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The Impact of Land Abandonment on Species Richness and Abundance in the Mediterranean Basin: A Meta-Analysis

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  • Tobias Plieninger
  • Cang Hui
  • Mirijam Gaertner
  • Lynn Huntsinger

Abstract

Land abandonment is common in the Mediterranean Basin, a global biodiversity hotspot, but little is known about its impacts on biodiversity. To upscale existing case-study insights to the Pan-Mediterranean level, we conducted a meta-analysis of the effects of land abandonment on plant and animal species richness and abundance in agroforestry, arable land, pastures, and permanent crops of the Mediterranean Basin. In particular, we investigated (1) which taxonomic groups (arthropods, birds, lichen, vascular plants) are more affected by land abandonment; (2) at which spatial and temporal scales the effect of land abandonment on species richness and abundance is pronounced; (3) whether previous land use and current protected area status affect the magnitude of changes in the number and abundance of species; and (4) how prevailing landforms and climate modify the impacts of land abandonment. After identifying 1240 potential studies, 154 cases from 51 studies that offered comparisons of species richness and abundance and had results relevant to our four areas of investigation were selected for meta-analysis. Results are that land abandonment showed slightly increased (effect size = 0.2109, P

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  • Tobias Plieninger & Cang Hui & Mirijam Gaertner & Lynn Huntsinger, 2014. "The Impact of Land Abandonment on Species Richness and Abundance in the Mediterranean Basin: A Meta-Analysis," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(5), pages 1-12, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0098355
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0098355
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    2. Guzmán, Gloria Isabel & Fernández, David Soto & Aguilera, Eduardo & Infante-Amate, Juan & de Molina, Manuel González, 2022. "The close relationship between biophysical degradation, ecosystem services and family farms decline in Spanish agriculture (1992–2017)," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 56(C).
    3. Maldonado, A.D. & Aguilera, P.A. & Salmerón, A. & Nicholson, A.E., 2018. "Probabilistic modeling of the relationship between socioeconomy and ecosystem services in cultural landscapes," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 33(PB), pages 146-164.
    4. Konstantinos Chontos & Ioannis Tsiripidis, 2023. "Open Habitats under Threat in Mountainous, Mediterranean Landscapes: Land Abandonment Consequences in the Vegetation Cover of the Thessalian Part of Mt Agrafa (Central Greece)," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-22, April.
    5. Quintas-Soriano, Cristina & Buerkert, Andreas & Plieninger, Tobias, 2022. "Effects of land abandonment on nature contributions to people and good quality of life components in the Mediterranean region: A review," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 116(C).
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    7. Sardaro, Ruggiero & La Sala, Piermichele & De Pascale, Gianluigi & Faccilongo, Nicola, 2021. "The conservation of cultural heritage in rural areas: Stakeholder preferences regarding historical rural buildings in Apulia, southern Italy," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 109(C).
    8. Enric Tello & Joan Marull & Roc Padró & Claudio Cattaneo & Francesc Coll, 2020. "The Loss of Landscape Ecological Functionality in the Barcelona Province (1956–2009): Could Land-Use History Involve a Legacy for Current Biodiversity?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-15, March.
    9. Paula Meli & Karen D Holl & José María Rey Benayas & Holly P Jones & Peter C Jones & Daniel Montoya & David Moreno Mateos, 2017. "A global review of past land use, climate, and active vs. passive restoration effects on forest recovery," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(2), pages 1-17, February.
