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LaRota-Aguilera MJ, Zapata-Caldas E, Buitrago-Bermúdez O, Marull J. New criteria for sustainable land use planning of metropolitan green infrastructures in the tropical Andes. LANDSCAPE ECOLOGY 2024; 39:112. [PMID: 38817738 PMCID: PMC11133195 DOI: 10.1007/s10980-024-01911-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2023] [Accepted: 05/21/2024] [Indexed: 06/01/2024]
Abstract
Context Urbanization is rapidly increasing worldwide, with about 60% of the global population currently residing in cities and expected to reach 68% by 2050. In Latin America's tropical Andes region, managing these changes poses challenges, including biodiversity loss and vulnerability to climate change. Objectives This study assesses urban growth and agricultural intensification impacts on the ecological functionality of metropolitan green infrastructures and their capacity to provide ecosystem services using a landscape sustainability and sociometabolic approach. Specifically, it aims to identify landscape configurations promoting socio-ecological sustainability amidst rapid urbanization. Methods A landscape-metabolic model (IDC) was applied to evaluate the interactions between land use changes and ecosystem functions in the metropolitan region of Cali. Results Agricultural intensification and industrialization, coupled with uncontrolled urban growth, have significantly transformed the landscape, posing threats to its sustainability. The prevailing biocultural landscapes hold a substantial potential to provide essential ecosystem services to the metropolis. The IDC offers an approach that utilizes a land cover map and agricultural production/metabolism data to calculate an indicator closely related to ecosystem services and multifunctionality. Conclusions The IDC model stands out for efficiently capturing landscape dynamics, providing insights into landscape configuration and social metabolism without extensive resource requirements. This research highlights the importance of adopting a landscape-metabolic and green infrastructure framework to guide territorial policies in the tropical Andes and similar regions. It stresses the need for informed land use planning to address challenges and leverage opportunities presented by biocultural landscapes for regional sustainability amidst rapid urbanization and agricultural expansion.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Emmanuel Zapata-Caldas
- Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical (CIAT), University of Valle (Primary), Valle del Cauca, Colombia
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Tello E, Sacristán V, Olarieta JR, Cattaneo C, Marull J, Pons M, Gingrich S, Krausmann F, Galán E, Marco I, Padró R, Guzmán GI, González de Molina M, Cunfer G, Watson A, MacFadyen J, Fraňková E, Aguilera E, Infante-Amate J, Urrego-Mesa A, Soto D, Parcerisas L, Dupras J, Díez-Sanjuán L, Caravaca J, Gómez L, Fullana O, Murray I, Jover G, Cussó X, Garrabou R. Assessing the energy trap of industrial agriculture in North America and Europe: 82 balances from 1830 to 2012. AGRONOMY FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT 2023; 43:75. [PMID: 37969112 PMCID: PMC10632262 DOI: 10.1007/s13593-023-00925-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/25/2023] [Indexed: 11/17/2023]
Abstract
Early energy analyses of agriculture revealed that behind higher labor and land productivity of industrial farming, there was a decrease in energy returns on energy (EROI) invested, in comparison to more traditional organic agricultural systems. Studies on recent trends show that efficiency gains in production and use of inputs have again somewhat improved energy returns. However, most of these agricultural energy studies have focused only on external inputs at the crop level, concealing the important role of internal biomass flows that livestock and forestry recirculate within agroecosystems. Here, we synthesize the results of 82 farm systems in North America and Europe from 1830 to 2012 that for the first time show the changing energy profiles of agroecosystems, including livestock and forestry, with a multi-EROI approach that accounts for the energy returns on external inputs, on internal biomass reuses, and on all inputs invested. With this historical circular bioeconomic approach, we found a general trend towards much lower external returns, little or no increases in internal returns, and almost no improvement in total returns. This "energy trap" was driven by shifts towards a growing dependence of crop production on fossil-fueled external inputs, much more intensive livestock production based on feed grains, less forestry, and a structural disintegration of agroecosystem components by increasingly linear industrial farm managements. We conclude that overcoming the energy trap requires nature-based solutions to reduce current dependence on fossil-fueled external industrial inputs and increase the circularity and complexity of agroecosystems to provide healthier diets with less animal products. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13593-023-00925-5.
