Abstract
Science-based sustainable management of agroforestry and silvopastoral systems is essential for their maintenance in a changing world. Using bibliometric and network analyses, we characterized how research is addressing the ecological and socio-economic dimensions of sustainable management of cork oak (Quercus suber) silvo pastoral systems, Mediterranean ecosystems of high nature conservation and socio-economic value. We retrieved publications on cork oak from the Web of Science. More than 60 countries contributed with research on this system. Retrieved papers addressed a great diversity of topics and were published in a variety of journals, highlighting the multidisciplinary character of cork oak research. Research grew exponentially after the 1990’s, possibly stimulated by the establishment of the European Forest Ecosystem Research Network. Our analysis shows that most research priorities identified for the Mediterranean region are being well addressed in cork oak systems, although research on the interactions between ecological and socio-economic components remains underrepresented. Less research has been published in North Africa compared to Europe, which is worrisome because it hosts a large area of cork oak that faces major sustainability challenges, often different from those prevailing in Europe. Our study shows that, despite constraints, the global scientific community is contributing to fill relevant knowledge gaps on the sustainability of cork oak systems across their range. Bibliographic and network analyses proved effective to uncover patterns, gaps, and potential constraints on cork oak scientific research and can be easily used to analyze research in other agroforestry and silvopastoral systems worldwide.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Acácio V, Holmgren M, Jansen PA, Schrotter O (2007) Multiple recruitment limitation causes arrested succession in mediterranean cork oak systems. Ecosystems 10:1220–1230. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-007-9089-9
Acácio V, Holmgren M, Rego F, Moreira F, Mohren GMJ (2009) Are drought and wildfires turning Mediterranean cork oak forests into persistent shrublands? Agrofor Syst 76:389–400. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-008-9165-y
Acácio V, Dias FS, Catry FX, Rocha M, Moreira F (2017) Landscape dynamics in Mediterranean oak forests under global change: understanding the role of anthropogenic and environmental drivers across forest types. Glob Change Biol 23:1199–1217. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.13487
Andersson F, Führer E, Farrell EP (2000) Pathways to the wise management of forests in Europe. For Ecol Manage 132:3–4. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0378-1127(00)00374-1
APCOR (2017) Cork-year book 2017/2018. APCOR - Associação Portuguesa de Cortiça, Santa Maria de Lamas
Aronson J, Pereira JS, Pausas JG (2009) Cork oak woodlands on the edge: ecology, adaptative management, and restoration. Society for Ecological Restoration International, Island Press, Washington
Bah T (2009) Inkscape: guide to a vector drawing program. Prentice Hall, Boston, MA
Ben Mansoura A, Garchi S, Daly H (2001) Analyzing forest users’ destructive behavior in Northern Tunisia. Land Use Policy 18:153–163. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0264-8377(01)00004-7
Berrahmouni N, Escuté X, Regato P, Stein C (2007) Beyond cork-a wealth of resources for people and Nature. WWF Mediterranean, Rome
Berrahmouni N et al (2009) Ecoregional planning for biodiversity conservation. In: Aronson J, Pereira JS, Pausas JG (eds) Cork oak woodlands on the edge: ecology, adaptative management, and restoration. Society for Ecological Restoration International, Island Press, Washington, pp 203–216
Blondel J (2006) The ‘Design’ of mediterranean landscapes: a millennial story of humans and ecological systems during the historic period. Hum Ecol 34:713–729. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10745-006-9030-4
Blondel J, Aronson J, Bodiou J-Y, Boeuf G (2010) The Mediterranean region: biological diversity in space and time. Oxford University Press, Oxford
Bugalho M, Plieninger T, Aronson J, Ellatifi M, Crespo DG (2009) Chapter 3. Open woodlands: a diversity of uses (and overuses). In: Aronson J, Pereira JS, Pausas JG (eds) Cork oak woodlands on the edge. Island Press, Washington, DC, pp 33–45
Bugalho MN, Caldeira MC, Pereira JS, Aronson J, Pausas JG (2011a) Mediterranean cork oak savannas require human use to sustain biodiversity and ecosystem services. Front Ecol Environ 9:278–286. https://doi.org/10.1890/100084
Bugalho MN, Lecomte X, Gonçalves M, Caldeira MC, Branco M (2011b) Establishing grazing and grazing-excluded patches increases plant and invertebrate diversity in a Mediterranean oak woodland. For Ecol Manage 261:2133–2139. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2011.03.009
Bugalho MN, Dias FS, Brinas B, Cerdeira JO (2016) Using the high conservation value forest concept and Pareto optimization to identify areas maximizing biodiversity and ecosystem services in cork oak landscapes. Agrofor Syst 90:35–44. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-015-9814-x
