Finding common grounds for conflict resolution through value analysis of stakeholders around the socio-ecological crisis of the Mar Menor coastal lagoon (Spain)

Aligning with people’s values in landscape political decisions can help to minimise conflicts between stakeholders and support social acceptability of solutions for systemic transitions. This paper explores how shared and diverging values of the main stakeholders involved in socio-ecological crises, and the co-creation of solutions, can be key for finding common grounds for conflict resolution and sustainable socio-ecosystems management. These concepts were applied by a participatory process to identify and select solutions for the environmental and socio-economic crisis of the Mar Menor coastal lagoon and its watershed (SE Spain). With information from six sectorial workshops and one multisector workshop, a stakeholder analysis based on values and initiatives was performed. The results indicate that all the stakeholder groups prioritised transition to governance, economic and educational models that respect nature and cultural landscapes, with values aligning with the population’s identity and their livelihoods. The values and solutions linked with stakeholders ‘Farmers’, which representedCOASTAL 773782 (H2020 European Commission)AGRI_SER PID2020-119825RB-I00 (Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation)AGROALNEXT (PRTR-C17.I1)THINKINAZUL (C17.I01) from the Spanish Ministry of Science and InnovationEuropean Union NextGenerationEUFundación S´eneca (Region of Murcia)María Zambrano postdoctoral grant by the Spanish Ministry of Universitie

Evaluación de los servicios ecosistémicos proporcionados por las terrazas agrícolas

Agricultural terraces have been widely used, throughout the world, since ancient times. Their scenic interest is undeniable and some are part of the UNESCO World Heritage. They are a very effective practice for soil and water conservation through the control of runoff and erosion, and provide farmers and society with important Ecosystem Services (ES). Here, we present a study based on 36 examples of terraces documented in detail in the WOCAT (World Overview of Conservation Approaches and Technologies) database, complemented with a review of the scientific literature on the impacts of terraces, the objective being to assess the multiple ES they provide. The results show that the most important ES provided by terrace construction relate to regulating services, like control of erosion, runoff, and other off-site natural risks. In addition, terraces contribute to provisioning services like the supply of food, fiber, and water (quantity and quality), and to cultural services through the maintenance of cultural landscapes. Here, we verify the environmental, geomorphological, and hydrological functions of the terraces, as well as the improvement in the quality of life for the local inhabitants. However, technological advances in agriculture have led to the abandonment of this type of construction, with significant risks of erosion and loss of ES. Our assessment highlights the importance of preserving and restoring terraces as part of regenerative agriculture, with multiple benefits for the functioning of cultural landscapes and for society.Las terrazas agrícolas son ampliamente utilizadas en todo el mundo desde la antigüedad. Su interés paisajístico es innegable y algunas de ellas forman parte del Patrimonio Mundial de la UNESCO. Son prácticas muy eficaces para la conservación del suelo y el agua a través del control de la escorrentía y la erosión, y proporcionan a los agricultores y a la sociedad importantes Servicios Ecosistémicos (SE). Presentamos un estudio basado en ejemplos de terrazas documentados en detalle en la base de datos WOCAT (World Overview of Conservation Approaches and Technologies), complementado con una revisión de la literatura científica sobre los impactos de las terrazas, con el objetivo de evaluar los múltiples SE que proporcionan. Los resultados muestran que los SE más importantes proporcionados por la construcción de terrazas están relacionados con servicios de regulación como el control de la erosión, escorrentía y otros riesgos naturales externos. Además, la presencia de terrazas favorece servicios de aprovisionamiento como el suministro de alimentos, fibras, y cantidad y calidad del agua. Se constatan las funciones ambientales, geomorfológicas e hidrológicas de las terrazas, así como la mejora de la calidad de vida de los habitantes. Sin embargo, los avances tecnológicos en la agricultura han llevado al abandono de este tipo de construcciones, con importantes riesgos de erosión y pérdida de SE. Nuestra evaluación destaca la importancia de preservar y restaurar las terrazas como parte de la agricultura regenerativa, con múltiples beneficios para el funcionamiento de los paisajes culturales y, en definitiva, para la sociedad

Movilización de carbono orgánico por distintos procesos erosivos en la conexión ladera-cauce

