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Sustainability Science (2020) 15:1267–1283
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-020-00806-w
SPECIAL FEATURE: ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Exploring land‑use histories oftree‑crop landscapes: across‑site
comparison intheMediterranean Basin
FranziskaWolpert1· CristinaQuintas‑Soriano1· TobiasPlieninger1,2
Received: 7 November 2019 / Accepted: 13 April 2020 / Published online: 2 May 2020
© The Author(s) 2020
Abstract
Agroforestry landscapes in the Mediterranean Basin have emerged in a co-evolution between humans and nature and provide
numerous ecosystem services to society. Tree crops are iconic elements of these landscapes and have frequently been man-
aged in a sustainable way over centuries, shaping multifunctional landscapes and local people’s cultural identities. However,
many Mediterranean tree-crop landscapes are undergoing substantial land-use changes, threatening important ecosystem
services as a result. The overarching goal of this study is to explore common and diverging patterns of land-use change
across different tree crops (oaks, chestnuts, olives) and contrasting landscapes in the Mediterranean Basin over a 200-year
period. Specifically, we aim to: (1) describe the dominant land-use change processes across these three crop types using
three exemplary sites per crop; and (2) identify and classify the main drivers that determine these landscapes’ land change
histories. We find a general acceleration of landscape dynamics and identify expansion, continuity, polarisation, intensifica-
tion, abandonment and renaissance as dominant processes. Although each landscape history is contextualised, we observe
a general trend from multifunctional tree-crop landscapes (expansion) towards intensification or abandonment in the last
70years. The landscapes of the southern fringe of the Mediterranean Basin show predominant trends towards intensifica-
tion, while the northern landscapes evolve towards abandonment. The driving forces identified are diverse and interrelated,
comprising sets of socio-cultural, political, technical, economic and natural factors. We offer some key lessons for sustainable
landscape management in highlighting the undervalued potential of tree crops, the inherent complexity of landscapes, the
interdependencies of drivers and the importance of economic and socio-cultural driving forces.
Keywords Agroforestry· Driving forces· Land management history· Landscape change· Tree crops· Sustainable
landscape management
Introduction
The landscapes of the Mediterranean Basin are not only
shaped by different climatic, topographic and geologic cir-
cumstances but are also strongly interconnected by human
culture and common land management practices (Blon-
del 2006). Mediterranean landscapes have been described
as complex and adaptive systems that co-evolve through
human-nature interactions, creating the ecological as well
as social foundations to provide multiple ecosystem services
(Martín-López etal. 2016). Different types of land use as
well as various management intensities create a mosaic of
diverse landscape types and hence habitats for vast biodi-
versity (Blondel 2010, UNEP/MAP 2016). In particular,
Mediterranean tree-crop systems maintain multiple ecosys-
tem services compared to annual arable agriculture, which
Agroforestry forSustainable Landscape Management
Handled by José Muñoz-Rojas, Universidade de Évora, Portugal.
Electronic supplementary material The online version of this
article (https ://doi.org/10.1007/s1162 5-020-00806 -w) contains
supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
* Franziska Wolpert
franziska.wolpert@uni-kassel.de
1 Faculty ofOrganic Agricultural Sciences, University
ofKassel, Steinstraße 19, 37213Witzenhausen, Germany
2 Department ofAgricultural Economics andRural
Development, University ofGöttingen, Platz der Göttinger
Sieben 5, 37073Göttingen, Germany
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1268 Sustainability Science (2020) 15:1267–1283
1 3
is disturbance-based and thus often associated with sus-
tainability challenges such as high water run-off rates, net
soil loss through erosion and/or nutrient and carbon losses
(Crews etal. 2016; Martín-López etal. 2016). The Medi-
terranean Basin harbours iconic tree-crop landscapes that
have been formed by traditional management over centu-
ries (Grove and Rackham 2001). Characteristically, these
landscapes consist of scattered trees with a diverse, grazed
and/or cultivated understorey, which are often located on
nutrient-poor and dry soils and are well-known for their spe-
cies diversity (Olea and San Miguel-Ayanz 2006). The oak
tree-crop landscapes of the Iberian Peninsula, called dehe-
sas in Spain and montados in Portugal, are famous exam-
ples of such systems. Other landscape-shaping tree crops in
the Mediterranean include pine nuts, chestnuts, beechnuts
and olives (Grove and Rackham 2001). These systems are
used to obtain multiple goods and services, including food,
firewood, leaves and understorey as food for livestock and
material for handicraft. Thus, tree-crop landscapes contrib-
ute in multiple ways to local people’s well-being and play a
key role in their cultural identity (Kizos and Koulouri 2006;
Infante-Amate and Molina 2013).
In the last few decades, Mediterranean landscapes have
frequently experienced polarisation in their development: on
the one hand industrialisation and/or intensification of land
management, for example through increased inputs of agro-
chemicals and mechanisation; and on the other hand aban-
donment of land, for example through the migration of rural
people to urban areas (Jones etal. 2011). Both processes
may lead to a loss of biodiversity and a decline in the pro-
vision of ecosystem services, including important cultural
services such as cultural heritage or spiritual and aesthetic
values (Bugalho etal. 2011; Plieninger etal. 2016). Sustain-
able landscape management (i.e. a holistic approach promot-
ing a landscape’s long-term capacity to provide a variety
of ecosystem services) represents one major approach to
addressing these pressures, and agroforestry especially has
recently received growing scientific and policy interest as
part of broader sustainable landscape management strategies
(Plieninger etal. 2015; Sanz etal. 2017).
