Impacts of land-use legacies on current forest functioning and dynamics
The abandonment of agricultural areas and changes in livestock pressure in mountain areas during the 20th century led to a significant increase in forest area and forest densification. In addition, the important reforestation work carried out in Spain during the 20th century also contributed to the increase in forest cover. Many of these ‘new’ forests present a series of characteristics that affect their functioning: (i) they are generally very dense and present low structural diversity, with predominance of small and low-growth rates; (ii) they present low specific diversity, often with only one dominant tree species; and (iii) they constitute extensive, continuous forested areas, often with the regular structure and excessive density mentioned above.
We assess the spatial patterns of land abandonment and forest expansion to gain insights on their role in the functioning of forest ecosystems. We use a set of data sources, including historical land-cover maps, aerial photographs, information from National Forest Inventories, and new sources of information (LiDAR, remote sensing) to perform global assessments of landscape composition and structure.
Selected publications
The abandonment of agricultural areas and changes in livestock pressure in mountain areas during the 20th century led to a significant increase in forest area and forest densification. In addition, the important reforestation work carried out in Spain during the 20th century also contributed to the increase in forest cover. Many of these ‘new’ forests present a series of characteristics that affect their functioning: (i) they are generally very dense and present low structural diversity, with predominance of small and low-growth rates; (ii) they present low specific diversity, often with only one dominant tree species; and (iii) they constitute extensive, continuous forested areas, often with the regular structure and excessive density mentioned above.
We assess the spatial patterns of land abandonment and forest expansion to gain insights on their role in the functioning of forest ecosystems. We use a set of data sources, including historical land-cover maps, aerial photographs, information from National Forest Inventories, and new sources of information (LiDAR, remote sensing) to perform global assessments of landscape composition and structure.
Selected publications
- High-resolution modeling of the probability of land abandonment in the Spanish Pyrenees
- Land-use legacies rather than climate change drive the upward shift of the treeline in the Pyrenees
- Land-use changes as major drivers of Mountain pine (Pinus uncinata Ram.) expansion in the Pyrenees
- Pasado, presente y futuro de los bosques de montaña (I): expansión del bosque
Source: Molina (2000)
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Ameztegui et al (2010) Glob Ecol Biogeog
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