21 páginas, 5 figuras, 2 tablas.[ES] Con el fin de caracterizar la cantidad y tipo (lábil o recalcitrante) de carbono orgánico (CO) movilizado por distintos procesos erosivos identificados en las conexiones ladera-cauce, se estudiaron las características de los depósitos de erosión concentrada en cárcavas, erosión hídrica laminar, erosión lateral-gravitacional y erosión por laboreo en el contacto ladera-cauce de una cuenca de pequeño tamaño (10 ha) y se relacionaron con las características de los suelos-fuentes originales de donde procedían. La selectividad en el arranque y transporte de suelo de los distintos procesos se pudo asociar a diferentes contenidos y tipos de CO en los depósitos. Las razones de enriquecimiento de carbono orgánico sedimento/suelo fueron bajas (~0,40 ± 0,26), a pesar de haber un ligero enriquecimiento en partículas finas (correlacionadas positivamente con el CO) en los depósitos. Todo ello se atribuyó a los efectos de la mineralización en un cauce muy activo con pocas zonas de deposición y abundantes procesos de erosión no selectiva.[EN] With the purpose of analysing the type (labile or stable) and quantity of organic carbon (OC) mobilized by different erosive processes identified at the slope-bed connection, the erosion deposits of gullies, sheet erosion, bank erosion and tillage erosion were studied in a small catchment (10 ha) and compared to the characteristics of the catchment soils. Selectivity upon soil detachment and transport was associated to different OC content and types in the erosion deposits. Enrichment ratios of organic carbon sediment/soil were low (~0,40 ± 0,26), even though a slight enrichment was described for fine particles (positively correlated to CO). These results were attributed to mineralization processes prevailing over OC burial in a very active channel where depositional sites are scarce.Este trabajo ha sido financiado por los proyectos ERCO (CGL-2007- 62590/BTE) del Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación y el proyecto PROBASE (CGL2006-11619). La primera autora tiene el apoyo económico de una ayuda FPI del Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (BES-2008-002379).Peer reviewe

Carbon redistribution by erosion processes in an intensively disturbed catchment

29 Pags.- 6 Tabls.- 6 Figs. This article belongs to a special issue of Catena titled "Geoecology in Mediterranean mountain areas. Tribute to Professor José María García Ruiz". The definitive version is available at: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/03418162Understanding how organic carbon (OC) moves with sediments along the fluvial system is crucial to determining catchment scale carbon budgets and helps the proper management of fragile ecosystems. Especially challenging is the analysis of OC dynamics during fluvial transport in heterogeneous, fragile, and disturbed environments with ephemeral and intense hydrological pulses, typical of Mediterranean conditions. This paper explores the catchment scale OC redistribution by lateral flows in extreme Mediterranean environmental conditions, from a geomorphological perspective. The study area is a catchment (Cárcavo) in SE Spain with a semiarid climate, erodible lithologies, and shallow soils, which is highly disturbed by agricultural terraces, land levelling, reforestation, and construction of check-dams. To increase our understanding of catchment scale OC redistribution induced by erosion, we studied in detail the subcatchments of eight check-dams distributed along the catchments main channel. We determined 137Cs, physicochemical characteristics, and the OC pools of the catchment soils and sediments deposited behind each check-dam, performed spatial analysis of catchment properties and buffer areas around the check-dams, and carried out geomorphological analysis of the slope-channel connections. The soils showed very low total organic carbon (TOC) values, oscillating between 15.2 and 4.4 g kg− 1 for forest and agricultural soils, respectively. Sediments mobilized by erosion were poor in TOC (6.6 ± 0.7 g kg– 1) compared to the eroded (forest) soils, and the redistribution of OC through the catchment, especially of the mineral associated organic carbon (MAC) pool, showed the same pattern as clay particles and 137Cs. The TOC erosion rates estimated for the Cárcavo watershed are relatively low (0.031 ± 0.03 Mg ha− 1 y− 1) but similar to those reported for subhumid Mediterranean catchments that are less fragile and more conducive to plant growth. The TOC erosion/total erosion ratio was lower (0.06%) than other estimates, although the average OC concentration of the sediments was higher than that of the agricultural soils of the catchment, underlining the problem of maintaining sustainable soil OC contents. The OC in deposited sediments came not only from surface erosion processes, but also from deeper soil or sediment layers mobilized by concentrated erosion processes. Sediment richer in OC came from the surface soil of vegetated (reforested) areas close and well connected to the channels. Subcatchments dominated by laminar erosion processes showed a TOC erosion/total erosion ratio that was two times higher than that of subcatchments dominated by concentrated flow erosion processes. The lithology, soils, and geomorphology exert a more important control on OC redistribution than land use and vegetation cover in this geomorphologically very active catchment.This work was financially supported by the projects ADAPT (CGL2013-42009-R) and DISECO (CGL2014-55-405-R) from the Spanish Government, National Plan of Science; the project CAMBIO (18933/JLI/13) of the Seneca Foundation, Regional Government of Murcia (Spain); and the project SOGLO (P7/24 IAP BELSPO) from the Belgian Government. Joris de Vente was supported by a ‘Ramón y Cajal’ grant (RYC-2012-10375).Peer reviewe

