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Spatial similarities between European agroforestry systems and ecosystem services at the landscape scale

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Abstract

Agroforestry systems are known to provide ecosystem services which differ in quantity and quality from conventional agricultural practices and could enhance rural landscapes. In this study we compared ecosystem services provision of agroforestry and non-agroforestry landscapes in case study regions from three European biogeographical regions: Mediterranean (montado and dehesa), Continental (orchards and wooded pasture) and Atlantic agroforestry systems (chestnut soutos and hedgerows systems). Seven ecosystem service indicators (two provisioning and five regulating services) were mapped, modelled and assessed. Clear variations in amount and provision of ecosystem services were found between different types of agroforestry systems. Nonetheless regulating ecosystems services were improved in all agroforestry landscapes, with reduced nitrate losses, higher carbon sequestration, reduced soil losses, higher functional biodiversity focussed on pollination and greater habitat diversity reflected in a high proportion of semi-natural habitats. The results for provisioning services were inconsistent. While the annual biomass yield and the groundwater recharge rate tended to be higher in agricultural landscapes without agroforestry systems, the total biomass stock was reduced. These broad relationships were observed within and across the case study regions regardless of the agroforestry type or biogeographical region. Overall our study underlines the positive influence of agroforestry systems on the supply of regulating services and their role to enhance landscape structure.

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Acknowledgements

We acknowledge funding through Grant 613520 from the European Commission (Project AGFORWARD, 7th Framework Program), the Xunta de Galicia, Consellería de Cultura, Educación e Ordenación Universitaria (“Programa de axudas á etapa posdoutoral DOG no. 122, 29/06/2016 p.27443, exp: ED481B 2016/071-0”), the Forest Research Center strategic project (PEst OE/AGR/UI0239/2014) and the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology through the contract SFRH/BD/52691/2014. We are grateful for the helpful comments provided by three anonymous reviewers on previous versions of this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Agroscope, Department of Agroecology and Environment, Zurich, Switzerland

    Sonja Kay, José V. Roces-Díaz, Erich Szerencsits & Felix Herzog

  2. Forest Research Centre, School of Agriculture, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal

    Josep Crous-Duran, Nuria Ferreiro-Domínguez & João H. N. Palma

  3. Department of Crop Production and Engineering Projects, Escuela Politécnica Superior, Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, 27002, Lugo, Spain

    Nuria Ferreiro-Domínguez, María Rosa Mosquera-Losada & Jose Javier Santiago-Freijanes

  4. Cranfield University, Cranfield, Bedfordshire, MK43 0AL, United Kingdom

    Silvestre García de Jalón & Anil Graves

  5. Forestry Research Group, Universidad de Extremadura, Plasencia, Spain

    Gerardo Moreno

  6. University of Zurich, Department of Geography, Zurich, Switzerland

    Robert Weibel

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  1. Sonja Kay
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  2. Josep Crous-Duran
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Correspondence to Sonja Kay.

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Kay, S., Crous-Duran, J., Ferreiro-Domínguez, N. et al. Spatial similarities between European agroforestry systems and ecosystem services at the landscape scale. Agroforest Syst 92, 1075–1089 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-017-0132-3

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