Reprint

Reconnecting People with Nature through Agriculture

Edited by
April 2022
242 pages
  • ISBN978-3-0365-3855-6 (Hardback)
  • ISBN978-3-0365-3856-3 (PDF)

This book is a reprint of the Special Issue Reconnecting People with Nature through Agriculture that was published in

Biology & Life Sciences
Engineering
Environmental & Earth Sciences
Summary

An increasing number of people live in cities. In recent decades, this, combined with rural abandonment and landscape polarisation, has resulted in high land ownership concentrations and agricultural intensification. This, in turn, has resulted in a significant decrease in the resilience of agriculture and overall food systems and threatens the maintenance of traditional indigenous and peasant farming.

Therefore, there is an urgent need to reconnect society with the sustainable use of agroecosystems by fostering resilient social–ecological systems, emphasising the links between the functioning of natural systems and human well-being, and stressing the benefits that people derive from them.

This Special Issue aims to highlight impactful research and commentaries that focus on attempts to connect people with nature for the promotion of sustainable agricultural transitions. This Issue embraces inter- and trans-disciplinary studies from multiple disciplines (e.g., agricultural sciences, environmental sciences, geography, economy, and sociology), as well as those incorporating other knowledge systems (e.g., local and indigenous) in the co-construction of knowledge for sustainable agriculture, including studies in rural areas (e.g., GIAHS or HNV farmland) and initiatives that address urban–rural relationships or those developed within metropolitan areas (e.g., community-supported agriculture, food hubs, domestic gardens, multifunctional agriculture, and farmers´ or consumers´ cooperatives) and studies assessing the societal and ecological impacts of those initiatives.

Format
  • Hardback
License
© 2022 by the authors; CC BY-NC-ND license
Keywords
community supported agriculture; alternative food networks; spatial proximity; relational proximity; cross-national case study; sustainable agriculture; rural-urban interaction; agroecology; youth; human-nature connectedness; sustainability transitions; depopulation; ecological agriculture; water conservation; double-hurdle model; interpretative structural modeling; adoptions; threatened plant; agriculture; Spain; land use; conservation; human-nature reconnection; cultural landscapes; drivers of change; landscape planning; landscape stewardship; mixed methods; participatory governance; rural abandonment; stakeholder inclusion; urban growth; participatory mapping; ecosystem services; demand; PGIS; agricultural landscapes; human nature connectedness; sustainability transitions; agricultural innovations; multi-level perspective; agroecology; agricultural knowledge and innovation systems (AKIS); conservative agriculture practices; knowledge co-production; mediterranean horticulture; integrated pest management; greenhouses; soil health; biological control; pond naturalisation; collective action; socio-ecological systems; agroecology; sustainable agricultural transition; consumers/citizens; sustainable consumption; innovative business models; alternative agri-food networks (AAFNs); human–nature connectedness (HNC); multi-level perspective (MLP); community-supported agriculture (CSA); cooperatives; food systems governance; public policy; inclusive multilateralism; agroecology; rights-based approach; biodiversity; climate change; nature; foodshed archipelago; proximity food supply chains; spatial signature; city-region; food self-sufficiency; regional food security; agricultural diversification; food planning; regional food system; food policy; socioecological systems; local identity; rural abandonment; agroecology; world heritage site; n/a