Understanding Stakeholder Synergies Through System Dynamics: Integrating Multi-Sectoral Stakeholder Narratives Into Quantitative Environmental Models

To reach the global aspiration of 17 ambitious SDGs, local realities must be integrated. Often, models are developed based on quantitative statistical data sources from databases on environmental indicators or economics to assess how a given SDG can be achieved. This process however removes the local realities from the equation. How can you best include stakeholders in this mathematical modelling processes distanced from their local realities, though, and ensure higher probability of future compliance with top-down global decisions that may have local consequences once implemented? When researching stakeholder involvement and their ability to form public policy, their opinions often get reported as a single assessment, like counting the fish in the ocean once and stating that as a permanent result. Too seldom do stakeholders get invited back and given the opportunity to validate results and allow researchers to adjust their models based on on-the-ground validation or change requests. We tested the full integration of stakeholders in the modelling process of environmental topics in six different case areas across Europe, with each area holding six sectoral and one inter-sectoral workshops. In these workshops, the scope of the issues relevant to the stakeholders was driven by first the sectoral priorities of the given sector, followed by a merging of issues. In this process, we were able to identify what the commonalities between different sectors were and where synergies lay in terms of governance paths. These results were then returned to the stakeholders in a mixed session where they were able to come with feedback and advice on the results researchers presented, so that the models reflected more closely the perceptions of the regional actors. We present these methods and reflect on the challenges and opportunities of using this deep-integration method to integrate qualitative data from stakeholder inclusion in a quantitative modelThe authors would like to acknowledge funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation programme under Grant Agreement N° 773782Peer reviewe

Understanding Stakeholder Synergies Through System Dynamics: Integrating Multi-Sectoral Stakeholder Narratives Into Quantitative Environmental Models

To reach the global aspiration of 17 ambitious SDGs, local realities must be integrated. Often, models are developed based on quantitative statistical data sources from databases on environmental indicators or economics to assess how a given SDG can be achieved. This process however removes the local realities from the equation. How can you best include stakeholders in this mathematical modelling processes distanced from their local realities, though, and ensure higher probability of future compliance with top-down global decisions that may have local consequences once implemented? When researching stakeholder involvement and their ability to form public policy, their opinions often get reported as a single assessment, like counting the fish in the ocean once and stating that as a permanent result. Too seldom do stakeholders get invited back and given the opportunity to validate results and allow researchers to adjust their models based on on-the-ground validation or change requests. We tested the full integration of stakeholders in the modelling process of environmental topics in six different case areas across Europe, with each area holding six sectoral and one inter-sectoral workshops. In these workshops, the scope of the issues relevant to the stakeholders was driven by first the sectoral priorities of the given sector, followed by a merging of issues. In this process, we were able to identify what the commonalities between different sectors were and where synergies lay in terms of governance paths. These results were then returned to the stakeholders in a mixed session where they were able to come with feedback and advice on the results researchers presented, so that the models reflected more closely the perceptions of the regional actors. We present these methods and reflect on the challenges and opportunities of using this deep-integration method to integrate qualitative data from stakeholder inclusion in a quantitative modelThe authors would like to acknowledge funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation programme under Grant Agreement N° 773782Peer reviewe

Long-term adoption of reduced tillage and green manure improves soil physicochemical properties and increases the abundance of beneficial bacteria in a Mediterranean rainfed almond orchard

