A new book has been published on the social and cultural elements of agricultural landscapes, and their role in building long-term sustainability and resilience.

The blog of the Landscape for People, Food and Nature Initiative looks at the results of a three year study by an international group of scholars coordinated through the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities and the University of Freiburg.

Through the lens of social-ecological resilience, the researchers looked at how traditional agricultural landscapes have changed, using case studies from Europe, Africa, Australia and Latin America. Titled: Resilience and the Cultural Landscape: Understanding and Managing Change in Human-Shaped Environments, the study raises questions related to the links between traditional land use practices and resilience, how they can adapt to rapid change and the role of social capital.

The researchers argue that resilience and adaptation are necessary for integrated agricultural landscapes to adapt to rapid environmental and societal change. Traditional agricultural landscapes could be integrated into modern land-use systems, the authors say.

Many landscapes which have traditionally supported food production, nature conservation, and human livelihoods are disappearing as agriculture becomes more and more industrialized. One such landscape that needs protection, management and planning is the dehesa agroforestry system on the Iberian Peninsula. Without protection, local people that rely on such landscapes will lose their quality of life and local knowledge will be lost.

Read the full story: Resilience and the Cultural Landscape: Understanding and Managing Change in Human-Shaped Environments