Thanasis Kizos

Socioeconomic Dimensions of Changes in the Agricultural Landscape of the Mediterranean Basin: A Case Study of the Abandonment of Cultivation Terraces on Nisyros Island, Greece

Agricultural landscapes illustrate the impact of human actions on physical settings, and differential human pressures cause these landscapes to change with time. Our study explored changes in the terraced landscapes of Nisyros Island, Greece, focusing on the socioeconomic aspects during two time periods using field data, cadastral research, local documents, and published literature, as well as surveys of the islanders. Population increases during the late 19th to early 20th centuries marked a significant escalation of terrace and dry stone wall construction, which facilitated cultivation on 58.4% of the island. By the mid-20th century, the economic collapse of agricultural activities and consequent emigration caused the abandonment of cultivated land and traditional management practices, dramatically reducing farm and field numbers. Terrace abandonment continued in recent decades, with increased livestock grazing becoming the main land management tool; as a result, both farm and pasture sizes increased. Neglect and changing land use has led to deterioration and destruction of many terraces on the island. We discuss the socioeconomic and political backgrounds responsible for the land-use change before World War II (annexation of Nisyros Island by the Ottoman Empire, Italy, and Greece; overseas migration opportunities; and world transportation changes) and after the war (social changes in peasant societies; worldwide changes in agricultural production practices). The adverse landscape changes documented for Nisyros Island appear to be inevitable for modern Mediterranean rural societies, including those on other islands in this region. The island’s unique terraced landscapes may qualify Nisyros to become an archive or repository of old agricultural management techniques to be used by future generations and a living resource for sustainable management.

The Contradictions of Agrotourism Development in Greece: Evidence from Three Case Studies

Agrotourism is considered to be and is promoted as an important ‘tool’ for rural development in Europe. In Greece, it was ‘officially’ introduced through EU subsidies to Greek farmers or womens cooperatives in the 1980s and since then has grown significantly. This paper examines the nature of Greek agrotourism, whether it can be considered ‘real’ agrotourism, and its effects on farmers and farms. Evidence from three case studies (Lesvos, Magnesia and Lefkada) reveals the contradictory character of agrotourism development in Greece. Specifically, it highlights the divergence between official objectives and basic characteristics of the sectors development trajectory in Greece.

Exploring ecosystem-change and society through a landscape lens: recent progress in European landscape research

Landscapes are closely linked to human well-being, but they are undergoing rapid and fundamental change. Understanding the societal transformation underlying these landscape changes, as well as the ecological and societal outcomes of landscape transformations across scales are prime areas for landscape research. We review and synthesize findings from six important areas of landscape research in Europe and discuss how these findings may advance the study of ecosystem change and society and its thematic key priorities. These six areas are: (1) linkages between people and the environment in landscapes, (2) landscape structure and land-use intensity, (3) long-term landscape history, (4) driving forces, processes, and actors of landscape change, (5) landscape values and meanings, and (6) landscape stewardship. We propose that these knowledge areas can contribute to the study of ecosystem change and society, considering nested multiscale dynamics of social-ecological systems; the stewardship of these systems and their ecosystem services; and the relationships between ecosystem services, human well-being, wealth, and poverty. Our synthesis highlights that knowledge about past and current landscape patterns, processes, and dynamics provides guidance for developing visions to support the sustainable stewardship of social-ecological systems under future conditions.

Landscape Change in Mediterranean Farmlands: Impacts of Land Abandonment on Cultivation Terraces in Portofino (Italy) and Lesvos (Greece)

Abstract The Mediterranean landscape has been rapidly changing over the past decades. Many regions saw a population decline, which resulted in changing land use, abandonment of marginal lands and colonisation by shrubs and tree species. Typical features like farming terraces, olive yards, and upland grasslands have been decreasing over the past 50 years. This results in a declining biodiversity and loss of traditional Mediterranean landscapes. In this paper we assess the landscape changes that took place in two areas, in Portofino, on the Italian Riviera, and Lesvos, a Greek island near the Turkish coast. We compared land use maps and aerial photographs over the past decades to quantify the land use changes in these two areas. Additional information was acquired from farmers’ interviews and literature. We found that changes are related to societal changes in the appraisal of agricultural land uses, and to the urban expansion, tourism and recreation. These diffuse processes are a result of policy measures and autonomous societal transformations. This is confirmed by the results of two interview surveys: between 1999 and 2012 agricultural land use in Portofino regional Park and buffer zone further marginalised, and the associated landscape changes are perceived as a substantial loss of character and identity. This problem is emblematic for large parts of the Mediterranean. Comparing different landscapes reveal similar processes of landscape change, which can be related to similar driving forces. Based on such comparisons, we learn about possible trajectories of change, and ask for a comprehensive approach to land use management.

“Instead of 40 Sheep there are 400”: Traditional Grazing Practices and Landscape Change in Western Lesvos, Greece

Abstract In the semi-arid zones of the Eastern Mediterranean, husbandry of sheep and goats has been an integral part of livelihoods and survival strategies since the Neolithic, but underwent major changes after approximately the 1960s. In this paper, we analyse the landscape changes that were induced by the following increase of sheep numbers and the underlying socio-economic and biophysical driving forces in an insular semi-arid locality of the Eastern Mediterranean, Western Lesvos, Greece. Thirty-four sheep farmers were surveyed and secondary sources such as agricultural statistics and regional literature were analysed. The findings indicate a transition from an agrosilvopastoral system strongly dependent on local ecosystem services to a market economy with intensified animal production that has brought a significant loss of traditional ecological knowledge. This loss is expressed in the simplification of current management practices in comparison to former ones. The causes of the resulting intensification and environmental degradation are mostly economic (low incomes from farming) and social (inability to manage collectively common resources). The landscape changes recorded are less arable land and more grazing lands in a time frame stretching back to the 1960s.