An important foundation of future-oriented landscape
management strategies is a thorough understanding of past
land-use systems (Antrop 2005; Black etal. 1998; Palang
etal. 2005). In particular, a better knowledge of past tree-
crop landscapes and their dynamics may offer inspiration
for future decisions on Mediterranean land uses. Compari-
sons of historical approaches are increasingly used to inform
landscape science and practice (e.g. Acha and Newing 2015).
However, there is a research gap in cross-site comparisons
to investigate landscape histories and the driving forces of
landscape change over longer time frames (Frattaroli etal.
2014; Jepsen etal. 2015). Furthermore, knowledge about the
complex interactions of socio-cultural, political, technical,
economic and natural drivers remains scant (Bürgi etal.
2004; Plieninger etal. 2016). Therefore, this study aims to
provide knowledge and insights into the complexity of land-
scape history. We analyse the landscape histories of the last
200years for three key Mediterranean tree crops (olives,
cork and chestnuts) in three contrasting Mediterranean land-
scapes. Our specific goals are to: (1) explore the history of
change processes in tree-crop landscapes through the devel-
opment of narratives; and (2) identify and classify the main
drivers of change acting on these landscapes. Finally, we
discuss and derive a series of key lessons for sustainable
landscape management.
Methods
Tree crops intheMediterranean region
We selected three iconic tree crops of the Mediterranean
region that shape landscapes, represent important resources
for human subsistence and have been sustained over a long
time span, namely cork oaks (Quercus suber), chestnuts
(Castanea sativa) and olives (Olea europea)(Fig.1). These
landscapes represent a wide range of land-use intensities and
are closely interwoven with the socio-economic and cultural
histories of the people living in these landscapes.
Cork oak is limited to the Western Mediterranean Basin
(Stockwell 1947). The landscapes are characterised by wide-
spread pastures with scattered oak trees, occurring either in
pure stands or mixed with holm oaks (Quercus ilex). Cork
oaks have been grown for multiple uses, but the main and
most desirable product is the outer bark of the tree. It can be
harvested every nine years and is regenerated in that time by
the tree. Cork oak is adapted to poor and dry soil conditions
but demands a lot of light and is therefore naturally replaced
by other trees as soon as light becomes scarce (Grove and
Rackham 2001).
Chestnuts are long-lived trees that are often landscape-
forming. Their high yield and their nutrient composition
facilitate their use as a staple food as an alternative to
grain. Therefore, in many cultures chestnuts are referred to
as ‘bread trees’ (Tagliaferri and Di Lonardo 2016). Their
fruits are often used as food, their wood for construction and
heating and the tannic acid they contain for tanning leather
(Perry 1967).
Olives are assumed to be the most traditional tree crop
in the Mediterranean Basin. In fact, the existence of olive
trees was frequently used to define the border of the Mediter-
ranean region. From antiquity to the present day, olive cul-
tivation has been widespread and has shaped many cultural
landscapes in this area (Cecchini etal. 2019). Olives have
formed the basis of many people’s livelihoods, most notably
by providing olive oil (Kizos and Koulouri 2006).
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1269Sustainability Science (2020) 15:1267–1283
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Landscape andliterature selection
For each crop, we chose three landscapes distributed across
different countriesand dominated by the respective crop. We
selected these landscapes and the corresponding literature
as follows. In the first step, we searched the Web of Science
and Google Scholar databases for each tree crop in combi-
nation with the different Mediterranean countries (i.e. we
searched for “chestnut” and “Spain”) to identify potential
case study landscapes in the countries of the Mediterranean
Basin. We chose the landscapes to identify landscape change
processes and driving forces and examined the suitability
of available publications for that purpose. We selected the
landscapes with the best availability of literature on land-
scape history as our case studies. In the second step, we
used the same databases to search for the keyword combi-
nation “landscape” and “crop” (i.e. we searched for “chest-
nut” and “Corsica” and worked through the first 200 studies
returned by Google Scholar and all studies found in the Web
of Science). We complemented the findings with relevant
literature from the previous search as well as by snowball-
ing. We used the framework of driving forces (short: driv-
ers) to describe the reasons behind landscape change (cf.
Bürgi etal. 2004) and diligently selected four to six key
papers to compile regional landscape histories. We priori-
tised publications by different authors over multiple pub-
lications by the same author but ultimately selected those
publications with the most relevance. We chose contrasting
landscape histories regarding the main processes and driv-
ers and covered as many different countries and cultures as
possible. To do so, we picked one Southern Mediterranean
country and two Northern Mediterranean ones for each crop
(Fig.2). Given that literature for the southern fringe of the
Mediterranean Basin was scant, we additionally conducted
one expert interview (with university-based experts with
profound knowledge of the particular crop and landscape)
for each of the three landscapes. The case study regions for
cork landscapes were Alentejo in Portugal, the Kroumerie-
Mogod Mountains in Tunisia and Extremadura in Spain. The
chestnut landscapes comprised Corsica in France, the North-
ern Apennines in Italy and the Aegean region of Turkey.
