Abstract
Dehesas are an agrosilvopastoral system that has enhanced the maintenance of an extraordinarily high biodiversity. The traditional use is characterized by mixed livestock raising at low stocking densities, employment of hardy regional breeds and an elaborated maintenance and exploitation of holm oaks. Livestock production has traditionally been accompanied by arable systems with long rotations and closed nutrient cycles without external inputs of fodder, fertilizers and agro-chemicals. Modern trends are a specialization toward lamb and beef production and the employment of intensive techniques like free-range grazing at high stocking levels or crossbreeding with high-performance breeds. A model income statement shows that livestock create an income of 49.91 US$ per ewe per year on an average basis. The central problem for the continuity of the dehesas is the gradual decay of the tree canopy. Intensification of agricultural production and the abandonment of traditional grazing practices additionally threaten biodiversity within the dehesas. The authors suggest the foundation of a biosphere reserve in Cuatro Lugares as a framework for a sustainable development of the dehesas.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
BOE (Boletín Oficial del Estado) (1997) Decreto 1682/1997, de 7 de noviembre, por el que se actualiza el Catálogo Oficial de Razas de Ganado de España. Madrid, Spain. BOE 279: 34205
Campos Palacín P (1993) Valores comerciales y ambientales de las dehesas españolas. Agricultura y Sociedad 66: 9-41
Carruthers SP (1993) The dehesas of Spain-exemplars or anachronisms? Agroforestry Forum 4: 43-52
Cerda A, Schnabel S, Ceballos A and Gomez-Amelia D (1998) Soil hydrological response under simulated rainfall in the Dehesa land system (Extremadura, SW Spain) under drought conditions. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 23(3): 195-209
Dawson T and Fry F (1998) Agriculture in nature's image. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 13(2): 50-51
Díaz M and Pulido F (1995) Wildlife-habitat relationships in the Spanish dehesa. In: McCracken DI, Bignal EM and Wenlock SE (eds) Farming on the Edge: The Nature of Traditional Farmland in Europe, pp 103-111. Joint Nature Conservation Committee, Peterborough, UK
Díaz M, González E, Muñoz-Pulido R and Naveso MA (1996) Habitat selection patterns of common cranes (grus grus) wintering in holm oak Quercus ilex dehesas of central Spain: effects of human management. Biological Conservation 75: 119-123
Díaz M, Campos Palacín P and Pulido F (1997) The Spanish dehesas: a diversity in land-use and wildlife. In: Pain DJ and Pienkowski MW (1997) (eds) Farming and Birds in Europe, pp 178-209. Academic Press, London, UK
DOE (Diario Oficial de Extremadura) (1986) Ley 1/1986, de 2 de mayo sobre la Dehesa en Extremadura. Mérida, Spain. DOE 40: 503-528
DOE (Diario Oficial de Extremadura) (1996a) Decreto 56/1996, de 23 de abril, por el que se establece en la Comunidad Autónoma de Extremadura un régimen de ayudas al programa de medidas horizontales para fomentar el empleo de métodos de producción agraria compatibles con las exigencias de la protección del medio ambiente y la conservación del espacio natural. Mérida, Spain. DOE 50: 1800-1812
DOE (1996b) Decreto 85/1996, de 4 de junio, por el que se establece un régimen de ayudas para fomentar la forestación y otras mejoras forestales de tierras agrarias en Extremadura. Mérida, Spain. DOE 68: 2704-2710
Donázar JA, Naveso MA, Tella JL and Campión D (1997) Extensive grazing and raptors in Spain. In: Pain DJ and Pienkowski MW (1997) (eds) Farming and Birds in Europe, pp 117-149. Academic Press Ltd, London, UK
en/321.htm (11.02.2000)
Galindo JLM (1966) La dehesa extremeña como tipo de explotación agraria. Estudios Geográficos: 27(193): 157-226
Hall LM, Geroge MR, McCreary DD and Adams TE (1992) Effects of cattle grazing on blue oak seedling damage and survival. Journal of Range Management 45(5): 503-506
Help Service Mapping s.r.o. (1998) Topol. Version 4.505. Prague, Czech Republic
INE (Instituto Nacional de Estadística) (1991) Censo Agrario 1989. Tomo IV: Resultados Comarcales y Municipales: Cáceres. Madrid, Spain
INE (Instituto Nacional de Estadística) (1996) España en cifras 1996. Madrid, Spain
Joffre R, Vacher J, de los Llanos C and Long, G (1988) The dehesa: an agrosilvopastoral system of the mediterranean region with special reference to the Sierra Morena Area of Spain. Agroforestry Systems 6: 71-96
Junta de Extremadura (1995) Memoria 1990-1994. Mérida, Spain
