-- Western Andévalo SES

General description of Western Andévalo SES

2012-09-07T06:30:32+00:00

Authors:	Michiel Curfs, Anton Imeson
Editors:	Alexandros Kandelapas, Vassilis Koutsoukos, Jane Brandt

{xtypo_alert}Editor's note 1Mar13. Source D131-5.3. {/xtypo_alert}

Location

The Western Andévalo study area covers an area of 47.500 hectares in the south-western part of the Huelva province, Andalusía, Spain. The area includes 5 municipalities with approximately 25.000 inhabitants. The biggest municipality both in size and population is Ayamonte. Ayamonte is the coastal town situated at the estuary of the river Guadiana. The study area borders with Portugal on the west and with the province of Seville to the East. To the north lies the Extremadura, and to the south is the Gulf of Cadiz along the the Atlantic coast.

{tipThe Western Andévalo study area}{/tip}

{tipMunicipalities in Huelva Province}{/tip}

Climate

The climate is typical Mediterranean with hot and dry summers and wet periods in the winter. Almost all precipitation (avg. 500 mm/year) falls between November and March. Rainfall records show a declining trend in the total amount. Although the average deviation in annual rainfall is about 500 mm/year, the records show extremes. Evapotranspiration is estimated at approximately 900 mm/year. With an average rainfall of around 500 mm/year this leads to an aridity index of 0.55.

Geology, topography, soils and hydrology

Geologically, the largest part of the study area is of carboniferous origin, consisting of shale, slates and greywacke of fluvial origin. A smaller part in the municipality Sanlϊcar de Guadiana is also carboniferous material, but of volcanic origin namely, Tuff, lavas, acid breccias and quartz. The south of the study area, near the coast, presents younger formations deriving from the Quaternary, consisting of conglomerates, gravel and red clay.

The elevation level of the western Andévalo does not exceed 200 m A.S.L., dominated by low to medium level undulating to rolling landscapes, on metamorphic material.

Soils are Leptosol, (Eutric) Regosol and (Eutric) Cambisol, generally shallow and low in nutrients and organic matter. The parent material is mainly flysh (north), shale (central) and conglomerates (south-coast).

{tip
Main soil types in study area, scale 1:2.500.000. Source: Soil Atlas of Europe 2005}{/tip}

{tip
Hydrological network map and water bodies.
Source: Junta de Andalucia, 2010}{/tip}

Soil depth ranges from no soil to 100 cm. Soils on undulating slopes are shallow or absent. The only thick and developed soils in the region can be found in the flood plain terraces of the Guadiana river. Rock fragment presence in agricultural soils is high (more than 60%).

The natural drainage system is characterised by human intervention and modifications of water flow. The complex dendritic river network consists of well-incised gullies with seasonal torrential regimes with high erosive capacity. The dams in the area are the Andévalo, the Chanηa, the Odeleite and further up north on the Guadiana is the Alqueva, the biggest reservoir of western Europe.

Ecosystems and land use

Ecosystems in the area include Forest, Sub-humid semi-arid dryland, Cultivated and Urban. With regard to biodiversity, Western Andévalo includes several protected areas, national parks and natural reserves, while the estuary of the Guadiana is also a RAMSAR site.

{tip
Protected areas in and surrounding areas of the Western Andévalo study area
Source: Felicidades Garcia 2010}{/tip}

{tip
The different types of cultivation in greater Western Andévalo.
Source: SIGPAC, created by author M. Curfs 2011}{/tip}

Agricultural land use in Western Andévalo includes a variety of types of cultivation. Until 1982, a trend of farm consolidation was evident, followed by a dramatic reduction (approx. 10,000 hectares) in cultivated land between 1982 and 1989.

Population, employment and income

{tip
Variation in population per municipality in the wider area and study area.
Source: Felicidades Garcia 2010}{/tip}

Population is declining in the interior and rural areas and increasing in urban areas and the coastal zone. Overall, population density has increased since 1996, due to high densities along the coast.