Soil health and function is one of the most important components for sustainable management of woody orchards. Intensive use of machinery and tillage creates heavy pressure on agroecosystems by altering the soil physicochemical and biological characteristics. In this study we aimed to assess the changes in soil physicochemical properties and the soil bacterial community structure, as well as the main drivers involved in shifts in the microbial community following 10 years implementing reduced tillage and reduced tillage plus green manure in a rainfed Mediterranean almond orchard. The treatments were: i) conventional tillage (CT); ii) reduced tillage (RT); and iii) reduced tillage and diversification with Avena sativa and Vicia sativa (RTD). After ten years, the results showed that the different managements had no significant effect on almond yields. RTD significantly increased total organic carbon (TOC), with an average content of 19.5 g kg−1 compared to 17.1 g kg−1 in CT. RTD also contributed to an increase in the fraction of soil macro-aggregates. Both RT and RTD significantly increased soil total nitrogen (NT) and particulate organic carbon (POC). However, other physical and chemical variables such as exchangeable Ca, Mg and K, bioavailable Fe, Cu, Zn and Mn, cation exchange capacity, bulk density, wilting point and field capacity were not significantly affected by the management. The bacterial community significantly changed with management: RTD showed a higher relative abundance of the family Solirubrobacteraceae and the genera Streptomyces and Solirubrobacter. The bacterial community structure was explained by changes in TOC, POC, pH, and NT values. Thus, a combination of reduced tillage and green manure could represent an appropriate sustainable management for rainfed almond orchards in very fragile environmental conditions, due to an increase in soil organic matter, total nitrogen, and the higher presence of beneficial bacteria related to soil productivityThis work was supported by the European Commission Horizon 2020 project Diverfarming [grant agreement 728003].Peer reviewe

Soil erosion and sediment yield in Mediterranean geoecosystems. Scale issues, modelling and understanding.

Soil is a precious natural resource and erosion of soil has important on -site and off-site impacts such as reduced food-, fiber- and fuel produc tion, increased flooding and sedimentation of streams and reservoirs. Es pecially in dryland areas like the Mediterranean the negative effects of erosion can be devastating. The study of soil erosion has long been con centrated at the scale of experimental plots and hillslopes. However, in creasingly there is a quest from scientists and policy makers to underst and and predict soil erosion, sediment transport and sediment yield at t he catchment scale in order to assess its environmental and socioeconomi c impacts and to develop sound environmental management plans. Therefore, the objectives of this thesis are to 1) identify the most sui table model or model concept for prediction of erosion and sediment yiel d at the catchment scale, 2) to increase understanding of erosion and se diment transport processes and explanatory factors at the catchment scal e, and 3) to provide recommendations for the use of soil erosion and sed iment yield prediction models in policy decisions regarding the preventi on or mitigation of negative impacts of erosion. Often it is assumed that area-specific sediment yield (SSY) decreases wi th increasing catchment area and this assumption is frequently used for prediction of sediment yield. Although a profound analysis of the relati on between catchment area and SSY for almost 900 rivers world-wide provi des interesting insights in the dominant erosion processes and in the im plications of spatial differences in land use, lithology, climate and to pography, it appears that catchment area alone is a poor predictor of SS Y. This also implies that soil erosion measured at one spatial scale is not representative for sediment yield at another scale and therefore dat a comparisons and model calibration and validation should be done carefu lly. Most water erosion models are reductionistic and focus on a selection of erosion and sediment transport processes. Often they focus on sheet- an d rill erosion while point sources of sediment like gullies and landslid es are not modelled. Therefore, available models with a holistic approac h towards erosion and sediment yield modelling are reviewed. Most of the se models are semi-quantitative factorial scoring models in which enviro nmental factors are used to characterise a drainage basin in terms of se nsitivity to erosion and sediment transport. In this study, several existing-, adapted- and newly developed semi-quan titative models are applied and compared with other existing or newly de veloped models for the prediction of erosion and/or sediment yield in 61 Spanish- and 28 Italian catchments. For these catchments measured sedim ent yield data from published bathymetric reservoir survey data are used for model calibration and validation. All different models and model co ncepts are evaluated by comparing model accuracy for the Spanish catchme nts. For the Italian catchments only the semi-quantitative models FSM an d PSIAC are applied and compared to reflect on the potential for extrapo lation of these two models. The most widely applied model concept for prediction of sediment yield a t the catchment scale is the development of regression equations. A corr elation and regression analysis in this thesis provides insight in expla natory variables and in interactions between environmental factors. Howe ver, validation of the regression equations shows that they can not be e xtrapolated and that they are very unstable. In conclusion, the regressi on models do not explain all the relevant erosion and sediment transport processes and are not the most suited approach for predicting sediment yield at the catchment scale. The semi-quantitative models FSM and PSIAC provide the most accurate and efficient predictions of sediment yield at the catchment scale in the S panish catchments. Besides, these models provide an indication of the do minant erosion and sediment transporting processes in a catchment. Extra polation of these models to the Italian catchments shows that although s mall adaptations are necessary, the model concept can be extrapolated an d provides good results for calibration and validation. The required mod el adaptations illustrate important differences in the dominant erosion processes between the Spanish and the Italian catchments. In the Italian catchments for example, the addition of a landslide factor strongly imp roves the model result compared to the model developed for the Spanish c atchments. One of the complications when applying spatially distributed models is t heir high data requirement. Therefore, first an analysis is made of the implications of input data selection on model output. Although significa nt differences are observed in the quality and detail of different globa lly available data for land use and topography, the effect of these diff erences on the qualitative model predictions are limited. Quantitative p redictions however are affected considerably and therefore a validation of the spatial pattern of predictions is required. Of all compared spatially distributed models, the newly developed spatia lly distributed scoring model (SPADS) provides most accurate predictions of sediment yield at the catchment scale. SPADS indicates the most like ly source areas of sediment exported from a catchment, but does not indi cate on-site soil erosion rates. WATEM-SEDEM performs slightly worse tha n SPADS for the prediction of sediment yield but does indicate soil eros ion rates, although these estimates may be over-estimated. Both SPADS an d WATEM-SEDEM require a stratified calibration according to the Sediment Delivery Ratio (SDR) in two groups (i.e. >5% and <5%). This m eans that both models do not sufficiently represent all erosion and sedi ment transport processes to explain the environmental differences that a re present within the 61 Spanish catchments. The PESERA model provides r elatively accurate estimates of soil erosion rates as measured in experi mental soil erosion plots at hillslopes. However, PESERA does not predic t catchment sediment yield and explains only a very limited part (i.e. 0 -50%) of the sediment exported from a catchment. PESERA is therefore mos t suited for on-site soil erosion estimates. Although all spatially distributed models compared in this thesis perfor med worse than the FSM and PSIAC models for prediction of catchment sedi ment yield, they do have the advantage that they indicate the location o f potential sources and sinks of sediment. This is crucial information f or the development of management plans that aim to reduce erosion rates and sediment yield. In conclusion, a combination of field observations and field measurement s and of different models is required to answer different questions rela ted to the prediction of sediment yield, identification of sediment sour ces and sinks of sediment, and recognition of dominant erosion and sedim ent transport processes. Each model has its purpose and can provide answ ers to specific questions. Models should therefore not be misused beyond their scope. An important challenge in all models is to represent non l inear processes, feedback mechanisms and all relevant erosion and sedime nt transport processes.There are several other important challenges for future research. First of all, the description of point sources of sedim ent (gullies, landslides) and their relevance for catchment sediment yie ld requires further attention. Secondly, spatially distributed models re quire a spatially distributed calibration and validation. Thirdly, the e ffect of different soil conservation measures should be further included in the different models. Finally, the biggest challenge is probably to link erosion and sediment yield estimates to the socio-economic costs th at are related to a range of on-site and off-site impacts of erosion.status: publishe