SPACE, PRESSURES AND THE MANAGEMENT OF THE GREEK LANDSCAPE

Abstract Landscapes are the result of the interaction of natural and human factors, with many dimensions; they are part of natural and cultural heritage and an important component of the quality of life. Greece has heterogeneous and mixed landscapes issuing from both geomorphology and the impact of complex human systems. Despite the existence of many and early legislative efforts, Greece has a relatively poor history of spatial planning and landscape has been particularly neglected. The adoption of the European Landscape Convention (ELC) in 2010 provides an updated strategic context for integrating landscape in spatial planning. In this article, we seek to contribute to the discussion of landscape policies and the inclusion of the landscape level in the spatial planning national framework. We identify the dominant landscape types by categorizing landscapes at the national scale with reference to the (combined) presence of three different components: geomorphology, land cover and coasts/islands. Then, we investigate the most important processes of change for each type and link these processes with spatial planning policy. The identification of these dynamics sheds light on current and future trajectories of the changes of Greek landscapes, thus providing challenges for its management in the context of the ELC. The case study concerns the regional level; we focus on Attica, Thessaly, Epirus and the Cyclades and identify the principal characteristics according to the proposed landscape typology.

Collective action in the Greek agrifood sector: evidence from the North Aegean region

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present the existing forms of collective action in the Greek agrifood sector and to focus on co‐operatives, the dominant form of collective action in the agrifood sector of the North Aegean region.Design/methodology/approach – The analysis is based on six contextual and behavioural conditions under which collective action may emerge.Findings – This paper shows that very successful co‐operatives, according to the six contextual and behavioural conditions, co‐exist with unsuccessful ones, which are characterised by inflexibilities and inability to respond to a constantly changing market. Moreover, the legal status of some co‐operatives (obligatory co‐operatives) is of great interest.Originality/value – This paper attempts to categorise existing forms of collective action in the Greek agrifood sector. Moreover, it gives information about the co‐operatives of the North Aegean region, based on three research programmes that were conducted in the region.

Same Land Cover, Same Land Use at the Large Scale, Different Landscapes at the Small Scale: Landscape Change in Olive Plantations on Lesvos Island, Greece

Abstract In this paper, agricultural landscape change at the small scale (for example, at the farm and field level) is studied to conceptualize the processes that change these landscapes (such as features, forms and functions) according to the decisions that farmers make. The case study is olive plantations on the island of Lesvos, Greece. The five-year differences in land cover, land use and landscape at the small scale of a number of olive fields in the same area are studied in three dimensions: symbolic, productive and ecological, with data that come from the observation of practices and vegetation measurements. A conceptual framework is constructed that links the changes of six different landscapes at the individual olive field level with specific management choices of farmers. Findings demonstrate that although olive plantations are of the same land cover and land use class as at the large scale, diverging practices create different landscapes at the small scale along a continuous line with many intermediate cases. The findings also demonstrate that the whole system is dynamic, with the different small-scale landscapes changing into each other continuously due to different practices. Understanding this dynamic diversity requires studying human interventions at the right scale, the one that corresponds to the scale of the changes at the farm.

Introduction: Landscape Change and Rural Development

Abstract European rural landscapes are changing. Flows of capital, people, goods and information affect functions and forms of the rural landscape and change its character and, more or less, coordinated policies for agriculture, landscape and rural development are applied at different levels. Rural landscapes constitute a number of resources which in various ways can be mobilized by the rural actors and the local landscape is a suitable spatial level for studying and analysing rural transitions and their socio-ecological context. Studying landscapes in transition involves a change of symbolic values (cultural heritage, values and identities), productive structures and functions and ecological/environmental aspects of sustainability. Rural research, especially in the context of sustainable rural development, can benefit from such diverse approaches in understanding and analysing the different aspects of rural landscape and its changes. The papers of this special issue demonstrate the interchange of theories, concepts and methodological approaches in defining, describing, analysing, understanding and unravelling the complex realities of the rural landscape today, with a European emphasis, from different disciplines.

Multifunctionality of farm households in Greece

Multifunctionality is today a keyword to understand rural areas in Europe. Depending on the context, it may refer to farm households, areas, or the agricultural sector. For farm households, it can be defined as their capacity to respond adequately to societal and consumer demands through the provisioning of a variety of goods, services, and non-market functions. These farm household practices are often categorized as ‘deepening’, ‘broadening’, or ‘regrounding’. In the article, the multifunctional practices of farm households in Greece are discussed within this conceptual framework with the presentation of specific examples that are derived from fieldwork. The case studies represent different spatial units and practices, covering deepening (organic farming, integrated management), broadening (agrotourism, short food supply chains), and regrounding (pluriactivity) practices of Greek farm households. The most important findings link multifunctionality mostly to pluriactivity, with complex and diverse strategies. Finally, some of the most important activities are not practised by farm households but by upstream actors.