Population ageing is a serious issue in the study area. From an almost perfect population pyramid in 1910. ageing indices for all communities in the study area are now in the range of 100% up to 300%. Population increases since 1990 are directly linked to migration. Registered immigrants are mostly Europeans followed by Africans and South Americans. Huelva is the province with most temporal workers in agriculture in Spain, although these workers are not necessarily residents of the area.

Nevertheless, the service sector is the dominant sector of employment in Huelva province (more than 50%). This trend is evident in all municipalities apart from San Silvestre de Guzman, where agricultural predominates.

Annual average income per capita for Huelva in 2003 was €8.130.

At over 30%, unemployment is particularly severe in Huelva and generally higher than the Spanish national average Unemployment of the under 25s exceeds 50%.

Infrastructure

Several NGOs are active in the area.

Although, road network density is low, the tarmac roads are in excellent condition, with low traffic. Very few schools exist in the rural inland part of the study area. For further education students may need to travel as far as 25 km. No higher education institutions operate.Basic medical needs are covered by village medical centres but for more serious issues and emergencies patients have to travel further to the nearest hospital.

Particular LEDD issues in Western Andévalo

The main LEDD problems of the semi-arid area of Western Andévalo are related to water and soil (organic matter).

Soil erosion varies within the area, from 0-0.5 t/ha/yr to more than 50 t/ha/y. Orange plantations are particularly susceptible to erosive processes, as trees stand on bare soil on undulating slopes, with very little or no undergrowth. Evidence of rill erosion, such as gullies between planted mounts, are common, particularly at older plantations. New, rapidly expanding citrus orchards tend to ignore natural patterns of relief in the landscape and have very high degrees of soil erodibility. Typical land conversion to this type of citrus orchard includes parallel mount-depression-mount patterns, compaction by heavy machinery, complete vegetation removal and long periods in which the area is left bare before planting starts. This processes is increasing due to ongoing support and financing from regional and EU authorities of supported for the Garcνa-Carriσn processing plant in Western Andévalo, with a capacity of processing 200 million kilos of oranges per year and packing 120 million litres of fresh orange juice. To reach its maximum capacity the plant needs the raw materials from 8,000 ha of citrus groves and is presently supporting the conversion of a further 3,450 hectares of land into orange groves.

{tip
The Pesera soil erosion risk estimates map for the study area.}{/tip}

{tip
Processes of land conversion into orange plantations. Clockwise from top left; boulders
are assembled in piles; bulldozers prepare the land; bare soil; converted plantations
and expansion. Source: Author M. Curfs}{/tip}

Major land uses changes are also brought about by urban expansion due to housing construction, concentrated in the coast and the town of Ayamonte. The 'Costa Esuri' development alone includes 6000 apartments over an area of 950 ha. In Andalucia, tourism is the largest consumer of the urban water resources, with a consumption rate that reaches its peak in the summer months, which coincides with the peak agricultural demand for water.

Water demand for irrigation has increased dramatically in recent decades, absorbing 80% of available water resources. Agricultural water is primarily supplied by superficial resources, such as small reservoirs. Coastal crops are irrigated with ground water, which causes serious damage to aquifers because of marine intrusion due to overexploitation.

In response to declining mining activities and growth of the primary sector, the Junta de Andalucia is also implementing the 60 million Euro plan "Regadío del Andévalo" (irrigation of Andévalo), combining a network of waterways to deliver water from the Andévalo dam to areas needing irrigation (target of 6500 m³ of water per hectare per year). These areas will then be converted to plantations for the cultivation of citrus fruits, nuts and olives. The areas for cultivation will be divided over 17 municipalities in the region. While the newly irrigated areas are expected to create approximately 400,000 jobs with a total production of 100 million Euro, the scale of the project points to further erosion problems.

Huelva province has the highest concentration of strawberry production in the world, contributing to Spain's position as the biggest European producer and 2nd biggest global producer. Nevertheless, strawberry production is directly related to aquifer overexploitation and depletion.

The expanding water-consuming agricultural practices of Western Andévalo also affect international relations as the Guadiana river basin is international and shared with Portugal, with the river serving as the border between the two countries.

