Plant Diversity in Resilient Agro-Silvopastoral Systems: Challenges for Changing Contexts

Dear Colleagues,

The Mediterranean region, despite being one of the most important biodiversity hotspots on the global scale (it hosts ca. 25,000 vascular plants, of which ca. 1/3 are narrow endemics), is one of the most anthropized regions of the world due to the several ancient civilizations that developed in the area and the high population densities on its coastal margin. A great amount of Mediterranean biodiversity, from species to landscape levels, is related to millennial human action within natural ecosystems which produced unique and extremely rich semi-natural systems, among which, agro-silvo-pastoral systems are the most widespread and one of the key features of the Mediterranean cultural landscape.

However, present environmental changes, mainly caused by climate change together with socio-ecological dynamics such as land abandonment and depopulation in inland areas, are driving extensive modifications of natural and semi-natural ecosystems; in particular, the agro-silvo-pastoral Mediterranean systems, with high ecological and socio-economic value, are increasingly threatened by these changes. As a consequence, the fast encroachment of pasture systems, summer fires, and the uncontrolled expansion of invasive alien species are threatening plant diversity in many Mediterranean agro-silvo-pastoral systems. Advancements in these and other areas are also crucial to support the management and innovation, such as regeneration and conservation, of Mediterranean agro-silvo-pastoral systems and are useful in providing a science-based synthesis to support decision makers from general schemes to the local best practices of socio-ecological governance to face future challenges in a rapidly changing context.

If you are carrying out research in one or more topics related to the comprehension of the socio-ecological factors determining rapid changes in Mediterranean agro-silvo-pastoral systems and their effects on plant diversity, join the challenge and publish your research in this Special Issue.

Dr. Emmanuele Farris
Dr. Antonello Franca
Dr. Matilde Schirru
Guest Editors

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• agro-silvo-pastoral systems
• biodiversity conservation
• climate change
• ecosystem services
• Mediterranean basin
• plant ecology
• socio-ecological systems
• vascular plants