Back to the future: rethinking socioecological systems underlying high nature value farmlands

Farmlands are currently among the dominant uses of the land. When managed under low-input farming systems, farmlands are associated with diverse cultural and natural heritages around the world. Known in Europe as high nature value (HNV) farmlands, these agricultural landscapes and their associated f...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Frontiers in ecology and the environment 2020-02, Vol.18 (1), p.36-42
Main Authors: Lomba, Angela, Moreira, Francisco, Klimek, Sebastian, Jongman, Robert HG, Sullivan, Caroline, Moran, James, Poux, Xavier, Honrado, João P, Pinto-Correia, Teresa, Plieninger, Tobias, McCracken, David I
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Abandonment
Agricultural land
Biodiversity
CONCEPTS AND QUESTIONS
Ecosystem services
Environmental changes
Farm management
Farming
Social-ecological systems
Viability
Wildlife conservation
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Farmlands are currently among the dominant uses of the land. When managed under low-input farming systems, farmlands are associated with diverse cultural and natural heritages around the world. Known in Europe as high nature value (HNV) farmlands, these agricultural landscapes and their associated farming systems evolved as tightly coupled socioecological systems, and are essential to biodiversity conservation and the delivery of ecosystem services to society. However, HNV farmlands are vulnerable to socioeconomic changes that lead to either agricultural intensification or land abandonment. We present a range of plausible future scenarios for HNV farmlands, and discuss the related management options and expected socioecological outcomes for each scenario. We then provide recommendations for policy, practice, and research on how to best ensure the socioecological viability of HNV farming systems in the future.
ISSN:1540-9295
1540-9309
DOI:10.1002/fee.2116