The study area is also affected by pollution related to acid drainage from sulphide ore mines in the Iberian Pyrite Belt, the northern part of the Huelva province, as well as phosphogypsum runoff from of phosphate fertilizer production sites in the city of Huelva.

Land abandonment following rural migration as young people moves away, seeking employment in the coast and cities, may contribute to accumulation of soil organic matter and biodiversity conservation, but also dramatically increases fire risk.

Irregular rainfall patterns induce water stress, predicted to worsen according to changing climate scenarios for the Iberian Peninsula. Expected climatic changes for the area include smaller amounts of rainfall in more intense bursts, expected to exacerbate erosion.

{tip
Contour planting, following the natural relief. Source Author M. Curfs}{/tip}

Emerging responses to LEDD, particularly with regard to citrus orchards, include

Sustainable agricultural management practices, including contour planting perpendicular to slopes and surrounding plantations with resistant vegetation to withstand water erosion. Such land or erosion control efforts contribute to plantation longevity and profitability. They may also have positive effects in other sectors: erosion control measures reduce the risks of off-site effects that might affect the beaches which are a main driver of the tourism industry.
Organic farming, and particularly citrus cultivation is also expanding driven by international demand. It is also expected to increase.

Positive responses also include international afforestation projects on both sides of the lower Guadiana basin, part of wider efforts at collaborative water management and overall cross-border cooperation.

Evolution of Western Andévalo SES

2012-09-07T06:30:06+00:00

Authors:	Michiel Curfs, Anton Imeson
Coordinating authors:	Constantinos Kosmas, Giovanni Quaranta
Editors:	Alexandros Kandelapas, Jane Brandt

{xtypo_alert}Editor's note 20Mar14: Source D132-14.{/xtypo_alert}

The Baixo Guadiana has been settled since at least Neolithic times. While five thousands years ago southern Iberia was covered with oak and pine forest, deforestation and shifting land use management have led to increased soil erosion. Agriculture has been one of the most important processes affecting the natural landscape and the evolution in vegetation cover from forest to agricultural landscape that is now seen, with reforested plantations of mostly eucalyptus and pine trees with some areas of (old) Dehesa and montado systems.

Mining activity, especially since Roman times, has been a further dominant force in determining landscape, society and the economy. It has involved large-scale deforestation, erosion and contamination: the river Tinto system (Huelva province) is one of the most polluted fluvial estuarine systems in the world, and it probably has been so for thousands of years. The main ores are pyrite, copper, silver and sulfide.

Moorish social and cultural influence in the region has been strong. Although Huelva does not contain great monuments such as those seen elsewhere in Andalucía the "white villages" established by the Moors still form the architectural setting of Huelva. The Lisbon earthquake and accompanying tsunami (1755) severely affected the coastal area of the study site as well as the mainland, causing death, devastation of the natural and man-made environment but also impacting upon society and culture.

The devastation caused to vineyards by "La filoxera" (Daktulosphaira vitifoliae) at the end of the 19th century has been a determining factor in shifting cultivation from vines to olives: 17% of the surface and one thire of total agricultural lands in Andalucía are covered by olives.

The main states identified in the Baixo Guadiana study site are shown below.

Mining state (until 1955)
Franco Regime (1939 to 1975)
Settling of dust transition period (1975 to 1986)
Joining the EU (1986 to date)

These states are identified based on processes prevailing in the region and are related to the natural, social and economic capital. There is an overlap between the Mining state and the Franco Regime. Although the major and sudden change in political regime followed the Civil War and can be thought of as a rupture, its impacts in the rural area of the Baixo Guadian were very gradual due to the area's remoteness and the prevailing SES, which revolved around mining, and was unaffected by the dramatic change in political regime. In contrast, the end of the Franco Regime while also entailing a very sudden change (rupture), brought about a transition period during which it was a new equilibrium was sought in Spain and the study site. The last state commences with accession to the EU in 1986.