For olive landscapes, we chose Lesvos in Greece, Baena in
Spain and the Rif region of Morocco. Interpretations of the
boundaries of each landscape were based on the information
and spatial references of the primary publications. In our
cases, the landscapes were either defined by administrative
units or by natural borders (Table1).
The focus of our research was on the landscape scale,
but we considered drivers of different scales from local
to global levels. We chose a time span from 1800 to the
present, as this represents a relatively long time frame for
which good evidence is available. Indeed, short time frames
are disadvantageous because it is difficult to differentiate
between parallel occurring drivers and their effects (Jepsen
etal. 2015).
Landscape histories, processes anddriving forces
We first compiled a model narrative for one of the land-
scapes. This template was then used to compile narratives
for all nine study landscapes (see Supplementary Mate-
rial). Once these were written and harmonised among
each other, we started a more systematic approach of
classifying changes into processes and categorising driv-
ers. For each landscape and period, we synthesised the
main process and the main driving forces behind it and
compiled a summary of each of the landscape narratives.
A landscape process is defined here as the time period
in which the landscape (shaped by a tree crop) undergoes
a specific prevalent process related to the main crop. For
example, if the extent of the chestnut landscape increases
on Corsica, the landscape process of Corsica in that time
period is “expansion”. We must emphasise that a land-
scape does not exist as a fixed state, but rather is always
in a co-evolving process of humans and nature and there-
fore can be defined as a “process”. The turning point from
one “process” to another is the moment at which there is
a shift in the prevalence of the process. We illustrated the
Fig. 1 Examples of tree-crop landscapes in the Mediterranean Basin. Left: Cork oak landscape in Alentejo, Portugal (picture by Tobias
Plieninger); Centre: Chestnut landscape in the Northern Apennines, Italy (picture by Johannes Schantl); Right: Olive landscape in the Rif region
of Morocco (picture by Tobias Plieninger)
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1270 Sustainability Science (2020) 15:1267–1283
1 3
landscape processes in a timeline to explore differences
as well as common patterns across distinct landscapes.
For each landscape process, we extracted the driv-
ing forces and depicted them in a table. We used five
categories of drivers: socio-cultural, technical, political,
economic and natural (modified from Bürgi etal. 2004).
For each of the six landscape processes, we evaluated
the proportional contribution of each category of driving
forces to the process. As an example, we considered all
processes of “abandonment” across all landscapes and
examined the proportion of natural driving forces com-
pared to the other categories. This enabled us to ascer-
tain whether there was any pattern in the distribution of
drivers regarding the processes. The results are displayed
in the following ways: (a) short summaries of the nine
landscape histories; (b) systematic comparison of the
change processes in different periods; and (c) systematic
comparison of the driving forces of landscape change.
Results
Nine comprehensive narratives of tree-crop landscape
histories serve as the basis for the compiled narratives
summarising the main processes and driving forces of
landscape change (Supplementary Material).
Tree‑crop landscapes
Cork oak cultivation
Cork oak in Alentejo, Portugal Before 1820, cork oaks
did not play a major role for people in Alentejo. From the
1820s to the 1950s, the cork oak landscape (called montado)
underwent a period of expansion, promoted by the liberali-
sation of the markets. Multiple demands on the use of cork
landscapes and new technological advancements in the cork
processing sector enhanced the profitability of the monta-
dos for land managers. At this time, the montados shaped
people’s cultural identity. In the period from 1950 to the
present, there was a polarisation of land use in the cork oak
landscape: market liberalisationand the resultant decline in
profitability led to the abandonment of less productive sites,
whereas the most productive sites were cultivated even more
intensively. These developments were additionally fostered
by the use of agrochemicals and the over-exploitation of
the landscape. A labour shortage due to outmigration fur-
ther accelerated this evolution. In particular, in recent years
droughts and pests have applied further pressures on the
cork oak landscapes.
Cork oak inExtremadura, Spain Cork oak landscapes con-
stitute a traditional form of land use in Spain and have been
used for multiple goods as a major source of livelihoods.
Fig. 2 Location of the nine
tree-crop landscapes across the
Mediterranean Basin
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1271Sustainability Science (2020) 15:1267–1283
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In the period from the 1800s to the 1950s, the cork oak
landscape of Extremadura expanded. Among other reasons,
the turmoil that resulted from the Napoleonic Wars and the
associated abandonment of the pastures facilitated cork
oak’s expansion in south-western Spain, as the absence of
livestock allowed young cork oaks to become established.
Moreover, the over-exploitation of other crops like vines
leached the soil and necessitated the use of less demanding
crops like cork. The rising demand for cork combined with
market liberalisation increased the profitability of cork pro-
duction in the second half of the nineteenth century. Popula-
tion growth as well as a privatisation wave further fostered
this evolution in the first half of the twentieth century. How-
ever, the situation changed from the 1950s to the 1990s with
the polarisation of land use, primarily driven by industri-
alisation (e.g. the input of agrochemicals) and the related
loss of profitability of traditional production. During this
period, fertile areas were intensified and often converted to
intensive agricultural croplands, whereas steeper and unfer-
tile areas were abandoned. Outmigration led to even greater
polarisation. However, agricultural subsidies supported cork
production and some conservation measures prohibited tree
felling which, despite some considerable losses, ultimately
saved vast areas of cork oak landscape. The renaissance of
the cork oak landscape began in the 1990s and is still taking
place today. It has been driven by conservation programmes
that support the traditional management and replanting of
oak trees. Nowadays, new marketing strategies, such as the
labelling of “organic agriculture” ora “protected designa-
tion of origin”, further enhance the profitability of other
landscape products like ham while contributing to multi-
functionality.