Bugalho M, Pinto-Correia T, Pulido F (2018) Human use of natural capital generates cultural and other ecosystem services in montado and dehesa oak woodlands. In: Paracchini M, Zingari P, Blasi C (eds) Reconnecting natural and cultural capital: contributions from science and policy. Joint Research Centre, Luxembourgh
Caldeira MC, Lecomte X, David TS, Pinto JG, Bugalho MN, Werner C (2015) Synergy of extreme drought and shrub invasion reduce ecosystem functioning and resilience in water-limited climates. Sci Rep 5. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep15110
Campos P, Caparrós A (2006) Social and private total Hicksian incomes of multiple use forests in Spain. Ecol Econ 57:545–557. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2005.05.005
Campos P, Daly-Hassen H, Ovando R (2007) Cork oak forest management in Spain and Tunisia: two case studies of conflicts between sustainability and private income. Int For Rev 9:610–626. https://doi.org/10.1505/ifor.9.2.610
Campos P, Daly-Hassen H, Oviedo JL, Ovando P, Chebil A (2008) Accounting for single and aggregated forest incomes: application to public cork oak forests in Jerez (Spain) and Iteimia (Tunisia). Ecol Econ 65:76–86. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2007.06.001
Carnicer J, Coll M, Ninyerola M, Pons X, Sanchez G, Penuelas J (2011) Widespread crown condition decline, food web disruption, and amplified tree mortality with increased climate change-type drought. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 108:1474–1478. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1010070108
Casula A, Dettori S, Manzo A, Pignatti G (2017) Towards a new National Cork plan for Italy, between critical issues and new challenges. International Congress on Cork Oak Trees and Woodlands. Università degli studi di Sassari, Sassari
Catry FX, Pausas JG, Moreira F, Fernandes PM, Rego F (2013) Post-fire response variability in Mediterranean Basin tree species in Portugal. Int J Wildland Fire 22:919–932. https://doi.org/10.1071/wf12215
Ceia RS, Machado RA, Ramos JA (2016) Nestling food of three hole-nesting passerine species and experimental increase in their densities in Mediterranean oak woodlands. Eur J Forest Res 135:839–847. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10342-016-0977-4
Correia RA, Franco AMA, Palmeirim JM (2015a) Role of the Mediterranean Sea in differentiating European and North African woodland bird assemblages. Commun Ecol 16:106–114. https://doi.org/10.1556/168.2015.16.1.12
Correia RA, Haskell WC, Gill JA, Palmeirim JM, Franco AMA (2015b) Topography and aridity influence oak woodland bird assemblages in southern Europe. For Ecol Manage 354:97–103. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2015.06.032
Correia RA et al (2016) The scientific value of Amazonian protected areas. Biodivers Conserv 25:1503–1513. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-016-1122-x
Correia RA, Bugalho MN, Franco AMA, Palmeirim JM (2018) Contribution of spatially explicit models to climate change adaptation and mitigation plans for a priority forest habitat. Mitig Adapt Strat Glob Change 23:371–386. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11027-017-9738-z
Costa A, Pereira H, Madeira M (2010) Analysis of spatial patterns of oak decline in cork oak woodlands in Mediterranean conditions. Ann For Sci 67:204. https://doi.org/10.1051/forest/2009097
Csardi G, Nepusz T (2006) The igraph software package for complex network research. Int J 169(5):1–9
Daily GC, Walker BH (2000) Seeking the great transition. Nature 403:243–245. https://doi.org/10.1038/35002194
David TS et al (2007) Water-use strategies in two co-occurring Mediterranean evergreen oaks: surviving the summer drought. Tree Physiol 27:793–803. https://doi.org/10.1093/treephys/27.6.793
de Groot R, van der Perk J, Chiesura A, Marguliew S (2000) Ecological functions and socioeconomic values of critical natural capital as a measure for ecological integrity and environmental health. In: Crabbé P, Holland A, Ryszkowski L, Westra L (eds) Implementing ecological integrity: restoring regional and global environmental and human health. Springer, Dordrecht, pp 191–214
Di Matteo G et al (2015) Linking the forest research in the Mediterranean area: a framework to improve research capacities and cooperation. Forest Policy Econ 50:292–301. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forpol.2014.08.003
Díaz M, Campos P, Pulido FJ (1997) The Spanish dehesas: a diversity in land-use and wildlife. In: Pain DJ, Pienkowski MW (eds) Farming and birds in Europe. The common agricultural policy and its implications for bird conservation. Academic Press, London, pp 178–209
Dobbertin MK, Nobis MP (2010) Exploring research issues in selected forest journals 1979–2008. Ann For Sci 67:800. https://doi.org/10.1051/forest/2010052
