Natural reforestation is changing spatial patterns of rural mountain and hill landscapes: A global overview

Forest Ecology and Management

Volumn 259, Issue 8, 2010, Pages 1354-1362

  Sitzia, Tommaso ^a   Semenzato, Paolo ^a   Trentanovi, Giovanni ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF PADOVA   (Italy)

Author keywords

Biodiversity; Connectivity; Landscape metrics; Shifting mosaic; Spontaneous reforestation

Indexed keywords

CONNECTIVITY; ECOLOGICAL CONSEQUENCES; ECOLOGICAL PROBLEM; ECOSYSTEM FUNCTIONS; FOREST EXPANSION; HUMAN DRIVING; LANDSCAPE METRICS; LANDSCAPE STRUCTURES; MAIN GAP; MEAN PATCH SIZES; NATURAL FORESTS; NATURAL PROCESS; OPEN SPACE; PHYSICAL CHANGES; SPATIAL ATTRIBUTE; SPATIAL PATTERNS; STOCHASTIC DYNAMICS; STRUCTURAL CHARACTERISTICS; STUDY AREAS; TEMPORAL CHARACTERISTICS; TIME RANGE;

AGRICULTURE; BIODIVERSITY; DEFORESTATION; ECOLOGY; LAND USE; LANDFORMS; REFORESTATION; REVEGETATION;

RESEARCH;

ABANDONED LAND; BIODIVERSITY; CONNECTIVITY; ECOLOGICAL IMPACT; ECOSYSTEM FUNCTION; HETEROGENEITY; HILL; HUMAN ACTIVITY; LANDSCAPE STRUCTURE; MOUNTAIN ENVIRONMENT; OPEN SPACE; REFORESTATION; RURAL AREA; SECONDARY FOREST; SPATIAL VARIATION; STOCHASTICITY; WOODLAND;

AGRICULTURE; BIODIVERSITY; DEFORESTATION; ECOLOGY; LAND USE; REFORESTATION;

EID: 77649270651     PISSN: 03781127     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/j.foreco.2010.01.048     Document Type: Review

References (96)