Cork oak intheKroumerie‑Mogod Mountains, Tunisia Tuni-
sia’s cork oak history is rather young: cork oak landscapes
were planted around 1860 and were first harvested in the
1880s. The land covered by cork oak (and therefore also
the exploited cork) is state-owned. Nevertheless, these
landscapes have offered multiple goods and subsistence to
locals. The 1930s until the 1950s saw the intensification
and the over-exploitation of the cork landscape, driven by
new government restrictions on what was previously free
utilisation (e.g. of firewood) by locals. These restrictions
as well as droughts threatened local livelihoods and led to
the disregard of these laws. Since the 1950s, there has been
an ongoing decline of cork oak landscapes, mainly driven
by population increase connected with over-exploitation,
which has prevented tree and grass regeneration. Given that
locals are allowed to engage in grazing, there has been an
ongoing conversion to treeless rangelands. Furthermore,
natural forces like droughts and fire have played a major role
as driving forces of abandonment.
Chestnut cultivation
Chestnuts inCorsica, France In Corsica, chestnuts have not
only represented a natural resource for multiple purposes
and a key component of local livelihoods, but also an impor-
tant part of cultural identity, expressed for example through
the traditional craft products developed by local people.
French rule aimed to defame chestnuts as a staple food. It
labelled chestnut as “the food of laziness” and restricted
chestnut growing to undermine Corsicans’ quest for inde-
pendence. However, this restriction did not stop the cultiva-
tion of chestnuts and ultimately made Corsicans more aware
of their independence from global food systems. Chestnut
cultivation became a symbol of resistance and Corsican
freedom. From the 1850s, the chestnut culture collapsed and
chestnut cultivation was increasingly abandoned for multi-
ple reasons. One driver was the changing lifestyle of the
people on the French mainland and the desire of Corsicans
to adapt to this. An outmigration wave commenced, result-
ing in Corsicans migrating to the French mainland and other
European countries. World War 1st and 2nd led to worker
shortages for the harvest season. In addition, chestnut dis-
eases (mainly chestnut blight and ink disease) reduced the
number of chestnut stands, while economic profitability
suffered from the opening up of the market and resultant
greater competition. During the 1980s, the chestnut land-
scape began to undergo a period of renaissance, driven by
local initiatives that revived the chestnut culture and the
related economy, buttressed by technological progress in
processing (e.g. shell-opening machines). To date, there
have been tensions between the aim of multifunctional and
diverse traditional systems and less diverse, economically
more profitable production systems, the former often being
more labour-intensive.
Chestnuts in the Northern Apennines, Italy Traditional
culture in the Northern Apennines has been closely linked
to chestnut cultivation as a staple crop. The entirety of the
nineteenth century was a period of the expansion of chest-
nut cultivation, driven by population growth. In this region,
chestnuts were grown for multiple uses (e.g. food, fodder
for animals, heating) within subsistence agriculture, but also
constituted a profitable trading good. From the 1900s until
the present day, a period of abandonment of the chestnut
landscape emerged, driven by multiple forces. Increasing
pest pressure and hence high tree damage and yield losses
have led to a reduction in profitability. Simultaneously, the
changing lifestyle of the local population has led to outmi-
gration and a loss of interest in chestnut cultivation. In the
last decade, the preservation of local knowledge about chest-
nut management and the prevalence of cultural connections
to chestnuts as well as rising consumer interest have given
hope for a renaissance of the chestnut culture and landscape.
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1272 Sustainability Science (2020) 15:1267–1283
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Chestnuts in the Aegean region, Turkey From ancient
times up to the middle of the twentieth century, chestnut
landscapes prospered in the Aegean region of Turkey. They
contributed as a profitable good to locals’ livelihoods for
multiple purposes, such as by constituting an importance
source of food, timber and honey. However, since the begin-
ning of the twenty-first century, the land use of chestnut
stands became polarised across the region. The demand for
chestnuts in Turkey was higher than the supply, but it was
risky to plant traditional chestnut trees that are not resistant
to widespread diseases. High demand for chestnuts led to a
transformation of chestnut landscapes to industrial produc-
tion as well as the abandonment of marginal areas owing
to a lack of profitability. To control the diseases that were
threatening chestnut cultivation, the state restricted the
management of chestnuts to local people in nature reserves.
However, this prevented people from removing infested
trees, which enhanced the spread of the disease problems
and further instigated abandonment. Although local peo-
ple have increased the sustainability of chestnut stands by
developing small-scale agriculture and fostering tree health,
more work-intensive, small-scale agriculture is no longer
profitable because of the competition posed by global mar-
kets. This presents an uncertain future for the conservation
of these landscapes.
Olive crop landscapes
Olives onLesvos, Greece On the Greek island of Lesvos,
olive cultivation expanded from 1800 until the 1920s. At
this time economic development and population growth
combined with high demand for olive oil promoted olive
cultivation. Technological developments in the transport
sector supported this evolution, meeting overseas demand.
