Environmental Sustainability and Global Change

Environmental Sustainability and Global Change: Forests, Agriculture, and soils vis à vis Human Disturbance offers an integrated approach to socio-environmental dynamics of the ecological-economic nexus characteristic of Mediterranean landscapes. Evidencing the role of policies targeting sustainable development goals in ‘kaleidoscopic’ rural landscapes of Southern Europe, the case studies from Italy, Spain and Greece confirm the need of place-specific approaches to socio-ecological complexity and the partial effectiveness of generalized, top-down measures. Based on 16 chapters authored by leading scholars in Southern Europe – with eminent contributions from Eastern Europe – the book identifies the intrinsic peculiarity of the environmental-economic nexus characteristic of the Northern Mediterranean basin and the most important differences with other socioeconomic contexts in Europe. Stimulating a spatial planning for rural areas, the book proposes a dynamic image of Mediterranean rural landscapes, providing novel interpretations, conceptual definitions, and operational tools designed to reduce ecological fragility and economic vulnerability. Offers a holistic, multidisciplinary approach of ecological and economic issues, with studies spanning from agronomy to demography, from ecology to economics, well-connected to address Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)Contains unique case studies from comparative cases and quali-quantitative studies with extensive geographical coverageIncludes updated ecological issues of complex rural systems in the Mediterranean region and provides specialized strategies for sustainable development in less studied areas