1. Acosta A., Carranza M.L., and Giancola M. Landscape change and ecosystem classification in a municipal district of a small city (Isernia, Central Italy). Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 108 (2005) 323-335
2. Agnoletti M. The degradation of traditional landscape in a mountain area of Tuscany during the 19th and 20th centuries: implications for biodiversity and sustainable management. Forest Ecology and Management 249 (2007) 5-17
3. Aguilar A. Patterns of forest regeneration In Celaque National Park, Honduras. Online Journal of Space Communication 3 (2003) 31
4. Aide T.M., Zimmerman J.K., Rosario M., and Marcano H. Forest recovery in abandoned cattle pastures along an elevational gradient in northeastern Puerto Rico. Biotropica 28 (1996) 537-548
5. Antrop M. The concept of traditional landscapes as a base for landscape evaluation and planning. The example of Flanders Region. Landscape and Urban Planning 38 (1997) 105-117
6. Argenti G., Bianchetto E., Ferretti F., Giulietti V., Milandri M., Pelleri F., Romagnoli P., Signorini M., and Venturi E. Caratterizzazione di un'area pascoliva in fase di abbandono attualmente utilizzata in modo estensivo (S. Paolo in Alpe - S. Sofia FC). Forest 3 (2006) 387-396
7. Askins R., Lynch J., and Greenberg R. Population declines in migratory birds in Eastern North America. Current Ornithology 7 (1990) 1-57
8. Baldock D., Beaufoy G., Brouwer F., and Godelschalk F. Farming at the Margins: Abandonment or Redeployment of Agricultural Land in Europe (1996), Institute for European Environmental Policy, London/The Hague
9. Baptista S.R. Metropolitanization and Forest Recovery in Southern Brazil: a Multiscale Analysis of the Florianòpolis City-Region, Santa Catarina State, 1970 to 2005. Ecology and Society 13 2 (2008) 5
10. Beaufoy G., Baldock D., and Clark J. The Nature of Farming (1994), Institute of European Environmental Policy, London
11. Bolliger J., Kienast F., Soliva R., and Rutherford G. Spatial sensitivity of species habitat patterns to scenarios of land use change (Switzerland). Landscape Ecology 22 (2007) 773-789
12. Bowen M.E., McAlpine C.A., House A.P.N., and Smith G.C. Regrowth forests on abandoned agricultural land: a review of their habitat values for recovering forest fauna. Biological Conservation 140 (2007) 273-296
13. Brown P. Disappearing forests fan fears over tropical action plan. New Scientist 126 (1990) 26-126
14. Bürgi M., Hersperger A., and Schneeberg N. Driving forces of landscape change-current and new directions. Landscape Ecology 19 (2004) 857-868
15. Bumrungsri S., Sripao-raya E., and Leelatiwong C. A quantitative analysis of plant community structure in an abandoned rubber plantations on Kho-Hong Hill, southern Thailand. Journal of Science Technology 28 3 (2006) 479-491
16. Burel, F., Baudry, J., 1999. Écologie du paysage Technique & Documentation, Paris.
17. Cernusca A., Bahn M., Chemini C., Graber W., Siegwolf R., Tappeiner U., and Tenhunen J. ECOMONT: a combined approach of field measurements and process-based modelling for assessing effects of land-use changes in mountain landscapes. Ecological Modelling 113 (1998) 167-178
18. Chinea J.D. Tropical forest succession on abandoned farms in the Humacao Municipality of eastern Puerto Rico. Forest Ecology and Management 167 (2002) 195-207
19. Coelho-Silva J.L., Rego F.C., Silveira S.C., Gonçalves C.P.C., and Machado C.A. Rural changes and landscape in Serra da Malcata, Central East of Portugal. In: Mazzoleni S., di Pasquale G., Mulligan M., di Martino P., and Rego F. (Eds). Recent Dynamics of the Mediterranean Vegetation and Landscape (2004), John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., Chichester 189-200
20. Conti G., and Fagarazzi L. Sustainable mountain development and the key-issue of abandonment of marginal rural areas. Planum 11 (2004) 1-20
21. De Gasperis B.G., and Motzkin G. Windows of opportunity: historical and ecological controls on Berberis thunberigii invasions. Ecology 88 12 (2007) 3115-3125
22. Di Pietro F., and Balent G. Dynamique des pratiques pastorale et des paysages: une approche pluri-èchelles appliqueè aux Pyrènèes ariègeoises (France). Agronomie 17 (1997) 139-155
23. Endress B.A., and Chinea J.D. Landscape patterns of tropical forest recovery in the Republic of Palau. Biotropica 33 (2001) 555-565
24. Fahrig L. Relative importance of spatial and temporal scales in a patchy environment. Theoretical Population Biology 41 (1992) 300-314
25. Florentine S.K., and Westbrooke M.E. Evaluation of alternative approaches to rainforest restoration on abandoned pasturelands in tropical north Queensland, Australia. Land Degradation and Development 15 (2004) 1-13
26. Foley J.A., DeFries R., Asner G.P., Barford C., Bonan G., Carpenter S.R., Chapin F.S., Coe M.T., Daily G.C., Gibbs H.K., Helkowski J.H., Holloway T., Howard E.A., Kucharik C.J., Monfreda C., Patz J.A., Prentice I.C., Ramankutty N., and Snyder P.K. Global consequences of land use. Science 309 (2005) 570-574