An intensification process of olive land use started in the
1920s and persisted until the 1970s. It was driven by an
economic crisis and associated outmigration to the main-
land. Unlike other land uses (e.g. annual crop cultivation),
olive production remained in demand and profitable. How-
ever, the use was specialised on olive oil production instead
of multiple demands. Since the 1970s, olive cultivation is
no longer profitable. Therefore, there has been an ongoing
abandonment process, driven by the low profitability of
olive cultivation and reinforced by an economic crisis, out-
migration and a lack of appreciation of farming related to
a changing lifestyle. However, this process has been some-
what offset by the cultural connectedness of farmers to their
olive trees, continuing to grow them despite their uncertain
profitability.
Olives in Baena, Spain In the period 1800–1820, olive
growing continued as before, representing an aspect of local
livelihoods and an important tree species within diverse
agroforestry systems. From the 1820s to the 1930s, olive
cultivation was intensified and expanded simultaneously.
This process was fostered by the liberalisation of global
markets and a resulting economic crisis. Olives were valued
for their versatility (e.g. table olives, olive oil, fodder for
animals, wood) as well as general demand in global mar-
kets, increasing their profitability. These developments were
further reinforced by the privatisation of land, population
growth and the mechanisation of land management. In the
period from 1936 to 1975, the disorder of the Spanish Civil
War led to the temporary abandonment of olive cultivation.
From 1975 until the present day, there has been a second
wave of intensification and expansion of olive cultivation,
bringing large-scale olive monocultures to the contempo-
rary landscape of Baena with a particular emphasis on olive
oil production. This process has been driven by high demand
for olive oil and the considerable profitability of olive culti-
vation, reinforced by subsidies. Mechanisation and the input
of agrochemicals have also increased in recent decades.
Olives inthe Rif region, Morocco As a staple food source,
olive landscapes have continuously contributed to the liveli-
hoods of local people in the Rif region of northern Morocco.
In this region, olives have been used for multiple purposes,
such as for fruit consumption, oil, wood harvesting for heat-
ing and as a fodder source for livestock. From the 1910s,
olive cultivation expanded due to the privatisation of land
and as people converted forests into olive agroforestry sys-
tems, fearing that political will would transform their forests
into state- or public-owned land. From 1956 the olive land-
scape of northern Morocco underwent a process of inten-
sification. The main driving force was the global demand
for olive oil and the Moroccan government’s running and
financing of programmes to enhance olive production to
supply global markets. However, industrialisation and the
specialisation on olive oil production have engendered vari-
ous problems, such as vitality losses of olive trees and lower
productivity, for example the fact that tree nurseries cut the
tap-roots, which does not allow the trees to reach ground-
water.
Processes oflandscape change
We have identified and characterised six distinct processes
of change in the chosen Mediterranean landscapes:
• Expansion. A tree-crop landscape that is flourishing
and growing in its extent as well as in its importance for
human use.
• Continuity. A landscape that is not significantly chang-
ing but rather remaining in the same state over a period
of time. The tree crop is either still one of many trees or
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1273Sustainability Science (2020) 15:1267–1283
1 3
already enjoys a certain level of importance, depending
on the landscape.
• Polarisation. Concurrent processes of abandonment on
less fertile, steeper places as well as intensification on
fertile zones.
• Abandonment. A tree-crop landscape that is undergoing
a process of decreasing inputs as well as outputs.
• Intensification. A tree-crop landscape whose manage-
ment has resulted in an increased yield per area. This
often but does not necessarily coincide with an inten-
sified use of industrial inputs, such as machinery and
agrochemicals.
• Renaissance. The process of returning to expansion fol-
lowing a phase of abandonment, intensification or polari-
sation.
Figure3 shows the different processes for each of the
nine landscapes between 1800 and the present. A general
trend that has been observed was an increased dynamic in
land change processes in the last century compared to pre-
viously. It is noteworthy that in all landscapes, sooner or
later there was a time of expansion. However, this process
was interrupted by either abandonment, intensification or
both (polarisation) between 1850 and 1970. Recently, the
cork landscape in Extremadura and the chestnut landscape
in Corsica have evolved towards renaissance.
Driving forces
Table2 shows the main driving forces for each period in
whicha certain process has proved prevalent in each of the
nine landscapes. Some drivers have repeatedly led to par-
ticular processes. The profitability of the crop for land man-
agers, population growth, multiple demands for tree uses
(e.g. food, timber, fodder), being a part of local livelihoods
and shaping cultural identities have represented the main
drivers of expansion. However, uncommon reasons for the
expansion of a tree-crop landscape have also emerged, such
as in Morocco, where political reforms and community deci-
sions have led to the expansion of the olive landscape, even
though most people would prefer a landscape with more
diverse agroforestry systems.
Pests and diseases stand out as a very severe driver as
they have always been accompanied by reduced profitabil-
ity or an economic crisis and have mainly affected chestnut
landscapes. While population growth has often seemed to be
a driver of expansion, outmigration has typically led to the
abandonment. Missing profitability, agrochemicals, market
liberalisation, outmigration, pests and diseases as well as
land-use restrictions have proved to be the main drivers of
polarisation. The simplification of land use has often led to a
process of intensification, but it can also drive abandonment.
