Biodiversity and Land Abandonment: Connecting Agriculture, Place and Nature in the Landscape

Abstract

In this chapter we present three study sites – Hållnäs, Sweden; Sistelo, Portugal; and Poowong, Australia – to provide insight into three different temporal and spatial scales of change (James et al. 2000); and we present an argument for an integrated approach to how ecology and sociology frame ideas and practices around agricultural landscape change affecting biodiversity values. As Hobbs and Cramer (2007: 2) note, ‘land abandonment has been a feature of humanity’s relationship with the world’s ecosystems for as long as history has been recorded’. The concept of ‘abandonment’ masks landscape changes directly related to local management practices. These management practices are made up of co..