Global impact of climate change on soil erosion and potential for adaptation through soil conservation

Climate change is expected to lead to increased soil erosion in many locations worldwide affecting ecosystem services and human well-being. Through a systematic review of 224 modelling studies, we provide a global assessment of the impact of climate change on soil erosion and the adaptation potential through land use change and soil conservation. We account for the robustness of each study based on a statistical analysis of ten methodological aspects and an expert consultation. Results show a global increasing trend in soil erosion towards the end of the 21st century, with the highest increase projected in semi-arid regions. Land use change characterized by agricultural expansion and deforestation aggravate the impact. Reforestation, agricultural land abandonment and soil conservation practices can entirely compensate the impact of climate change on soil erosion. This stresses the need for soil conservation and integrated land use planning. From the obtained weights per study we can conclude that there is a lot of uncertainty in the methods applied, without a clear trend towards more robust studies. Based on the results of the expert consultation, we recommend to use a climate model ensemble of at least five climate models, based on the latest CMIP6 climate scenarios. These data should be downscaled and bias corrected using trend preserving quantile methods. Finally, the post-processed climate data should be applied in a soil erosion model forced by precipitation and runoff. Considering the most robust methodologies of the different aspects of the uncertainty cascade will lead to better spatial evaluation of the impact of climate change on soil erosion and identification of most effective adaptation strategies.We acknowledge funding from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (PID2019-109381RB-I00/AEI/10.13039/501100011033)Peer reviewe