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Affiliation(s)
- Enric Tello
- Department of Economic History, Institutions, Policy and World Economy, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Vera Sacristán
- Department de Matemàtiques, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain
| | - José R. Olarieta
- Department of Environment and Soil Sciences, School of Agricultural Engineering, University of Lleida, Lleida, Spain
| | - Claudio Cattaneo
- Department of Environmental Studies, Faculty of Social Studies, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Joan Marull
- Barcelona Institute of Regional and Metropolitan Studies, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Bellaterra, Spain
| | - Manel Pons
- Barcelona Institute of Regional and Metropolitan Studies, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Bellaterra, Spain
| | - Simone Gingrich
- Institute of Social Ecology, BOKU University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria
| | - Fridolin Krausmann
- Institute of Social Ecology, BOKU University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria
| | - Elena Galán
- Basque Centre for Climate Change, Scientific Campus of the University of the Basque Country, Leioa, Spain
| | - Inés Marco
- Independent professional researchers, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Roc Padró
- Department of Climate Action, Food and Rural Agenda, Government of Catalonia, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Gloria I. Guzmán
- Agroecosystems History Laboratory, Pablo de Olavide University, Utrera Road, Seville, Spain
| | | | - Geoff Cunfer
- Department of History, College of Arts and Science, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada
| | - Andrew Watson
- Department of History, College of Arts and Science, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada
| | - Joshua MacFadyen
- Faculty of Arts, University of Prince Edward Island, 550 University Avenue, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada
| | - Eva Fraňková
- Department of Environmental Studies, Faculty of Social Studies, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Eduardo Aguilera
- CEIGRAM Research Centre for the Management of Agricultural and Environmental Risks, Polytechnic University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Juan Infante-Amate
- Department of Economic Theory and Economic History, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Granada, Granada, Spain
| | - Alexander Urrego-Mesa
- Department of Economic Theory and Economic History, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Granada, Granada, Spain
| | - David Soto
- Department of Applied Economics, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
| | - Lluis Parcerisas
- Department of Social Sciences and Commerce, Marianopolis College, Westmount, Quebec Canada
| | - Jérôme Dupras
- Institut des Sciences de la Forêt Tempérée, Université du Québec en Outaouais, Gatineau, Quebec Canada
| | - Lucía Díez-Sanjuán
- Division of Organic Farming, BOKU University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria
| | | | - Laura Gómez
- Independent professional researchers, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Onofre Fullana
- Department of Geography, University of the Balearic Islands, Valldemossa Road, Mallorca, Spain
| | - Ivan Murray
- Department of Geography, University of the Balearic Islands, Valldemossa Road, Mallorca, Spain
| | - Gabriel Jover
- Department of Economics, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Girona, Girona, Spain
| | - Xavier Cussó
- Department of Economics and Economic History, Economics and Business, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Bellaterra, Spain
| | - Ramon Garrabou
- Department of Economics and Economic History, Economics and Business, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Bellaterra, Spain
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Is There an Equivalence between Measures of Landscape Structural and Functional Connectivity for Plants in Conservation Assessments of the Cerrado? LAND 2020. [DOI: 10.3390/land9110459] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Landscape connectivity can be assessed based on the physical connection (structural connectivity) or the maintenance of flow among habitats depending on the species (functional connectivity). The lack of empirical data on the dispersal capacity of species can lead to the use of simple structural measures. Comparisons between these approaches can improve decision-making processes for the conservation or restoration of habitats in fragmented landscapes, such as the Cerrado biome. This study aimed to understand the correspondence between the measures of landscape structural and functional connectivity for Cerrado plants. Three landscapes with cerradão patches in a pasture matrix were selected for the application of these metrics based on the functional connectivity of four profiles of plant dispersal capacity. The results showed divergent interpretations between the measures of landscape structural and functional connectivity, indicating that the assessment of biodiversity conservation and landscape connectivity is dependent on the set of metrics chosen. Structurally, the studied landscapes had the same number of cerradão patches but varied in optimal resource availability, isolation, heterogeneity, and aggregation. Functional connectivity was low for all profiles (based on the integral index of connectivity—IIC) and null for species with a low dispersal capacity (based on the connectance index—CONNECT), indicating that species with a medium- to long-distance dispersal capacity may be less affected by the history of losses and fragmentation of the Cerrado in the pasture matrix. The functional connectivity metrics used allowed a more robust analysis and, apparently, better reflected reality, but the lack of empirical data on dispersal capacity and the difficulty in choosing an indicator organism can limit their use in the management and planning of conservation and restoration areas.