More details ... each period is fully described in the following articles

Mining state (until 1955)
Franco Regime (1939 to 1975)
Settling of dust transition period (1975 to 1986)
Joining the EU (1986 to date)

Mining state (until 1955)

2012-09-07T06:59:01+00:00

Authors:	Michiel Curfs, Anton Imeson
Coordinating authors:	Constantinos Kosmas, Giovanni Quaranta
Editors:	Alexandros Kandelapas, Jane Brandt

{xtypo_alert}Editor's note 20Mar14: Source D132-14.{/xtypo_alert}

Assessment of natural, economic and social capitals

Natural capital
Assessment	From the scarce data available regarding climate in Western Andévalo, it can be seed that the climate capital component is moderate on NW, NE slopes and low on SW, SE slopes. Higher rainfall than is later seen is recorded at least for the period 1931-1955. Soil capital value is moderate and soils do not change over the coming decades. Water capital is from moderate to low, and there are no dams. Concerning vegetation, it is a cereal landscape based upon subsistence agriculture and the Dehesa ecosystem. Olive, fig and carob trees are also found although much of the area is covered by matorral vegetation.
Critical functions	The main ecological function is primary production of wheat and cereals. Although based on traditional means (dry agriculture) there was sufficient for the local population.
Critical variables	Climate is a slow critical environmental variable, as rainfed crops are the norm.

Economic capital
Assessment	There is not sufficient data to comment on financial capital, landesque capital, physical capital, technology or animal capital. Overall economic capital is of very high value, based on the strength of the mining industry. With regard to produced capital however, the agricultural production of citrus may serve as an indicator. Orange production peaks in the 1930s and rapidly declines as the civil war breaks out.
Critical functions	The main economic function and main source of income in the area during this period is mining activities. However, mining practices have serious consequences for the environment, such as contamination and massive deforestation.
Critical variables	The dominant fast variables are market demand and regulations concerning mining activities. Once it becomes more attractive to mine in other continents outside Europe, mining activity declines rapidly and suddenly, bringing down the built up economic values.

Social capital
Assessment	The dominance of mines in the economy also influences social and economic capital: population is steadily rising, schools, education, infrastructure, housing, hospitals and jobs are available and of good quality. Working conditions often are not of high standards, but there are hospitals and doctors that have not been present in the area before. In terms of the adaptive cycle it can be argued that the study area is at its highest resilience in the 1940s.
Critical functions
Critical variables	A social slow descriptor variable is the "mining mentality" phenomenon. By this it is meant that social memory mechanisms foster the expectation that a (foreign) big company will come and solve local needs and problems.

Main LEDD problems and responses

The main LEDD problems in the area are loss of biodiversity, soil contamination and deforestation. Mining processes during this period cause serious contamination, resulting in the loss of biodiversity. Furthermore, due to increasing production and population, there is increasing demand ifor charcoal and wood, further fuelling deforestation. No specific responses to these problems arises during the period.

Policy context
{xtypo_alert}AK: to check that implementation, impacts and effectiveness of selected policies are discussed in this text. Look at D142 to see if there is any additional information. {/xtypo_alert}

The dominant economic and governance force is the mining industry, partly exploiting lack of regulation. New labour legislation in the early 1950s leads to companies leaving the area.

Properties of the system
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Natural capital: The dominant crop is cereals. Robustness is low while redundancy (subsistence agriculture with mixed production) is high. Connectedness of cereal production is low while that of subsistence agriculture is moderate. Rapidity is high. Estimating qualitatively, diversity for cereal crops (monoculture) is low. For the traditional small scale subsistence farming, diversity is higher with many different crops to sustain the local population.

Economic captial: Robustness of economic capital for cereal production is low.