Korneck D and Sukopp H (1988) Rote Liste der in der BR Deutschland ausgestorbenen, verschollenen und gefährdeten Farn-und Blütenpflanzen und ihre Auswertung für den Arten-und Biotopschutz. Schriftenreihe für Vegetationskunde: 19. Bundesforschungsanstalt für Naturschutz und Landschaftsökologie. Bonn-Bad Godesberg, Germany, 210 pp
Loske R and Bleischwitz R (1997) Zukunftsfähiges Deutschland. Ein Beitrag zu einer global nachhaltigen Entwicklung. Birkhäuser, Biel-Benken, Germany, 466 pp
Marañón T (1985) EsDiversidad florística y heterogeneidad ambiental en una dehesa de Sierra Morena. Anales de Edafología y Agrobiología 44(7-8): 1183-1197
Marañón T (1986) Plant species richness and canopy effect in the savanna-like 'dehesa' of S. W. Spain. Ecología Mediterránea 12(1-2): 131-141
Marañón T (1988) Agro-sylvo-pastoral systems in the Iberian Peninsula: dehesas and montados. Rangelands 10: 255-258
Montalvo J, Casado MA, Levassor C and Pineda FD (1993) Species diversity patterns in Mediterranean grasslands. Journal of Vegetation Science 4: 213-222
Montoya Oliver JM (1993) Encinas y encinares. Ediciones Mundi Prensa, Madrid, Spain, 131 pp
Olea L, Paredes J and Verdasco P (1987) Mejora de los pastos de la dehesa. In: MAPA (ed) Conservación y desarrollo de las dehesas portuguesa y española, pp 87-110. Madrid, Spain
Parsons JJ (1962) The acorn-hog economy of the oak woodlands of Southwestern Spain. Geographical Review 52: 211-235
Pineda FD and Montalvo J (1995) Dehesa systems in the western Mediterranean: biological diversity in traditional land use systems. In: Halladay, P and Gilmour DA (eds) Conserving Biodiversity outside Protected Areas. The Role of Traditional Agro-ecosystems, pp 107-122. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland
Pinto Correia T (1993) Threatened landscape in Alentejo, Portugal: The 'montado' and other 'agro-silvo-pastoral' systems. Landscape and Urban Planning 24: 43-48
Plachter H (1991) Naturschutz. G. Fischer, Stuttgart, Germany, 463 pp
Pulido FJ (1999) Herbivorismo y regeneración de la encina (Quercus ilex L.) en bosques y dehesas. Doctoral Thesis. Universidad de Extremadura, Cáceres, Spain, 146 pp
Pulido FJ, Díaz M and Hidalgo de Trucios SJ (2000) Size structure and regeneration of Spanish holm oak Quercus ilex forests and dehesas: effects of agroforestry use on their long-term sustainability. Forest Ecology and Management (in press)
Roe E, Huntsinger L and Labnow K (1998) High reliability pastoralism. Journal of Arid Environments 39: 39-55
Rupérez A (1957) La encina y sus tratamientos. Gráficas Moreno, Madrid, Spain, 153 pp
San Miguel Ayanz A (1994) La dehesa española. Origen, tipología, características y gestión. Fundación Conde del Valle de Salazar, Madrid, Spain, 96 pp
Schnabel S (1996) Untersuchungen zur räumlichen und zeitlichen Variabilität hydrologischer und erosiver Prozesse in einem kleinen Einzugsgebiet mit silvo-pastoraler Landnutzung (Extremadura, Spanien). Berliner Geographische Abhandlungen 62, Berlin, Germany, 130 pp
Tampe K and Hampicke U (1995) Ökonomik der Erhaltung bzw. Restitution der Kalkmagerrasen und des mageren Wirtschaftsgrünlandes durch naturschutzkonforme Nutzung. In: Beinlich B (ed) Ein Naturschutzkonzept für die Kalkmagerrasen der Mittleren Schwäbischen Alb (Baden-Württemberg), pp 361-389. Beihefte Veröffentlichungen Naturschutz und Landschaftspflege Baden-Württemberg 83, Karlsruhe, Germany
Tellería JL (1988) Caracteres generales de la invernada de aves en la peninsula ibérica. In: Tellería JL (ed): Invernada de aves en la peninsula ibérica, pp 13-22. SEO monografías 1, Madrid, Spain
Tellería JL, Santos T and Díaz M (1992) Effects of agricultural practices on bird populations in the Mediterranean region: the case of Spain. In: Hagemeijer EJM and Vestrael TJ (eds) Bird numbers 1992. Distribution, Monitoring and Ecological Aspects, pp 57-74. Statistics Netherlands and SOVON, Beed-Ubbergen, the Netherlands
Tucker G and Evans M (1997) Habitats for birds in Europe. Their conservation status. Birdlife Conservation Series 6, Cambridge, UK, 464 pp
Valadés Sierra JM (1993) De la dehesa al andamio: La emigración de los pastores. In: Asamblea de Extremadura (ed) Trashumancia y cultura pastoril en Extremadura, pp 291-308. Mérida, Spain
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Plieninger, T., Wilbrand, C. Land use, biodiversity conservation, and rural development in the dehesas of Cuatro Lugares, Spain. Agroforestry Systems 51, 23–34 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1006462104555
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1006462104555