Review
Farming and wildlife in Mediterranean agroecosystems

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Abstract

Mediterranean ecosystems are rich in wildlife species and habitats. In the last decades human pressure is increasing in lowland and coastal areas, while mountainous and island areas are being abandoned. These changes have substantial impacts on biodiversity protected by EU Directives. Recently agri-environmental schemes and wildlife habitat improvement measures have been taken to prevent biodiversity loss, although only a small proportion of their total budget is targeted directly at biodiversity conservation. Measures for wildlife are generally limited to restricted areas for a short-term period and in most cases have not been evaluated or properly applied. This review examines the influence of farming systems, agri-environmental and wildlife management measures on birds and mammals in Mediterranean agroecosystems. The conclusions are that in Mediterranean agroecosystems the most cost efficient and beneficial conservation measures for bird and mammal species are rotation, intercropping, and the selection of appropriate crops and farming practices. The increased biodiversity in the Mediterranean basin requires special management practices at local levels.

Introduction

Crutzen (2002) coined the term “anthropocene” to refer to a new geological era where biodiversity patterns cannot be explained without taking human activities into account. This is particularly evident in the Mediterranean basin, a region of human influence for millennia (Blondel et al. 2010). Human activities influence Mediterranean ecosystems along a gradient in which moderate disturbances enhance biodiversity, while more intense or prolonged ones degrade and overexploit biodiversity (Blondel et al., 2010, Brotons and Reunanen, 2005).

In the last decades, the Mediterranean basin has seen important changes in land use. Human pressure is increasing in flat and coastal areas, while less productive uplands and small islands are being abandoned and naturally reforested (Agnoletti, 2007, Geri et al., 2009, Papanastasis, 2004). The Mediterranean basin is particularly vulnerable to future ecosystem loss resulting from continuing climate change (Metzger et al., 2008, Sarris et al., 2007). This is likely to result in lower crop yields, variability in yield and run-off, and reduction of suitable land for traditional crop growth (Marrachi et al., 2005, Nunes et al., 2008).

According to Tilman et al. (2001), the demand for food by a wealthier and 50% larger global human population during the next decades is predicted to cause unprecedented ecosystem simplification, loss of ecosystem services and species extinctions. However, several agro-environmental policies support and provide measures to integrate agricultural production with environmental protection (Genghini et al. 2002). As a consequence, effort has been made to understand the interaction between wildlife populations and agricultural practices, trying to develop management techniques that can favour their conservation within farmed landscapes (Kleijn et al., 2006, Moreira et al., 2005, Santos et al., 2006). Nevertheless, biodiversity patterns and ecological functioning of agroecosystems are still not sufficiently known for many areas or taxa in order to guide sustainable management (Stoate et al. 2009). Birds and mammals are the only reasonably well studied taxa and many management decisions are intended to tie in with their ecological needs (Stoate et al. 2009). Bird taxa have been used as bio-indicators (Robledano et al. 2010). However, the introduction of agricultural policies to political units that do not coincide with eco-regions, such as the Mediterranean and Euro Siberian regions, cannot be assumed to bring uniform conservation benefits (Henle et al., 2008, Suarez-Seoane et al., 2002).

As no integrated assessment of the effects of farming systems and habitat management practices on birds and mammals has been carried out for the northern Mediterranean basin, the present review attempts to provide information on the benefits, necessity, and cost of different measures for EU countries of the Mediterranean Basin. Emphasis has been placed on literature for agroecosystems located in this region.

For a systematic review, bibliographic databases and websites were selected, as well as the appropriate keywords (Littell 2008). The databases of the Web of Science and Agricola were used. Following the recommendation of Tranfield et al. (2003), that searches should not be restricted to bibliographic databases, thus Google Scholar and Google were used to identify unpublished studies, conference proceedings and other publications. Some additional publications were also found from the reference lists. The used keywords were: “agriculture”; “farming”; “birds”; “mammals”; “wildlife”; “set-aside”; “field margins”; “fallow land”; “afforestation”; “habitat improvement”; “pesticides”; “Mediterranean”; “Cyprus”; “France”; “Greece”; “Italy”; “Spain”; and, “Portugal”. Moreover, the cost and applicability of the different farming management practices for wildlife were independently evaluated by specialists and experienced wildlife managers and agriculturists (Table 1).

Section snippets

Threats and current farmland species conservation in the Mediterranean basin

The Mediterranean basin is recognised as a global biodiversity “hotspot”, comprising some of the world's most unique biogeographical areas with high species diversity and endemism (Myers et al. 2000). Since the glacial period, the Mediterranean basin has been continuously occupied by humans (Blondel et al. 2010). As a result, only 4.7% of its primary vegetation remains, while a great part of today's landscape and biodiversity are the result of anthropogenic disturbances and land uses over

Farming systems and agri-environmental measures

In designing realistic guidelines for better management of agroecosystems for Mediterranean wildlife, it is worthwhile to examining the influences of farming along with different systems, practices, agri-environmental schemes and wildlife management measures. As the literature related to Mediterranean ecosystems was little, besides some important managerial issues, literature for other eco-regions was used in the present study.

Conservation principles and specificities of Mediterranean agroecosystems

Measures taken to conserve biodiversity have rarely focused on managing conflict, but have addressed the impact indirectly through prohibitions and the establishment of protected areas. While this approach is valuable, there is an increasing realisation that it is insufficient (de la Montaña et al. 2011), especially in Mediterranean regions with the intensive human presence inside and outside protected areas (Cox & Underwood 2011).

It is well established that patterns of farmland biodiversity

Management measures: influences and necessity for Mediterranean wildlife

Species that benefit from heterogeneity (or habitat diversification) are favoured by rotation and intercropping (Fig. 1). This benefit may even be high with set-aside, field margins and afforestation as they permit the development of natural vegetation. Organic farming and conservation tillage mainly provide food, whereas habitat improvement can be tailored to special habitat requirements. Crop type and practice selection influence directly or indirectly (through habitat) the species. Creation

Conclusions

Mediterranean agroecosystems have high species diversity and endemism. The threats for this biodiversity can be divided in two categories: land abandonment; and, intensification of agriculture. Until now agri-environmental measures seem not to be sufficiently implemented and well designed for wildlife. Wildlife conservation in Mediterranean agroecosystems should not be based upon generic management guidelines. High habitat diversity and different species needs require local management supported

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank A. Gatzianas emeritus professor, of Aristotle University (Greece), for his critical comments to an earlier manuscript. We also thank S. Coles for her critical comments to an earlier manuscript.

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