Most processes have been driven by multiple interrelated
factors, although for some only a few or even just one driv-
ing force has been responsible (e.g. the abandonment of the
olive landscape in Spain was the result of the Civil War).
Counterintuitively, war may lead to a rise (expansion) and
a fall (abandonment) of a landscape, as seen for the olive
landscape in Baena, Spain (abandonment) and the cork oak
landscape in Extremadura, Spain (expansion).
We can allocate the driving forces into five categories:
socio-cultural, political, technical, economic and natural.
The socio-cultural category contains the highest number
of individual drivers, followed by political and economic
drivers. Natural and technical drivers present a smaller
number of individual drivers (Table3).
For each of the six landscape processes (i.e. expansion,
continuity, polarisation, intensification, abandonment,
renaissance) we may depict the proportional contribu-
tion of the driving force categories to the process of land-
scape change (Fig.4). Socio-cultural drivers have played
a major role across the six landscape processes. This is
particularly the case for continuity, expansion and aban-
donment. Technical drivers have not emerged as drivers
for continuity and abandonment, whereas natural driving
forces only contribute to abandonment, polarisation and
intensification.
Fig. 3 Historical periods of the nine tree-crop landscapes from 1800 until present
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1274 Sustainability Science (2020) 15:1267–1283
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Table 1 Tree-crop landscape features and key publications used
n.a. information not available, inh. inhabitants
Crop type Landscape Landscape
boundaries
Extent
(km2)
Tree crop cover Population
density
(inh./km2)
Ownership structure Landscape
formation
Key publications
Cork Alentejo (Portugal) Administrative
unit
31,550 In some regions the montados
are dominated by cork oak
22.5 Large estates, privately
owned
Lowlands Costa etal. (2009), Fonseca (2003),
Jones etal. (2011), Muñoz-Rojas
etal. (2019), Pinto-Correia and Mas-
carenhas (1999) and Pinto-Correia
etal. (2019)
Kroumerie-Mogod
Mountains
(Tunisia)
Mountain
range
n.a Dominating tree species about 130 State-owned Mountains Campos etal. (2007, 2008, 2014),
Zapata (2009) and Mansoura etal.
(2001)
Extremadura
(Spain)
Administrative
unit
41,634 In some regions the dehesas
are dominated by cork oak
25.6 Large estates, privately
owned
Lowlands Guzmán Álvarez (2016), Grove
and Rackham (2001), Kizos and
Plieninger (2008), Stockwell (1947)
and Vicente and Alés (2006)
Chestnut Corsica (France) Island 8,882 Dominant tree on major part
of the island
38.6 Small-scale, privately
owned
Mountains Michon (2011), Mouillot etal. (2005,
2008), Perry (1967) and San Roman
Sanz etal. (2013)
Northern Appe-
nines (Italy)
Mountain
range
n.a Dominant tree on wide parts
of the mountains
n.a Small-scale, privately
owned
Mountains Agnoletti (2007), Avanzato (2009),
Buonincontri etal. (2015) and Pezzi
etal. (2011, 2017)
Aegean region
(Turkey)
Administrative
unit
90,456 In some parts dominantly
cultivated
110 n.a Mountains Avanzato (2009), Bozoglu etal. (2019),
Serdar etal. (2014) and Wall etal.
(2019)
Olives Lesvos (Greece) Island 1,632 Dominant tree on wide parts
of the island
53 Small-scale, privately
owned
Mountains Kizos and Koulouri (2006, 2010),
Kizos etal. (2010), Marathianou
etal. (2000) and Zagaria etal. (2017)
Baena (Spain) Administrative
unit
362 70% of land surface 53.2 Large estate, company-
owned
Lowlands Infante-Amate (2012a, b), Infante-
Amate and Molina (2013) and
Infante-Amate etal. (2016)
Rif region
(Morocco)
Mountain
range
n.a. Increasingly dominating n.a Small-scale, privately
owned
Mountains Aumeeruddy-Thomas etal. (2017),
Daoui and Fatemi (2014), Kholy
(2012) and Kmoch etal. (2018)
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1275Sustainability Science (2020) 15:1267–1283
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Table 2 Main driving forces for each process of landscape change for the nine tree-crop landscapes
Processes Time Socio-cultural Political Technical Economic Natural
Cork landscapes
Alentejo, Portugal Continuity 1800–1820s Low demand for crop
Expansion 1820s–1950s Multiple demands,
cultural identity
Market liberalisation Technological pro-
gress
profitability
Polarisation 1950s–present Over-exploitation,
outmigration
Market liberalisation Agrochemicals Missing profitability Pests or diseases,
drought
Kroumerie-Mogod
Mountains,
Tunisia
Continuity 1800–1860s n.a
Expansion 1860s–1930s Livelihoods, multiple
demands
Intensification 1930s–1950s Over-exploitation Land-use restrictions Drought
Abandonment 1950s–present Over-exploitation,
population growth,
specialised demand
Land-use restrictions Drought, fire
Extremadura, Spain Expansion 1800–1950s Livelihoods, multiple
demands, popula-
tion growth
War, privatisation of
land, market liber-
alisation
Demand for crop,
profitability
Polarisation 1950s–1990s Outmigration Agricultural sub-
sidies, land-use
restrictions
Agrochemicals Missing profitability
Renaissance 1990s–present Conservation pro-
grammes
Profitability, market-
ing strategy
Chestnut landscapes
Corsica, France Expansion 1800–1850s Livelihoods, multiple
demands, cultural
identification, com-
munity decisions
Land-use restrictions
Abandonment 1850s–1980s Outmigration, chang-
ing lifestyle
War, market liberali-
sation
Economic crisis Pests or diseases
Renaissance 1980s–present Community deci-
sions, awareness
Technological pro-
gress
Northern Apen-
nines, Italy