Social capital: -

Socio-ecological resilience
{xtypo_alert}AK: to be added, source: D133{/xtypo_alert}

Socio-ecological fit of the dominant response to LEDD
{xtypo_alert}AK: to be added, source: D133{/xtypo_alert}

Franco Regime (1939 to 1975)

2012-09-07T06:30:06+00:00

Authors:	Michiel Curfs, Anton Imeson
Coordinating authors:	Constantinos Kosmas, Giovanni Quaranta
Editors:	Alexandros Kandelapas, Jane Brandt

{xtypo_alert}Editor's note 20Mar14: Source D132-14.{/xtypo_alert}

Assessment of natural, economic and social capitals

Natural capital
Assessment	For this period, Western Andévalo has moderate climate capital on NW, NE slopes and low on SW, SE slopes. The rainfall regime is typical for the Mediterranean. There is broadly moderate soil capital (Eutric Regosol, slope 8-15%, moderate depth (40 - 80 cm)). It is a cereal landscape with Dehesa and matorral in the northern part. Other vegetation found includes olive, fig and carob trees.
Critical functions	Low primary production is the main ecological function and is highly dependent climatic conditions.
Critical variables	Land use and land management change is a fast variable. There is a shift from dry to mechanized agriculture, with great increases in productivity.

Economic capital
Assessment	Produced capital focuses on agricultural production. The end of the period is marked by the rapid expansion of citrus production and the increase in value added by agriculture.
Critical functions	The basis of the rural economy is subsistence agriculture with a poor rural population, little infrastructure and isolation of villages. Economic opportunities are further diminished as the mines close. Flour production based on dry agriculture persists while increasing mechanization encourages increase in production despite the limited number of agricultural workers. Industry and tourism are greatly encouraged and increases with the stabilization plan from the year 1959, to mark an impressive change in economic policy.
Critical variables	The different cultivation techniques introduced due to mechanisation and innovation are fast critical variables including irrigation. This contributes to the increase of productivity and to the economic independence of local farmers.

Social capital
Assessment	The most critical component is the political regime which operates at the national and higher SES level. It dominates and overshadows all aspects of social and economic life. The political focus is put on making the transition form an agrarian to an industrial state. Rural Western Andévalo witnesses a great exodus and cities grow. However, after the closure of the mines, the economic condition is very poor and the low natural capital set strict limits on possible income from agriculture. Participation is believed to be high, but not out of free will. Trust is generally low. The rise of a contraband economy in a few villages is a demonstration of local trust-based networks.
Critical functions	This period is marked by the dominance of the dictatorial political regime. The aim and direction of the government in all layers of society is to increase production.
Critical variables	The introduction of new agricultural practices (a fast variable), gives farmers the chance to become less dependent on local bosses. Modernization and innovation in agriculture, lead to significant changes in agrarian hierarchical social power structures. The forced shift from an agrarian to an industrial state has further adverse effects upon living conditions in rural villages.

Main LEDD problems and responses

The main LEDD problems in the area during this period are agricultural decline, soil erosion and deterioration and loss of biodiversity. The introduction of the national "agricultural stabilization plan" in 1959 leads to intense competition between regions, with few opportunities for Western Andévalo and causing land abandonment, which is the the dominant unplanned response (negative). A further, more planned response, is the the establishment of eucalyptus and pine plantations.

Soil erosion and deterioration is related to the land use changes in the rural area and the heavy expandion of industrialization mainly near of the capital and along the coast. Mechanical means for reforestation and logging have a negative effect on soil and contribute to loss of biodiversity. Increasing industrialization also leads to more contamination and pollution.

The 1959 stabilization plan acts as major force for land abandonment. In addition, national economic planning in the 1960s leave a long-lasting mark in the area: Huelva is identified as a site for paper pulp production creating a big incentive for reforestation to provide the plant with resources. The new pine and eucalyptus plantations create massive land use changes while also being are highly susceptible to erosion and causing biodiversity loss. Both policies are therefore considered as LEDD drivers.

Properties of the system
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Natural capital: The dominant crop is cereals. Robustness is low while redundancy (subsistence agriculture with mixed production) is high. Connectedness of cereal production is low that while of subsistence agriculture is moderate. Rapidity is estimated to be high. Diversity for natural capital in croplands is estimated qualitatively: for cereal crops (monoculture) diversity is low. For the traditional small scale subsistence farming, diversity is higher with many different crops to sustain the local population.