27. Forman R.T.T. Land Mosaics, The Ecology of Landscape and Regions (1995), Cambridge University Press, New York
28. Foster D.R., Fluet M., and Boose E.R. Human or natural disturbance: landscape-scale dynamics of the tropical forests of Puerto Rico. Ecological Applications 9 (1999) 555-572
29. Foster D.R., Motzkin G., and Slater B. Land-use history as long-term broad-scale disturbance: regional forest dynamics in central New England. Ecosystems 1 (1998) 96-119
30. Fuentes E. Landscape change in Mediterranean-type habitats of Chile: patterns and processes. In: Zonneveld I., and Forman R. (Eds). Changing Landscapes: An Ecological Perspective (1990), Springer-Verlag, New York 165-190
31. Führer E. Forest functions, ecosystem stability and management. Forest Ecology and Management 132 (2000) 29-38
32. Gellrich M., Baur P., Koch B., and Zimmermann N.E. Agricultural land abandonment and natural forest re-growth in the Swiss mountains: a spatially explicit economic analysis. Agriculture Ecosystems and Environment 118 (2007) 93-108
33. Gellrich M., Baur P., Robinson B.H., and Bebi P. Combining classification tree analyses with interviews to study why sub-alpine grasslands sometimes revert to forest: a case study from the Swiss Alps. Agricultural Systems 96 (2008) 124-138
34. Gerhardt F., and Foster D. Physiographical and historical effects on forest vegetation in central New England, USA. Journal of Biogeography 29 (2002) 1421-1437
35. Geri F. Analisi multitemporale del paesaggio forestale della Provincia di Siena mediante l'utilizzo di cartografie storiche. Forest 5 (2008) 82-91
36. Globevnik L., Kaligarič M., and Sovinc A. Forest cover progression, land-use and socio-economic changes on the edge of the Mediterranean. In: Mazzoleni S., di Pasquale G., Mulligan M., di Martino P., and Rego F. (Eds). Recent Dynamics of the Mediterranean Vegetation and Landscape (2004), John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., Chichester 249-256
37. Gomez Sai A., Alvarez J., Muñoz M., and Rebollo S. Patterns of change in the agrarian landscape in an area of the Cantabrian mountains. Assessment by transition probabilities. In: Bunce R., Ryszkowky L., and Paoletti M. (Eds). Landscape Ecology and Agroecosystems (1993), Lewis Publish 141-152
38. Guirado M., Pino J., Rodà F., and Basnou C. Quercus and Pinus cover are determined by landscape structure and dynamics in peri-urban Mediterranean forest patches. Plant Ecology 194 (2008) 109-119
39. Gunter S., Weber M., Erreis R., and Aguirre N. Influence of distance to forest edges on natural regeneration of abandoned pastures: a case study in the tropical mountain rain forest of Southern Ecuador. European Journal of Forest Research 126 (2007) 67-75
40. Hall B., Motzkin G., Foster D.R., Syfert M., and Burk J. Three hundred years of forest and land-use change in Massachusetts, USA. Journal of Biogeography 29 (2002) 1319-1335
41. Hanski I. A practical model of metapopulation dynamics. Journal of Animal Ecology 63 (1994) 151-162
42. Helmer E.H. The landscape ecology of tropical secondary forest in montane Costa Rica. Ecosystems 3 (2000) 98-114
43. Hicks N.G., and Pearson S.M. Salamander diversity and abundance in forests with alternative land use histories in the Southern Blue Ridge Mountains. Forest Ecology and Management 177 (2003) 117-130
44. Hunziker M. The spontaneous reafforestation in abandoned agricultural lands: perception and aesthetic assessment by locals and tourists. Landscape and Urban Planning 31 (1995) 399-410
45. Iiyama N., Kamada M., and Nakagoshi N. Ecological and social evaluation of landscape in a rural area with terraced paddies in southwestern Japan. Landscape and Urban Planning 70 (2005) 301-313
46. Kamada M., and Nakagoshi N. Influence of cultural factors on landscape of mountainous farm villages in western Japan. Landscape and Urban Planning 37 (1997) 85-90
47. Khanal N., and Watanabe T. Abandonment of agricultural land and its consequences: a case study in the Sikles Area, Gandaki Basin, Nepal. Mountain Research and Development 26 (2006) 32-40
48. Kleyer M., Biedermann R., Henle K., Obermaier E., Poethke H.J., Poschlod P., Schroder B., Settele J., and Vetterlein D. Mosaic cycles in agricultural landscapes of Northwest Europe. Basic and Applied Ecology 8 (2007) 295-309
49. Kowarik I. Kritische Anmerkungen zum theoretischen Konzept der potentiellen natürlichen Vegetation mit Anregungen zu einer zeitgemässen Modifikation. Tuexenia 7 (1987) 53-67
50. Kozak J., Estreguil C., and Troll M. Forest cover changes in the Northern Carpathians in the 20th century: a slow transition. Land Use Science 2 (2007) 127-149
51. Kuemmerle T., Hostert P., Radeloff V.C., van der Linden S., Perzanowski K., and Kruhlov I. Cross-border comparison of post-socialist farmland abandonment in the Carpathians. Ecosystems 11 (2008) 614-628