Expansion 1800–1900s Livelihoods, multiple
demands, popula-
tion growth
Profitability
Abandonment 1900s–present Outmigration, chang-
ing lifestyle
Missing profitability Pests or diseases
Aegean region,
Turkey
Expansion 1800–1960s Livelihoods, multiple
demands
Profitability
Polarisation 1960s–present Market liberalisation,
land-use restrictions
Mechanisation, agro-
chemicals
Demand for crop,
missing profitability
Pests or diseases
Olive landscapes
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1276 Sustainability Science (2020) 15:1267–1283
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n.a. information not available
Table 2 (continued)
Processes Time Socio-cultural Political Technical Economic Natural
Lesvos, Greece Expansion 1800–1920s Population growth Technological pro-
gress
Demand for crop,
economic growth
Intensification 1920s–1970s Specialised demand,
outmigration
Demand for crop,
profitability, eco-
nomic crisis
Abandonment 1970s–present Outmigration, chang-
ing lifestyle
Missing profitability,
economic crisis
Baena, Spain Continuity 1800–1820s Livelihoods, multiple
demands
Expansion/intensifi-
cation
1820s–1936 Multiple demands,
population growth
Privatisation of land,
market liberalisation
Mechanisation Demand for crop,
profitability, eco-
nomic crisis
Abandonment 1936–1975 War
Expansion/intensifi-
cation
1975–present Agricultural subsidies Mechanisation, agro-
chemicals
Demand for crop,
profitability
Rif region, Morocco Continuity 1800–1910s Livelihoods, multiple
demands
Expansion 1910s–1950s Community decisions Privatisation of land
Intensification 1950s–present Specialised demand Land development
plans
Demand for crop
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1277Sustainability Science (2020) 15:1267–1283
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Discussion
While sustainable landscape management is a forward-
looking planning practice, considerable knowledge can be
derived for sustainability by focusing on past landscape
evolutions. From 1800 to the present, the Mediterranean
landscapes analysed in this study generally evolved from
expansion towards either abandonment or intensifica-
tion and showed increased spatial and temporal dynam-
ics. Our results (Fig.3) show common patterns among
the crops: Olive systems tended to be intensified, chestnut
systems were generally abandoned and cork was rather
polarised between intensification and abandonment in the
last 70years. The landscapes in the northern fringe of the
Mediterranean Basin have shown a tendency of abandon-
ment due to outmigration from rural areas. The decline
of agricultural population is a typical phenomenon of the
northern Mediterranean fringe (Benoit and Comeau 2005).
By contrast, the landscapes of the southern fringe have
faced considerable population pressure. The driving forces
behind these landscape changes are diverse. However, they
can be categorised into socio-cultural, political, technical,
economic and natural drivers. Remarkably, socio-cultural
drivers have played a major role in most land-use change
processes.
Besides the individual landscape histories and their driv-
ing forces, a pattern can be discerned in most of the land-
scape histories: The landscapes faced multiple demands, by
being (for instance) sources of food, fodder and wood, ren-
dering them an important part of local people’s livelihoods.
During the course of the nineteenth and especially the twen-
tieth centuries, there was a substantial decline in traditional
land uses due to the overall industrialisation of agriculture
(mechanisation, agrochemicals) and the reduced profitability
of traditional systems, resulting in either intensification or
abandonment. However, local people’s cultural associations
and initiatives have emerged, valuing cultural heritage and
contributing to its recovery. A similar history has been iden-
tified for other tree crops, such as in almond landscapes in
the Apennines in Italy by Frattaroli etal. (2014).
Landscape processes
We have noted a common trajectory from an expand-
ing, multifunctional landscape towards either intensified
or abandoned systems, similar to Pinto-Correia and Vos
(2004). This polarisation has largely occurred due to mar-
ket liberalisation and the related competition among goods.
Market liberalisation in most cases has brought about a loss
of profitability, due to the presence of competition among
suppliers from different contexts, such as climatic and soil
conditions, labour costs and political restrictions. However,
in the case of cork oak cultivation, which is only distributed
in the Western Mediterranean region, market liberalisation
has had a positive effect, especially because a product like
cork can neither be produced in a different climate nor in a
more industrialised production system.
Our landscape histories demonstrate the overall increased
dynamics of landscape processes in the second half of the
studied period, as additionally observed by Jepsen etal.
(2015). This may partly be an artefact due to a lack of docu-
mentation in the past, but also an expression of an actual
increase in land-use dynamics. We have found that in most
cases the transition from one process to another was not
aligned among different landscapes. The land-use regimes
of the European case studies show more homogeneous pat-
terns of change from one regime to the next. We assume
that we can cover more individual trajectories at a landscape
scale compared to a national scale (Jepsen etal. 2015). There
may also be distinct time lags between land-use regimes and
actual visibility in the different landscapes.