Economic captial: Robustness of economic capital for cereal production is low.

Social capital: Due to a lack of qualitative and quantitative date it is difficult to assess the lower level properties.

Socio-ecological resilience
{xtypo_alert}AK: to be added, source: D133{/xtypo_alert}

Socio-ecological fit of the dominant response to LEDD
{xtypo_alert}AK: to be added, source: D133{/xtypo_alert}

Settling of dust transition period (1975 to 1986)

2014-01-30T15:14:17+00:00

Authors:	Michiel Curfs, Anton Imeson
Coordinating authors:	Constantinos Kosmas, Giovanni Quaranta
Editors:	Alexandros Kandelapas, Jane Brandt

{xtypo_alert}Editor's note 20Mar14: Source D132-14.{/xtypo_alert}

Assessment of natural, economic and social capitals

Natural capital
Assessment	(Components of natural capital were are not assessed for this period)
Critical functions	Ecological functions seem to follow economic and social functions. Older policies continue to influence the area, in the form of forced industrialisation of the capital of Huelva.

Economic capital
Assessment	The shift of government (1975) and the quest to find a new governmental equilibrium does not have a direct influence on orange production in the region and from 1975 until 1979 production increases steadily. From 1979 to 1982 production declines but begins to increase again after 1982.
Critical functions	The dramatic change of governmental structure seems to be the main critical function during this time. The regime shift from dictatorship to democracy means an important change in the economic reality of marginal rural areas like the Western Andévalo.
Critical variables	As the main focus of the Franco Regime was to industrialize the country the main mode of change is energy intensive. In other words the motor of this change is fuel dependent and therefore one critical fast descriptor variable is related to the oil crisis at end of this period.

Social capital
Assessment	The transition to democracy and the 1978 Constitution creates a strong decentralisation, establishing the 17 Autonomous regions. While economic capital declines rapidly at first, it is somewhat alleviated by the exploitation of the natural capital. The end of the dictatorial regime means that many people who had moved away decide to come back. This means an increase in human and financial capital as most people had been able to save money during their period abroad. It also leads to higher unemployment rates, which in term indicate a weakening of the economic capital. A complexity issue is at play; although the homecomings resulted in higher unemployment rates, social capital can be assumed to increase because of the social family bonding.
Critical functions	-
Critical variables	The change of political regime is a critical variable which encourages the return of many migrants.

Main LEDD problems and responses

The main LEDD problem in this transition period is arguably related to social capital and in particular scarce employment opportunities, particularly in the villages. The governmental push to the industrial society and consequently the creation of eucalyptus and pine plantations in the rural area, together with the industrial plants in Huelva capital change the area a lot.

Properties of the system
{xtypo_alert}AK: to check if there is any further relevant information in D133{/xtypo_alert}

Natural capital: --

Economic captial: --

Social capital: --

Socio-ecological resilience
{xtypo_alert}AK: to be added, source: D133{/xtypo_alert}

Socio-ecological fit of the dominant response to LEDD
{xtypo_alert}AK: to be added, source: D133{/xtypo_alert}

Joining the EU (1986 to date)

2014-01-30T15:14:42+00:00

Authors:	Michiel Curfs, Anton Imeson
Coordinating authors:	Constantinos Kosmas, Giovanni Quaranta
Editors:	Alexandros Kandelapas, Jane Brandt

{xtypo_alert}Editor's note 20Mar14: Source D132-14.{/xtypo_alert}

Assessment of natural, economic and social capitals

Natural capital
Assessment	During this period, climate capital is moderate. Water capital is moderate to low: while the construction of the Chanza dam provides water for domestic and industrial use in the capital Huelva, water quality in the area deteriorates. Soil capital is low. With regard to vegetation, there is an increase of cultivated ecosystems which is the result of changing from dry to cultivated lands.
Critical functions	Primary production of citrus is the main ecological function. The amount of farms and surface cover of the four crops, citrus, olives, cereals and vines shows the dominance of citrus fruit production and land use change within the wider SES, the province of Huelva. For all crops, the quantity of farms is declining in numbers. The only crop which surface area is expanding is the citrus fruit.
Critical variables	Soil aggregate stability is low during the establishment of citrus plantations and gradually increases, nevertheless it remains lower than the aggregate stability of original landscape.