52. Kuemmerle T., Muller D., Griffiths P., and Rusu M. Land use change in Southern Romania after the collapse of socialism. Regional Environmental Change 9 (2009) 1-12
53. Laiolo P., Dondero F., Ciliento E., and Rolando A. Consequences of pastoral abandonment for the structure and diversity of the alpine avifauna. Journal of Applied Ecology 41 (2004) 294-304
54. Lasanta-Martinez T., Vicente-Serrano S.M., and Cuadrat-Prats J.M. Mountain Mediterranean landscape evolution caused by the abandonment of traditional primary activities: a study of the Spanish Central Pyrenees. Applied Geography 25 (2005) 47-65
55. Leicht-Young S.A., Silander J.A., and Latimer A.M. Comparative performance of invasive and native Celastrus species across environmental gradients. Oecologia 154 (2007) 273-282
56. Lindborg R., and Eriksson O. Effects of restoration on plant species richness and composition in Scandinavian semi-natural grasslands. Restoration Ecology 12 (2004) 318-326
57. Lugo A., and Helmer E. Emerging forests on abandoned land: Puerto Rico's new forests. Forest Ecology and Management 190 (2004) 145-161
58. MacDonald D., Crabtree J.R., Wiesinger G., Dax T., Stamou N., Fleury P., Lazpita J.G., and Gibon A. Agricultural abandonment in mountain areas of Europe: environmental consequences and policy response. Journal of Environmental Management 59 (2000) 47-69
59. Mazzoleni S., di Martino P., Strumia S., Buonanno M., and Bellelli M. Recent changes of coastal and sub-mountain vegetation landscape in Campania and Molise Regions in Southern Italy. In: Mazzoleni S., di Pasquale G., Mulligan M., di Martino P., and Rego F. (Eds). Recent Dynamics of the Mediterranean Vegetation and Landscape (2004), John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., Chichester 145-155
60. Metailiè J.P., and Paegelow M. Land abandonment and the spreading of the forest in the Eastern French Pyrenèes in the nineteenth to twentieth centuries. In: Mazzoleni S., di Pasquale G., Mulligan M., di Martino P., and Rego F. (Eds). Recent Dynamics of the Mediterranean Vegetation and Landscape (2004), John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., Chichester 219-236
61. Mitchell C.E., Turner M.G., and Pearson S.M. Effects of historical land use and forest patch size on myrmecochores and ant communities. Ecological Applications 12 (2002) 1364-1377
62. Motzkin G., Wilson P., Foster D.R., and Allen A. Vegetation patterns in heterogeneous landscapes: the importance of history and environment. Journal of Vegetation Science 10 (1999) 903-920
63. Mouillot F., Ratte J.P., Joffre R., Mouillot D., and Rambal S. Long-term forest dynamic after land abandonment in a fire prone Mediterranean landscape (central Corsica, France). Landscape Ecology 20 (2005) 101-112
64. Niedrist G., Tasser E., Lüth C., Dalla Via J., and Tappeiner U. Plant diversity declines with recent land use changes in European Alps. Plant Ecology 202 (2009) 195-210
65. Nikodemus O., Bell S., Grine I., and Liepins I. The impact of economic, social and political factors on the landscape structure of the Vidzeme Uplands in Latvia. Landscape and Urban Planning 70 (2005) 57-67
66. Olsson E.G.A., Austrheim G., and Grenne S.N. Landscape change patterns in mountains, land use and environmental diversity, Mid-Norway 1960-1993. Landscape Ecology 15 (2000) 155-170
67. Paci, M., Bianchi, L., Travaglini, D., 2006. Landscape dynamics of the Barbialla farm (Val d'Egola, province of Florence) in the second half of the 20th century. In: Parrotta, J., Agnoletti, M., Johann, E. (Eds.), Proceedings of the Conference "Cultural heritage and sustainable management: the role of traditional knowledge", 8-11 June 2006, Florence, Italy. Ministerial Conference of the Protection of Forests, Warsaw, Poland, vol. 2, pp. 322-328.
68. In: Palang H., and Fry G. (Eds). Landscape Interfaces: Cultural Heritage in Changing Landscapes (2003), Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht
69. Pausas J.C. The effect of landscape pattern on Mediterranean vegetation dynamics. A modelling approach using functional types. Journal of Vegetation Science 14 (2003) 365-374
70. Pedrini P., and Sergio F. Golden Eagle Aquila chrysaetos density and productivity in relation to land abandonment and forest expansion in the Alps. Bird Study 48 (2001) 194-199
71. Peel M.C., Finlayson B.L., and McMahon T.A. Updated world map of the Köppen-Geiger climate classification. Hydrology and Earth System Science 11 (2007) 1633-1644
72. Piussi P., and Farrell E.P. Interactions between society and forest ecosystems: challenges for the near future. Forest Ecology and Management 132 (2000) 21-28
73. Preiss E., Martin J.L., and Debussche M. Rural depopulation and recent landscape changes in a Mediterranean region: consequences to the breeding avifauna. Landscape Ecology 12 (1997) 51-61
