Organización y sostenibilidad en un sistema urbano socio-ecológico y complejo

El enfoque tradicional consiste en tratar a la sostenibilidad a partir de la interacción entre tres subsistemas: el social, el económico y el ecológico, con algún grado de dependencia entre ellos, y donde en cada uno se puede definir un tipo especial de sostenibilidad que está relacionada con los objetivos a alcanzar en cada subsistema. Otro punto de vista, es que la sostenibilidad es una medida del mantenimiento de la organización y estructura de un sistema. A pesar de los avances, sin embargo siguen prevaleciendo los enfoques estáticos e individuales sobre los dinámicos y sístemicos. Este trabajo se realiza tomando como ejemplo la integración a nivel sistémico de una ciudad y la sostenibilidad como una propiedad emergente de las interrelaciones entre los distintos aspectos mencionados, aplicados dentro del marco teórico de la ecología urbana. La metodología desarrollada considera a la ciudad como un sistema complejo, al ambiente en sus múltiples dimensiones (físico, social, económico, cultural, entre otras) y enfoca el análisis de la sostenibilidad a la gestión de los recursos hídricos urbanos. Para ello se ha construido un sistema que permite estudiar las interrelaciones que dan cuenta de la calidad del recurso hídrico (superficial y profundo), sus formas de uso, las condiciones socioeconómicas de los consumidores, las principales actividades productivas de una región y sus consecuencias sobre el estado del recurso (vertidos domiciliarios e industriales), las condiciones de vulnerabilidad y riesgo ambiental, así como los principales procesos ecológicos (contaminación, inundación, entre otros) como producto de dichas interrelaciones.The traditional approach deals with sustainability on the basis of the interaction between social, economic and ecological subsystems. There is some degree of dependence among these subsystems and a special kind of sustainability can be defined for each one. The different kinds of sustainability are related to the objectives that have to be reached in each subsystem. Another perspective is that sustainability is a measure of how well the organisation and structure of a system are maintained. Despite the advances, statistical and individual approaches are still more prevalent that dynamic and systematized approaches. This study was undertaken using the example of the systemic integration of a city and sustainability as a property resulting from the interrelations between the different aspects mentioned above, which are applied within the theoretical frame of urban ecology. The methodology considers the city as a complex system and takes into account the many dimensions of the environment (physical, social, economic, cultural, etc.). The sustainability analysis is focused on the management of urban water resources. A system was constructed that enables us to study the interrelations that explain the quality of water resources (superficial and deep), the types of water use, the socioeconomic status of the consumers, the main productive activities in the region and the effect of these activities on the state of the resource (industrial and domestic waste), the conditions of vulnerability and environmental risk and the main ecological processes that are a result of these interactions (pollution, flooding, etc.)

Percepción de problemas ambientales por las administraciones locales. Comunidad Autónoma de Madrid

Depto. de Biodiversidad, Ecología y EvoluciónFac. de Ciencias BiológicasTRUEpu

Methodological approach to spatial analysis of agricultural pest dispersal in olive landscapes

The effectiveness of a Geographical Information Systems cost-distance tool for detecting landscape permeability in relation to the movement of pests in olive landscapes was established. The simplification of agricultural systems is linked to an increased incidence of pests on crops. Therefore, it is important to understand the impact of different land uses surrounding olive groves on pests. In this work, we analysed the effect of the structure of the olive landscape on the movement of two main olive pests—the olive fruit fly, Bactrocera oleae (Rossi) (Diptera: Tephritidae) and the olive moth, Prays oleae (Bernard) (Lepidopetera: Praydidae). We applied linear mixed effects models to analyse the relationship between pest abundance and cost-distance, using different hypotheses to evaluate those land uses that are favourable or unfavourable for the movement of these pests. The results show that this methodology is effective in detecting possible unfavourable land uses with a barrier effect, such as woodland and artificial land uses, and favourable land uses with a corridor effect such as olive groves. Whether other land uses, such as scrubland or riverbanks, act as a barrier or corridor depends on the pest and its life cycle stage. The effect that different land uses have in maintaining low levels of pest populations and ensuring the long-term sustainability of these agricultural systems are discussed. The implications of landscape permeability for the physical structure of the landscape and the dispersal of organisms, and the potential of that landscape to impact the continuous flow of natural processes are also addressed

Ecological and economic sustainability in olivegroves with different irrigation management and levels of erosion: a case study

In the last 50 years, both the agricultural labour force and irrigated land area have increased almost eightfold in Spain. The main objective of irrigation, in the short term, is to increase agricultural production. However, in the long term, the environmental externalities of irrigation and its direct relationship with soil erosion processes are more uncertain and still poorly studied. In this study, in an olive-growing region of Andalusia, Spain, the variation of several soil parameters related to irrigation and erosion levels was analysed. The results showed that irrigation, while increasing the productive level of the olive groves, entails a progressive alteration of the soil, modifying physical aspects (greater compaction and humidity of the soil together with lower gravel content, porosity and soil weight) and chemical aspects (reduction of the organic matter of the soil and the content of nitrates) that can aggravate the consequences of the erosive processes. In the long term, the productive benefit attributed to irrigation could be unsustainable from an ecological and, consequently, economic point of view. In addition, the lack of sustainability of olive irrigation agroecosystems could be exacerbated by the future restrictive impacts of climate change on water resources in Mediterranean environments. This situation demands spatial planning and alternative management based on soil conservation and rational and efficient forms of irrigation to ensure the sustainability of olive groves and their economic viability