Doblas-Miranda E et al (2015) Reassessing global change research priorities in mediterranean terrestrial ecosystems: how far have we come and where do we go from here? Glob Ecol Biogeogr 24:25–43. https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.12224
Ferraz-de-Oliveira MI, Azeda C, Pinto-Correia T (2016) Management of Montados and Dehesas for high nature value: an interdisciplinary pathway. Agrofor Syst 90:1–6. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-016-9900-8
Fragoso R, Marques C, Lucas MR, Martins MB, Jorge R (2011) The economic effects of common agricultural policy on Mediterranean montado/dehesa ecosystem. J Policy Model 33:311–327. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpolmod.2010.12.007
Godinho C, Rabaça J (2011) Birds like it Corky: the influence of habitat features and management of ‘montados’ in breeding bird communities. Agrofor Syst 82:183–195. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-010-9345-4
Grimmer J, Stewart BM (2013) Text as data: the promise and pitfalls of automatic content analysis methods for political texts. Polit Anal 21:267–297. https://doi.org/10.1093/pan/mps028
Hickey GM (2013) International developments in the administration of publicly-funded forest research: a review. Forest Policy Econ 37:1–8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forpol.2013.08.003
Khalip A (2017) Once tainted, Portugal’s cork industry fights back. Reuters. http://www.reuters.com/article/us-portugal-corks-analysis-idUSKBN18512B. Accessed 2 June 2017
Ladle RJ, Malhado ACM, Correia RA, dos Santos JG, Santos AMC (2015) Research trends in biogeography. J Biogeogr 42:2270–2276. https://doi.org/10.1111/jbi.12602
Leal AI, Martins RC, Palmeirim JM, Granadeiro JP (2011) Influence of habitat fragments on bird assemblages in cork oak woodlands. Bird Study 58:309–320. https://doi.org/10.1080/00063657.2011.576235
Leal AI, Correia RA, Palmeirim JM, Granadeiro JP (2013) Does canopy pruning affect foliage-gleaning birds in managed cork oak woodlands? Agrofor Syst 87:355–363. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-012-9556-y
Leal AI, Rainho A, Martins RC, Granadeiro JP, Palmeirim JM (2016) Modelling future scenarios to improve woodland landscapes for birds in the Mediterranean. J Nat Conserv 30:103–112. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnc.2016.02.001
Moreno G et al (2017) Agroforestry systems of high nature and cultural value in Europe: provision of commercial goods and other ecosystem services. Agrofor Syst. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-017-0126-1
Myers N, Mittermeier RA, Mittermeier CG, da Fonseca GAB, Kent J (2000) Biodiversity hotspots for conservation priorities. Nature 403:853–858. https://doi.org/10.1038/35002501
Nardi P, Di Matteo G, Palahi M, Scarascia Mugnozza G (2016) Structure and evolution of Mediterranean forest research: a science mapping approach. PLoS ONE 11:e0155016. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0155016
Newbold T et al (2016) Has land use pushed terrestrial biodiversity beyond the planetary boundary? A global assessment. Science 353:288–291. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aaf2201
Nunez-Mir GC, Iannone BV III, Pijanowski BC, Kong N, Fei S (2016) Automated content analysis: addressing the big literature challenge in ecology and evolution. Methods Ecol Evol 7:1262–1272. https://doi.org/10.1111/2041-210X.12602
Pastor JM, Serrano L, Zaera I (2015) The research output of European higher education institutions. Scientometrics 102:1867–1893. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-014-1509-y
Pausas JG (1997) Resprouting of Quercus suber in NE Spain after fire. J Veg Sci 8:703–706. https://doi.org/10.2307/3237375
Pausas JG, Pereira JS, Aronson J (2009) The tree. In: Aronson J, Pereira JS, Pausas JG (eds) Cork oak woodlands on the edge: ecology, adaptative management, and restoration. Society for Ecological Restoration International, Island Press, Washington, pp 11–23
Persson O, Danell R, Schneider JW (2009) How to use Bibexcel for various types of bibliometric analysis. In: Åström F, Danell R, Larsen B, Schneider JW (eds) Celebrating scholarly communication studies: a Festschrift for Olle Persson at his 60th birthday. ISSI, Leuven, pp 9–24
Piayda A et al (2014) Drought impact on carbon and water cycling in a Mediterranean Quercus suber L. woodland during the extreme drought event in 2012. Biogeosciences 11:7159–7178. https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-11-7159-2014
Pinto-Correia T, Kristensen L (2013) Linking research to practice: the landscape as the basis for integrating social and ecological perspectives of the rural. Landsc Urban Plan 120:248–256. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2013.07.005
Pinto-Correia T, Mascarenhas J (1999) Contribution to the extensification/intensification debate: new trends in the Portuguese montado. Landsc Urban Plan 46:125–131. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0169-2046(99)00036-5
Pinto-Correia T, Ribeiro N, Sá-Sousa P (2011) Introducing the montado, the cork and holm oak agroforestry system of Southern Portugal. Agrofor Syst 82:99–104. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-011-9388-1
