - FARming SYstems as tool to support policies for effective conservation and management of high nature value farmlanDs (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-016664- PTDC/AAG-REC/5007/2014) supported by Norte Portugal Regional Operational Programme (NORTE 2020) under the PORTUGAL 2020 Partnership Agreement through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and by national funds through FCT – Portuguese Science Foundation. A.L. is supported by national funds through
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2022, Journal of Environmental ManagementCitation Excerpt :Agricultural intensification has been pinpointed as major driver of land use change, causing landscape homogenization, habitat degradation and loss, and the decline of species of conservation interest (Rasmussen et al., 2018; Tapia et al., 2017). Conversely, farmlands managed under low-intensive farming systems, especially those designated in Europe as High Nature Value farmlands (HNVf), have been highlighted for contributing to a wide range of ecosystem services, beyond support to biodiversity (Lomba et al., 2020a; Santos et al., 2020). Characterized by low levels of agrochemical inputs and livestock stoking, minimal mechanization and the rotational use of the land, HNV farming systems maximize the use of territorial resources for agricultural production, while promoting landscape level heterogeneity.