Linking Biophysical and Economic Assessments of Ecosystem Services for a Social–Ecological Approach to Conservation Planning: Application in a Biosphere Reserve (Biscay, Spain)

The search for a balance between nature conservation and sustainable development remains a scientific and spatial planning challenge. In social-ecological systems based on traditional rural activities and associated with protected areas, this balance is particularly complex. Quantifying the economic impact of land use changes on ecosystem services can be useful to advise policy makers and improving social-ecological sustainability. In this study, we evaluated the land use changes in a time series and estimated the monetary value of the ecosystem services of the Urdaibai Biosphere Reserve (Biscay, Spain). In addition, we linked the monetary and biophysical values of land uses in each zoning units of the reserve, in order to identify the spatial adjustment between both assessments. Results showed that land use changes have clearly homogenized the landscape without substantially affecting its economic value. The methodological approach allowed detection that the reserve zoning was performed based more on its biophysical values than on economic ones. Thus, evident divergences between the biophysical and economic assessments were found. The core area was the one that had the highest coincidences (medium values) between both ecosystem services assessments, which highlights its importance not only in biophysical terms, is also economical. The procedure followed proved to be a useful tool to social-ecological planning and design of specific conservation strategies for the sustainable development of the area

A Comparative Analysis of Soil Loss Tolerance and Productivity of the Olive Groves in the Protected Designation of Origin(PDO) Areas Norte Alentejano (Portugal) and Estepa (Andalusia, Spain)

Olive groves are Mediterranean systems that occupy more than 2.5 M ha in Spain and 0.352 M ha in Portugal. Assuming the differences between both countries in terms of olive grove regulation and considering their multifunctionality, it is useful to implement agronomic indices to estimate their sustainability. The Soil Loss Tolerance Index (SLTI) and the Soil Productivity Index (SPI) are two such indices. We calculated both indices in the Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) Norte Alentejano (Portugal). The SLTI index was adapted considering specific variables of the analysed olive groves (i.e., SLTIog). The values obtained were compared with those previously estimated for PDO Estepa (Spain). The negative impacts of erosion and the underlying agricultural practices on the sustainability of olive groves became evident, resulting in decreased soil productivity at the regional level. The SLTIog index showed higher values for crops, being a more realistic tool to analyse sustainability. A higher soil loss tolerance was detected for integrated groves in the PDO Norte Alentejano than for PDO Estepa due to the shorter age of olive cultivation in Portugal, with incipient soil impacts. These indices provide information on the degree of soil erosion, allowing farmers and decision-makers to apply practices to maximise the sustainability of olive groves.To the University Complutense of Madrid, for awarding the lead author a short-term fellowship through which this research could be carried out. To MED-Universidade de Évora (Portugal), for providing to the main author with the opportunity to jointly perform field work and analytical tasks in Portugal. The time devoted by J.M.-R. and T.P.-C. to retrieve and treat the data and to write and revise the article has received partial funding from the following sources: (a) FCT—Foundation for Science and Technology (Portugal) under the Project UIDB/05183/2020; (b) SUSTAINOLIVE research project (https://sustainolive.eu/?lang=en [accessed on: 29 March 2021]), funded by the PRIMA EU program. Lastly, we thank María Aurora Rodríguez Sousa for her support and advice

PECHA-KUCHA: un método eficiente y eficaz para el aprendizaje y la evaluación combinada (blended learning) centrados en el estudiante

Aprendizaje y evaluación combinada de cada estudiante mediante exposición oral individual (artículo o tema) de 6'40" valorada por el resto de estudiantes y profesores. Los 4 mejor valorados optan a exposición extensa (40') y aumento de nota (3-10%).Depto. de Biodiversidad, Ecología y EvoluciónFac. de Ciencias BiológicasFALSEsubmitte

Examining potential environmental consequences of climate change and other driving forces on the sustainability of spanish olive groves under a socio-ecological approach

Olive groves form characteristic Mediterranean socio-ecological landscapes, occupying more than 5 M ha; 2.5 M ha in Spain. In recent decades, traditional extensive management of olive groves has shifted to an intensive regime, with some cases of abandonment. These situations triggered negative environmental and economic externalities that led farmers to adopt increasingly multifunctional management models. From a transdisciplinary perspective, the current state of Spanish olive groves was analyzed, assessing their vulnerability to climate change as one of the main threats to their sustainability. Based on our findings and assuming that by 2050, in the Mediterranean, there will be an increase in temperature of 0.8–2.3 ◦C and a decrease in rainfall of up to 200 mm per year, a displacement of the distribution area of olive groves is expected towards zones of lower temperature and higher moisture. The predicted climatic conditions would increase evapotranspiration of vegetation and atmospheric CO2 emissions. Moreover, climate change will reduce the chill accumulation in olive groves, altering its flowering, fructification and crop yields. Thus, it is necessary to adopt management models that promote olive grove resilience in face of climate change, ensuring their socio-ecological sustainability