Agroforestry Land Transformations in High Landscape Value Areas

Dear Colleagues,

In many geographically diverse areas, there has been a considerable loss of utilized agricultural land in recent decades. This is due both to urbanization processes and to the complete abandonment of farmland. The topic of agroforestry land abandonment has been discussed for more than fifty years, but it is still very current in the scientific community because of its complexity and multidisciplinarity. Indeed, there are many factors involved in this process, and are often dependent on each other. Low productivity, the marginality of some hilly or mountainous regions, and climatic as well as soil conditions for profitable agricultural activities are the main drivers of this phenomenon. These factors are often associated with secondary factors such as rural depopulation, unfavorable agricultural policies and farm structure. In addition to defining trends in agroforestry land abandonment from both qualitative and quantitative perspectives, there is a great deal of discussion in the scientific community about how to measure positive and negative impacts, as they are often related to geographic specificities at the local scale.

The aim of this Special Issue is to provide additional scientific perspectives to the topic of agroforestry land abandonment, since it is necessary to address the problem in an increasingly holistic manner. In addition, in view of the diversity of impacts at the geographical level, this Special Issue aims to gather case studies at the local level in order to define the current trends in different countries. In particular, covered topics include, among others:

• Methods and methodologies for quantitative and qualitative assessment of agroforestry land abandonment processes;
• New geospatial applications for the integration of historical cartographies, photo areas and satellite images for transformation analyses;
• Innovative remote-sensing techniques for the identification and characterization of abandoned agroforestry areas;
• Assessment of positive and negative impacts of the abandonment process;
• Study and analysis of drivers of abandonment;
• Specific case studies in areas of high landscape value (e.g., historic rural landscapes or protected areas).

Papers selected for this Special Issue are subject to a rigorous scientific peer-review procedure, aimed at a wide and effective dissemination of research outcomes.

Dr. Giuseppe Cillis
Guest Editor

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• agroforestry land abandonment
• farmland abandonment
• geospatial analysis
• remote sensing techniques
• land-use/land-cover changes
• transformations of rural landscapes
• environmental impacts