Implications of Land Use and Land Cover Changes in the Transformation of Agrifood Landscapes in Mountain Regions: The Case of the Southern Slopes of Sierra Nevada, Spain

Abstract

Since the mid-20th century, the landscapes of Mediterranean mountain regions have undergone a significant transformation, linked to the socioeconomic changes caused by the opening up of these regions to the market economy. This prompted a rural exodus, the abandoning of farmland and the reduction in livestock, so activating various reforestation processes. In parallel, the “green revolution” promoted the modernization of agrifood systems, so contributing to the decline of traditional ways of farming in mountain areas. The farms on which traditional polyculture and agroforestry are still carried out today are important agrobiodiversity reserves. In this research, we monitor the dynamics of land use and cover and the changes in the structure of the agrifood landscapes on the southern slopes of Sierra Nevada (Spain) by comparing maps from 1956, 1984, 2007 and 2020. The results reveal a sharp decline in cultivated land, from 39.19% to 21.54%, and an expansion of natural covers, especially Mediterranean forest, driven by the abandonment of farmland and reforestation policies. Today, the landscape is composed of a more fragmented, less cohesive mosaic of agroecosystems. These changes indicate a reduction in agrobiodiversity at a landscape level, in line with the tendency observed at farm level in the study area.