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Padró R, La Rota-Aguilera MJ, Giocoli A, Cirera J, Coll F, Pons M, Pino J, Pili S, Serrano T, Villalba G, Marull J. Assessing the sustainability of contrasting land use scenarios through the Socioecological Integrated Analysis (SIA) of the metropolitan green infrastructure in Barcelona. LANDSCAPE AND URBAN PLANNING 2020; 203:103905. [PMID: 32834265 PMCID: PMC7392073 DOI: 10.1016/j.landurbplan.2020.103905] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2020] [Revised: 07/08/2020] [Accepted: 07/23/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Urban development and the sprawl of transport infrastructures have disregarded the crucial function of metropolitan landscape in provisioning human well-being and biodiversity. This research aims to contribute to the challenges of Planning for Sustainability by proposing a Socioecological Integrated Analysis (SIA) to support the Land Use Master Plan in the Barcelona Metropolitan Area, to conciliate urban development with the performance of surrounding open spaces. The paper evaluates four different land cover scenarios (current, trending, alternative and potential), and two kinds of agricultural management (conventional and a socioecological transition towards organic agriculture). The results suggest that although there are significant improvements on job provisioning and nutrient-cycling closures (circular economy), certified organic agriculture is not enough to overcome some trends of industrialized agrarian systems such as low energy efficiency or poor improvements in greenhouse gas emissions. The results also show a crossed effect between social metabolism and landscape ecology where changes in the management could affect the landscape functioning while changes in the land covers are particularly affecting the resource use. Then, deeper changes that consider together land use and metabolic flows are required to promote more sustainable agroecological transitions. The SIA model is an important conceptual and methodological step forward that facilitates the transition towards sustainable land use policies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roc Padró
- Barcelona Institute of Regional and Metropolitan Studies, Autonomous University of Barcelona, E-08193 Bellaterra, Spain
| | - María José La Rota-Aguilera
- Barcelona Institute of Regional and Metropolitan Studies, Autonomous University of Barcelona, E-08193 Bellaterra, Spain
- Center for Ecological Research and Forestry Applications, Autonomous University of Barcelona, E-08193 Bellaterra, Spain
| | - Annalisa Giocoli
- Redaction Service of the Barcelona Metropolitan Area Master Plan, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Jacob Cirera
- Redaction Service of the Barcelona Metropolitan Area Master Plan, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Francesc Coll
- Barcelona Institute of Regional and Metropolitan Studies, Autonomous University of Barcelona, E-08193 Bellaterra, Spain
| | - Manel Pons
- Barcelona Institute of Regional and Metropolitan Studies, Autonomous University of Barcelona, E-08193 Bellaterra, Spain
| | - Joan Pino
- Center for Ecological Research and Forestry Applications, Autonomous University of Barcelona, E-08193 Bellaterra, Spain
| | - Silvia Pili
- Barcelona Institute of Regional and Metropolitan Studies, Autonomous University of Barcelona, E-08193 Bellaterra, Spain
| | - Tarik Serrano
- Barcelona Institute of Regional and Metropolitan Studies, Autonomous University of Barcelona, E-08193 Bellaterra, Spain
| | - Gara Villalba
- Department of Chemical, Biological and Environmental Engineering, Autonomous University of Barcelona, E-08193 Bellaterra, Spain
- Institute of Environmental Science and Technology, Autonomous University of Barcelona, E-08193 Bellaterra, Spain
| | - Joan Marull
- Barcelona Institute of Regional and Metropolitan Studies, Autonomous University of Barcelona, E-08193 Bellaterra, Spain
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Yousefi M, Darvishi A, Padró R, Barghjelveh S, Mobarghaee Dinan N, Marull J. An energy-landscape integrated analysis to evaluate agroecological scarcity. