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Land-use changes and sustainable development in mountain areas: a case study in the Spanish Pyrenees

Landscape Ecology volume 11, pages 267–277 (1996)Cite this article

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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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología, CSIC, Campus de Aula Dei, Apartado 202, 50080, Zaragoza, Spain

    José M. García-Ruiz, Teodora Lasanta, Sue White, Constanza González & Carlos Martí

  2. Department of Geography, University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, Spain

    Purificación Ruiz-Flano

  3. Department of Geography, University of La Rioja, Logrono, Spain

    Luis Ortigosa

Authors
  1. José M. García-Ruiz
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  2. Teodora Lasanta
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  3. Purificación Ruiz-Flano
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  4. Luis Ortigosa
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  5. Sue White
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  6. Constanza González
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  7. Carlos Martí
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García-Ruiz, J.M., Lasanta, T., Ruiz-Flano, P. et al. Land-use changes and sustainable development in mountain areas: a case study in the Spanish Pyrenees. Landscape Ecol 11, 267–277 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02059854

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02059854

Keywords

  • land-use change
  • sustainability
  • farmland abandonment
  • reforestation
  • soil erosion
  • runoff
  • mountain areas