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Depopulation impacts on ecosystem services in Mediterranean rural areas

Author

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  • Bruno, Daniel
  • Sorando, Ricardo
  • Álvarez-Farizo, Begoña
  • Castellano, Clara
  • Céspedes, Vanessa
  • Gallardo, Belinda
  • Jiménez, Juan J.
  • López, M. Victoria
  • López-Flores, Rocío
  • Moret-Fernández, David
  • Navarro, Enrique
  • Picazo, Félix
  • Sevilla-Callejo, Miguel
  • Tormo, Jaume
  • Vidal-Macua, Juan José
  • Nicolau, José Manuel
  • Comín, Francisco A.

Abstract

Despite the exponential increase in human population at global scale, some rural areas have experienced a progressive abandonment over the last decades. Under particular socioecological and policy contexts, changes in demography may promote land-use changes and, consequently, alter ecosystem services (ES) supply. However, most studies on this topic have targeted urban population increase, whereas depopulation has been rarely addressed. Here, we examined how shifts in demographic variables (human population, population density, and number of villages) affect provisioning (water supply, food and biomass production) and regulating (soil retention, water and nutrient regulation) ES in Mediterranean rural areas with contrasting environmental, socioeconomic and land-use contexts. When depopulation results in underuse of socio-ecological systems, we expected a decrease of provisioning and an increase of regulating ES, whereas we expected the opposite pattern when it results in land-use intensification. To test this hypothesis, we compared demographic data and ES estimated with Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) linked to land-use changes between the 1950s and 2000s in three rural areas of Aragón (NE Spain). Generalized Additive Mixed Models and Linear Mixed-Effect Models were used to analyze demographic trends, ES changes and the relationship between them.

Suggested Citation

  • Bruno, Daniel & Sorando, Ricardo & Álvarez-Farizo, Begoña & Castellano, Clara & Céspedes, Vanessa & Gallardo, Belinda & Jiménez, Juan J. & López, M. Victoria & López-Flores, Rocío & Moret-Fernández, D, 2021. "Depopulation impacts on ecosystem services in Mediterranean rural areas," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 52(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecoser:v:52:y:2021:i:c:s2212041621001273
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoser.2021.101369
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    2. David Rodríguez-Rodríguez & Remedios Larrubia Vargas, 2022. "Protected Areas and Rural Depopulation in Spain: A Multi-Stakeholder Perceptual Study," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-15, March.
    3. Marta Gallardo & Julio Fernández-Portela & David Cocero & Lara Vilar, 2023. "Land Use and Land Cover Changes in Depopulated Areas of Mediterranean Europe: A Case Study in Two Inland Provinces of Spain," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-15, October.
    4. Granado-Díaz, Rubén & Villanueva, Anastasio J. & Gómez-Limón, José A., 2022. "Willingness to accept for rewilding farmland in environmentally sensitive areas," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 116(C).
    5. José Luis Vicente-Vicente & Cristina Quintas-Soriano & María D. López-Rodríguez, 2022. "A Transformative (r)Evolution of the Research on Agriculture through Fostering Human-Nature Connectedness—A Special Issue Editorial," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-7, April.

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