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    11. Tatiana Montenegro-Romero & Cristián Vergara-Fernández & Fabian Argandoña-Castro & Fernando Peña-Cortés, 2022. "Agriculture and Temperate Fruit Crop Dynamics in South-Central Chile: Challenges for Fruit Crop Production in La Araucanía Region, Chile," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-12, May.
    12. Suresh Chaudhary & Yukuan Wang & Amod Mani Dixit & Narendra Raj Khanal & Pei Xu & Bin Fu & Kun Yan & Qin Liu & Yafeng Lu & Ming Li, 2020. "A Synopsis of Farmland Abandonment and Its Driving Factors in Nepal," Land, MDPI, vol. 9(3), pages 1-22, March.
    13. Johan Swinnen & Kristine Van Herck & Liesbet Vranken, 2014. "Land Market Regulations in Europe," LICOS Discussion Papers 35414, LICOS - Centre for Institutions and Economic Performance, KU Leuven.
    14. Valentina Santarsiero & Antonio Lanorte & Gabriele Nolè & Giuseppe Cillis & Biagio Tucci & Beniamino Murgante, 2023. "Analysis of the Effect of Soil Erosion in Abandoned Agricultural Areas: The Case of NE Area of Basilicata Region (Southern Italy)," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-22, March.
    15. Frei, Theresa & Derks, Jakob & Rodríguez Fernández-Blanco, Carmen & Winkel, Georg, 2020. "Narrating abandoned land: Perceptions of natural forest regrowth in Southwestern Europe," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    16. Jiménez-Olivencia, Yolanda & Ibáñez-Jiménez, Álvaro & Porcel-Rodríguez, Laura & Zimmerer, Karl, 2021. "Land use change dynamics in Euro-mediterranean mountain regions: Driving forces and consequences for the landscape," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 109(C).
    17. Juan F. Fernández-Manjarrés & Paloma Ruiz-Benito & Miguel A. Zavala & J. Julio Camarero & Fernando Pulido & Vânia Proença & Laetitia Navarro & Roxane Sansilvestri & Elena Granda & Laura Marqués & Mart, 2018. "Forest Adaptation to Climate Change along Steep Ecological Gradients: The Case of the Mediterranean-Temperate Transition in South-Western Europe," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(9), pages 1-18, August.
    18. Egarter Vigl, Lukas & Marsoner, Thomas & Schirpke, Uta & Tscholl, Simon & Candiago, Sebastian & Depellegrin, Daniel, 2021. "A multi-pressure analysis of ecosystem services for conservation planning in the Alps," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 47(C).
    19. Sheunesu Ruwanza, 2020. "Topsoil Transfer from Natural Renosterveld to Degraded Old Fields Facilitates Native Vegetation Recovery," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-13, May.
    20. Diogenis A. Kiziridis & Anna Mastrogianni & Magdalini Pleniou & Elpida Karadimou & Spyros Tsiftsis & Fotios Xystrakis & Ioannis Tsiripidis, 2022. "Acceleration and Relocation of Abandonment in a Mediterranean Mountainous Landscape: Drivers, Consequences, and Management Implications," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-23, March.
    21. Theano S. Terkenli & Aikaterini Gkoltsiou & Dimitris Kavroudakis, 2021. "The Interplay of Objectivity and Subjectivity in Landscape Character Assessment: Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches and Challenges," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(1), pages 1-19, January.
    22. Aubron, C. & Noël, L. & Lasseur, J., 2016. "Labor as a driver of changes in herd feeding patterns: Evidence from a diachronic approach in Mediterranean France and lessons for agroecology," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 68-79.
    23. Hana Vavrouchová & Antonín Vaishar & Veronika Peřinková, 2022. "Historical Landscape Elements of Abandoned Foothill Villages—A Case Study of the Historical Territory of Moravia and Silesia," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-18, October.
    24. Ryan Nedd & Katie Light & Marcia Owens & Neil James & Elijah Johnson & Aavudai Anandhi, 2021. "A Synthesis of Land Use/Land Cover Studies: Definitions, Classification Systems, Meta-Studies, Challenges and Knowledge Gaps on a Global Landscape," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(9), pages 1-30, September.
    25. Radomír Němec & Marie Vymazalová & Hana Skokanová, 2022. "The Impact of Fine-Scale Present and Historical Land Cover on Plant Diversity in Central European National Parks with Heterogeneous Landscapes," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-18, May.

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