Economic capital
Assessment	Produced capital increases rapidly alongside orange production which quadruples between 1986 and 1999. Financial capital also increases, aided by EU co-financing. Landesque capital also increases: the Chança and Andévalo dams are constructed in 1985 and 2003 respectively. Large scale plans to provide irrigation to extensive new citrus plantations remain unrealised. Physical capital also increases through infrastructure improvement as well as the new citrus plant.
Critical functions	Citrus farms are intensive agriculture, highly mechanized and irrigated. Their productionis mostly aimed at the international market.
Critical variables	The rural landscape changes into a periphery that is kept alive through subsidies. Although accession to the EU creates new economic wealth, it also increases dependency on external means of production and public resources. Arguably, the most direct and striking effect is found in the decline of traditional farming as a source of livelihood, substituted by highly modernized forms of agriculture. Although large orange plantations influence employment opportunities, little of the profit that is made by the large orange producers remains in the area.

Social capital
Assessment	-
Critical functions	-
Critical variables	Welfare arrangements become an important source of income for many of the inhabitants. The availability of welfare benefits and the improvement of infrastructure result in a seasonal migration of many workers from the area, instead of long-term departure. Wind energy is also present. The area hosts one of the biggest wind turbine parks in Europe. The park is under criticism for not providing local employment and energy.

Main LEDD problems and responses

The main LEDD problems are soil erosion, desertification, loss of biodiversity and reduced productivity. Soil erosion is a serious problem, with areas losing more than 100 t ha-¹ yr-¹. However, the number of areas with such high erosion rates appears to have be decreasing during the last decade. There are little to no responses to try to tackle the issue of erosion. An indirect negative response could be argued to be the expansion of citrus orchards where few control measures are included in the design of the newly converted plantations. It is estimated that 24% of primary production loss is due to land use conversions in Spain, extremely high in comparison to the estimated average value of 5.2%-6% for Western Europe.

Land desertification is a significant issue according to the Map of Environmental Sensitivity Areas to desertification (ESA). On the basis of these findings the whole area is vulnerable to desertification. However, desertification is not perceived as a main problem. No direct evidence of desertification, mitigation or implementation of measures related to the NAP have been found in the study area. This can be considered as "no action" and thus a negative response to the problem.

The creation of the Beturia commonwealth (formally in 1993) is a human capital response (social network) to natural capital. The movement emerged as response to the perception that the then newly constructed Chanza dam would not benefit the area.

The most recent changes in relation to policies in effect on the rural landscapes are related to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) w hich has had a clear impact on with amassive increase in forest plantations: more than 30,000 has are first cleared then replanted during the 1990s under regulation 2080.

Properties of the system
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Natural capital: Robustness is low for cereal agriculture, and low for mono culture plantations such as citrus. Diversity is low for both cereal and citrus plantations. Redundancy is also low, particularly so for citrus. Both cereal production and citrus cropping systems are loosely connected (dense planting of annual and perennial crops respectively). Rapidity is estimated to be high for cereals and low for citrus plantations.

Economic captial: The main crop is still cereals, which under the rain fed crop systems, can be classified as having low robustness. The rise (and later dominance) of irrigated citrus plantations mark a shift towards very low redundancy.

Social capital: Potential for change, robustness, diversity and redundancy are low. Connectedness is moderate.

Socio-ecological resilience
{xtypo_alert}AK: to be added, source: D133{/xtypo_alert}

Socio-ecological fit of the dominant response to LEDD
{xtypo_alert}AK: to be added, source: D133{/xtypo_alert}

Optimal response assemblages, policy recommendations for Western Andévalo SES**

2012-09-07T07:00:50+00:00

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{xtypo_alert}Editor's note 6Sept12: Source D133.{/xtypo_alert}

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