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2020; 739:139998. [PMID: 32534318 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.139998] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2020] [Revised: 06/02/2020] [Accepted: 06/03/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Agrarian landscapes theoretically provide ecosystem services that meet the demands of a wide range of socioecological processes. Consequently, any landscape agroecology approach must tackle the dynamic interaction of land-use distribution and associated social metabolism at different spatiotemporal scales. An agroecological scarcity case study explores how driven agricultural energy flows interact with landscape complexity in arid landscapes of 46 counties in the Qazvin Province (Iran). An Energy-Landscape Integrated Analysis (ELIA) was performed to correlate the energy reinvestment (E) and energy redistribution (I) present within the social metabolism network, with landscape complexity (Le) measured in terms of spatial patterns and related ecological processes. As well, a cluster analysis was run to establish agrarian landscape typologies based on the ELIA indicators. The results of this study provide an explicit sketch of the four strategies that society in Qazvin Province has developed within the dry environments that sustain it. Our findings confirm the hypothesis that there is a positive relationship between optimizing non-dissipative internal energy loops and landscape complexity, which can explain agroecosystem sustainability. This research enables us to define spatially informed agroecological transitions from a territorially explicit socioecological perspective and will make a significant contribution to decisions on agricultural policies given different land-use strategies, especially under scenarios of ecological scarcity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maryam Yousefi
- Department of Environmental Planning and Design, Environmental Sciences Research Institute, Shahid Beheshti University, 1983969411 Tehran, Iran; Metropolitan Laboratory of Ecology and Territory of Barcelona, IERMB, Autonomous University of Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain
| | - Asef Darvishi
- Department of Environmental Planning and Design, Environmental Sciences Research Institute, Shahid Beheshti University, 1983969411 Tehran, Iran; Metropolitan Laboratory of Ecology and Territory of Barcelona, IERMB, Autonomous University of Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain
| | - Roc Padró
- Metropolitan Laboratory of Ecology and Territory of Barcelona, IERMB, Autonomous University of Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain
| | - Shahindokht Barghjelveh
- Department of Environmental Planning and Design, Environmental Sciences Research Institute, Shahid Beheshti University, 1983969411 Tehran, Iran
| | - Naghmeh Mobarghaee Dinan
- Department of Environmental Planning and Design, Environmental Sciences Research Institute, Shahid Beheshti University, 1983969411 Tehran, Iran
| | - Joan Marull
- Metropolitan Laboratory of Ecology and Territory of Barcelona, IERMB, Autonomous University of Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain.
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The Loss of Landscape Ecological Functionality in the Barcelona Province (1956–2009): Could Land-Use History Involve a Legacy for Current Biodiversity? SUSTAINABILITY 2020. [DOI: 10.3390/su12062238] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Could past land uses, and the land cover changes carried out, affect the current landscape capacity to maintain biodiversity? If so, knowledge of historical landscapes and their socio-ecological transitions would be useful for sustainable land use planning. We constructed a GIS dataset in 10 × 10 km UTM cells of the province of Barcelona (Catalonia, Spain) for 1956 and 2009 with the changing levels of farming disturbance exerted through the human appropriation of photosynthetic net primary production (HANPP), and a set of landscape ecology metrics to assess the impacts of the corresponding land-use changes. Then, we correlated them with the spatial distribution of total species richness (including vascular plants, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals). The results allow us to characterize the main trends in changing landscape patterns and processes, and explore whether a land-use legacy of many complex agroforest mosaics maintained by the intermediate farming disturbance managed in 1956 could still exist, despite the decrease or disappearance of those mosaics before 2009 due to the combined impacts of agroindustrial intensification (meaning higher HANPP levels), forest transition (meaning lower HANPP levels) and urban sprawl. Statistical analysis reveals a positive impact of the number of larger, less disturbed forest patches, where many protected natural sites have been created in 1956–2009. However, it also confirms that this result has not only been driven by conservation policies and that the distribution of species richness is currently correlated with the maintenance of intermediate levels of HANPP. This suggests that both land-sharing and land-sparing approaches to biodiversity conservation may have played a synergistic role owing to the legacy of complex land cover mosaics of former agricultural landscapes that are now under a serious threat.
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