Pons J, Pausas JG (2006) Oak regeneration in heterogeneous landscapes: the case of fragmented Quercus suber forests in the eastern Iberian Peninsula. For Ecol Manage 231:196–204. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2006.05.049
Porto M, Correia O, Beja P (2014) Optimization of landscape services under uncoordinated management by multiple landowners. PLoS ONE. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0086001
Pržulj N, Malod-Dognin N (2016) Network analytics in the age of big data. Science 353:123–124. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aah3449
R Core Team (2016) R: a language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna
Rives J, Fernandez-Rodriguez I, Rieradevall J, Gabarrell X (2012) Environmental analysis of raw cork extraction in cork oak forests in southern Europe (Catalonia–Spain). J Environ Manage 110:236–245. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2012.06.024
Rodriguez-Molina MC, Torres-Vila LM, Blanco-Santos A, Nunez EJP, Torres-Alvarez E (2002) Viability of holm and cork oak seedlings from acorns sown in soils naturally infected with Phytophthora cinnamomi. For Pathol 32:365–372. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1439-0329.2002.00297.x
Roll U, Correia RA, Berger-Tal O (2018) Using machine learning to disentangle homonyms in large text corpora. Conserv Biol. https://doi.org/10.1111/cobi.13044
Rosalino LM, Rosário J, Santos-Reis M (2009) The role of habitat patches on mammalian diversity in cork oak agroforestry systems. Acta Oecologica 35:507–512. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actao.2009.03.006
Ruark GA, Schoeneberger MM, Nair PKR (2003) Roles for agroforestry in helping to achieve sustainable forest management. In: Intersessional Experts Meeting on the Role of Planted Forests in Sustainable Forest Management. United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF), Wellington
Sanchez PA (1995) Science in agroforestry. Agroforest Syst 30:5–55. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf00708912
Scarascia-Mugnozza G, Oswald H, Piussi P, Radoglou K (2000) Forests of the Mediterranean region: gaps in knowledge and research needs. For Ecol Manage 132:97–109. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0378-1127(00)00383-2
Sherren K, Darnhofer I (2017) Precondition for integration: in support of stand-alone social science in rangeland and silvopastoral research. Rangel Ecol Manage. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rama.2017.08.003
Smit C, den Ouden J, Diaz M (2008) Facilitation of Quercus ilex recruitment by shrubs in Mediterranean open woodlands. J Veg Sci 19:193–200. https://doi.org/10.3170/2007-8-18352
Song Y, Zhao T (2013) A bibliometric analysis of global forest ecology research during 2002–2011. SpringerPlus 2:204. https://doi.org/10.1186/2193-1801-2-204
Torras O, Saura S (2008) Effects of silvicultural treatments on forest biodiversity indicators in the Mediterranean. For Ecol Manage 255:3322–3330. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2008.02.013
UN General Assembly (2008) Resolution adopted by the General Assembly 62/98–non-legally binding instrument on all types of forests, Resolution A/RES/62/98. United Nations, New York
Urbieta IR, Perez-Ramos IM, Zavala MA, Maranon T, Kobe RK (2008) Soil water content and emergence time control seedling establishment in three co-occurring Mediterranean oak species. Can J For Res 38:2382–2393. https://doi.org/10.1139/x08-089
van Eck NJ, Waltman L (2010) Software survey: VOS viewer, a computer program for bibliometric mapping. Scientometrics 84:523–538. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-009-0146-3
van Eck NJ, Waltman L (2014) Visualizing bibliometric networks. In: Ding Y, Rousseau R, Wolfram D (eds) Measuring scholarly impact: methods and practice. Springer, New York, pp 285–320
Waltman L, Van Eck NJ, Noyons ECM (2010) A unified approach to mapping and clustering of bibliometric networks. J Informetr 4:629–635. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joi.2010.07.002
Westgate MJ, Barton PS, Pierson JC, Lindenmayer DB (2015) Text analysis tools for identification of emerging topics and research gaps in conservation science. Conserv Biol 29:1606–1614. https://doi.org/10.1111/cobi.12605
Wickham H (2009) ggplot2: elegant graphics for data analysis. Springer, New York
Acknowledgements
AIL and RAC were supported by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) through grants SFRH/BPD/88056/2012 and SFRH/BPD/118635/2016. MNB is supported by FCT Principal Investigator contract IF01171/2014.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Electronic supplementary material
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Leal, A.I., Correia, R.A., Palmeirim, J.M. et al. Is research supporting sustainable management in a changing world? Insights from a Mediterranean silvopastoral system. Agroforest Syst 93, 355–368 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-018-0231-9
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-018-0231-9