74. Rey Benayas J., Martins A., Nicolau J., and Schulz J. Abandonment of agricultural land: an overview of drivers and consequences. CAB Reviews 2 (2007) 1-14
75. Richards N.A. Old field vegetation as an inhibitor of tree vegetation. In: Goodland R. (Ed). Power Lines and Environment (1973), The Cary Arboretum of the New York Botanical Gardens, New York 78-88
76. Romero-Calcerrada R., and Perry G.L.W. The role of land abandonment in landscape dynamics in the SPA 'Encinares del rio Alberche y Cofio, Central Spain, 1984-1999. Landscape and Urban Planning 66 (2004) 217-232
77. Sanderson E.W., Jaiteh M., Levy M.A., Redford K.H., Wannebo A.V., and Woolmer G. The human footprint and the last of the wild. Bioscience 52 (2002) 891-904
78. Shoshany M., Goldshlager N., Kutiel P., and Grossmann D. Man-landscape relationships in Mediterranean areas: a study of landscape changes in the Mount Carmel. In: Mazzoleni S., di Pasquale G., Mulligan M., di Martino P., and Rego F. (Eds). Recent Dynamics of the Mediterranean Vegetation and Landscape (2004), John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., Chichester 95-104
79. Sitzia T. Ecologia e gestione dei boschi di neoformazione nel paesaggio del Trentino (2009), Provincia Autonoma di Trento-Servizio Foreste e Fauna, Trento, Italy
80. Tappeiner U., Tasser E., Leitinger G., Cernusca A., and Tappeiner G. Effects of historical and likely future scenarios of land use on above- and belowground vegetation carbon stocks of an Alpine Valley. Ecosystems 11 (2008) 1383-1400
81. Tappeiner U., Tasser E., Mayr V., and Ostendorf B. Passeier Valley composite landscape, Italy. Land-Use Changes in European Mountain Ecosystems (1999), Blackwell Wissenschafts-Verlag, Berlin
82. Tasser E., and Tappeiner G. Impact of land use changes on mountain vegetation. Applied Vegetation Science 5 (2002) 173-184
83. Tatoni T., Medail F., Roche P., and Barbero M. The impact of changes in land use on ecological patterns in Provence (Mediterranean France). In: Mazzoleni S., di Pasquale G., Mulligan M., di Martino P., and Rego F. (Eds). Recent Dynamics of the Mediterranean Vegetation and Landscape (2004), John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., Chichester 107-120
84. Timoteo I., Bento J., Rego F.C., and Fernandes A. Changes in landscape structure of the National Park of Alvão (Portugal). In: Mazzoleni S., di Pasquale G., Mulligan M., di Martino P., and Rego F. (Eds). Recent Dynamics of the Mediterranean Vegetation and Landscape (2004), John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., Chichester 211-216
85. Torta G. Consequences of rural abandonment in a northern appennines landscape (Tuscany, Italy). In: Mazzoleni S., di Pasquale G., Mulligan M., di Martino P., and Rego F. (Eds). Recent Dynamics of the Mediterranean Vegetation and Landscape (2004), John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., Chichester 157-165
86. Turner M.G., Gardner R.H., and O'Neill R.V. Landscape Ecology in Theory and Practice: Pattern and Process (2001), Springer, New York
87. Turner M.G., Pearson S.M., Bolstad P., and Wear D.N. Effects of land-cover change on spatial pattern of forest communities in the Southern Appalachian Mountains (USA). Landscape Ecology 18 (2003) 449-464
88. Vàclavìk T., and Rogan J. Identifying trends in land use/land cover changes in the context of post-socialist transformation in central Europe: a case study of the Greater Olomouc Region, Czech Republic. GIScience and Remote Sensing 46 1 (2009) 54-76
89. Van Eetvelde V., and Antrop M. Analyzing structural and functional changes of traditional landscapes-two examples from Southern France. Landscape and Urban Planning 67 (2004) 79-95
90. van Gils H., Batsukh O., Rossiter D., Munthali W., and Liberatoscioli E. Forecasting the pattern and pace of Fagus forest expansion in Majella National Park, Italy. Applied Vegetation Science (2008) 539-546
91. vanDorp D., Schippers P., and vanGroenendael J.M. Migration rates of grassland plants along corridors in fragmented landscapes assessed with a cellular automation model. Landscape Ecology 12 (1997) 39-50
92. Verhlust J., Baldi A., and Kleijn D. Relationship between land-use intensity and species richness and abundance of birds in Hungary. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 104 (2004) 465-473
93. Walther P. Land abandonment in the Swiss Alps: a new understanding of a land use problem. Mountain Research and Development 6 (1986) 305-314
94. Wijdeven S.M.J., and Kuzee M.E. Seed availability as a limiting factor in forest recovery processes in Costa Rica. Restoration Ecology 8 4 (2000) 414-424
95. With K.A. The application of neutral landscape models in conservation biology. Conservation Biology 11 (1997) 1069-1080
96. Zerbe S. Potential natural vegetation: validity and applicability in landscape planning and nature conservation. Applied Vegetation Science 1 (1998) 165-172