Prioritizing development conflicts: the footprints of intensive agriculture in the arid Europe

CABELLO J.; PIQUER, M.; ALCARAZ, D.; OYONARTE, C.; PARUELO, J.M.; PIÑEIRO, G.; GARBULSKY, M.

New York, USA

Congreso; 18th Annual meeting of the American Society for Conservation Biology; 2004

American Society for Conservation Biology

Intensive agriculture reduces the use of extensive land surfaces, and hence, it may contribute to biodiversity conservation at regional scales. However, at local scale it may threaten important biological resources. In SE Spain, greenhouses have improved living standards. Otherwise, they have changed land-use through the expansion of agricultural constructions; causing lost of ecosystem services, habitat fragmentation and absolute isolation of protected areas (PA). Here, we show the current damages on SE Spain, which concentrates the unique arid ecosystems of Europe. We evaluated land-use and local climate changes in El-Ejido and Níjar during last decade. Nowadays, non-constructed surface of El-Ejido is just 11.7%, whilst in Níjar, where the Hydrological Planning promotes new human developments, it reaches 50%. Isolation of PA is dramatic. Natura 2000 Sites of Community Importance have not been preserved and the actual PA are increasingly isolated. Their buffer zones have been occupied from 20% to 100%. Besides, satellite-registered albedo increased with greenhouses area (r2=0.57), air temperature (0.06ºC/year) and relative humidity (0.3%/year) decreased associated to alterations in the radiative balance. Conservation is particularly difficult in these areas, being considered a restrain to socio-economic development for local inhabitants. However, sustainability is only possible if ecosystem services and biodiversity are considered.