The common trajectory of a trend towards polarisation
can be broken down into trends among the different tree-crop
Table 3 Categorisation of drivers of landscape change
Type of drivers
Socio-cultural Political Technical Economic Natural
Over-exploitation Land development plans Technological progress Low demand for crop Pests or diseases
Livelihoods War Mechanisation Demand for crop Drought
Multiple demands Privatisation of land Agrochemicals Missing profitability Fire
Specialised demand Market liberalisation Profitability
Population growth Land-use restrictions Marketing strategy
Outmigration Agricultural subsidies Economic crisis
Changing lifestyle Conservation programmes Economic growth
Cultural identification
Community decisions
Awareness
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1278 Sustainability Science (2020) 15:1267–1283
1 3
landscapes for olives, chestnuts and cork oaks. The main
process of chestnut landscapes in the nineteenth century was
expansion, as chestnut culture has a long and widespread
history (Avanzato 2009), while the importance of olives
and cork mainly developed in the twentieth century. In olive
landscapes, intensification has been a prevalent process over
the last 70years, driven by the combination of high demand
for olive oil and the fact that olives can be grown in intensi-
fied systems (cf. the olive landscape in Baena). By contrast
and despite high demand, chestnut systems have been largely
abandoned over the past century, primarily due to diseases.
Cork landscapes have exhibited especially polarised land-
use patterns (i.e. intensification and abandonment). Such
polarisation of cork landscapes in Portugal and Spain has
in both cases been driven by the overall industrialisation
of agriculture and hence the intensification of more profit-
able sites as well as the abandonment of marginal sites. The
driving forces behind the process of abandonment of the
Tunisian cork landscapes have been governmental land-use
restrictions aimed at counteracting over-exploitation.
We can see a tendency of the landscape processes in the
northern fringe of the Mediterranean Basin to move towards
abandonment and renaissance. Abandonment has occurred
in the olive landscape on Lesvos as well as the chestnut
landscapes in the Northern Apennines due to the outmigra-
tion of local people. Renaissance has been observed in the
case of the cork oaks in Extremadura and the chestnuts in
Corsica owing to regained profitability, but also awareness
and conservation programmes. The cork oak landscape in
Alentejo has undergone a process of polarisation, whereas
the olive landscape in Baena fails to fit this pattern. Indeed,
this landscape represents a very special case as it is the only
one that has undergone expansion and intensification simul-
taneously and that also did not start as a cultural landscape.
The landscapes of the southern fringe have generally been
focused on intensification, buttressed by a rising demand
for food due to a rapidly growing population (Benoit and
Comeau 2005; Zdruli 2014). We can observe intensification
in the olive landscape of Morocco and polarisation in the
chestnut landscape of Turkey. The abandonment process in
Tunisia can be understood if the context is considered: high
population pressure has led to over-exploitation, resulting in
local people’s restricted use and hence abandonment.
Driving forces oflandscape change
We have found that most of the landscape processes are
influenced by multiple interrelated driving forces that can
be categorised as socio-cultural, political, technical, eco-
nomic and natural.
Socio-cultural factors are important drivers of change and
are essential for expansion and renaissance to occur. Simi-
larly, a review of driving forces of landscape change across
Europe has identified cultural drivers as a key reason for
rural development activities (Plieninger etal. 2016). Multi-
ple demands for the use of a tree-crop landscape are tending
to lead landscapes towards expansion. However, the opposite
trend—the intensified exploitation of a single crop—has led
to landscape simplification. Socio-cultural drivers enjoy con-
siderable importance in landscape management because they
are prevalent in all landscape processes and usually play the
dominant role. However, there is no evidence of their actual
proportional contribution to decision making, which might,
therefore, be investigated in future research via interviews
regarding people’s perceptions.
Political drivers do not only influence the legal frame in
which a landscape develops but also directly determine prof-
itability for land managers through subsidies (cf. Table2).
Fig. 4 Driving forces that shape
the processes of landscape
change. The y-axis refers to the
percentage of drivers contribut-
ing to the processes of land-use
change
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1279Sustainability Science (2020) 15:1267–1283
1 3
Agricultural subsidies are usually named among the politi-
cal drivers and have contributed to both intensification and
abandonment. Land-use restrictions also play an important
role and seem to instigate polarisation. This is supported by
the European review on driving forces, where political driv-
ers have appeared most often as a driver for intensification
and represent the second-most common driver of abandon-
ment (Plieninger etal. 2016).
In terms of technical driving forces, agrochemicals
emerged most often, followed by mechanisation and tech-
nological progress, indicating an industrialisation of agri-
culture. Technical drivers seem to enjoy considerable
importance in the case of polarisation of a landscape, but
surprisingly no technical drivers were found to lead to aban-
donment. However, indirectly the technical opportunities
for industrial intensification fostered the abandonment of
less productive and particularly steeper slopes that cannot
be managed as mechanised systems (Lasanta etal. 2017;
Strijker 2005).
Economic drivers, in particular profitability or missing
profitability, represent major drivers of landscape manage-
ment, as it is necessary for people to make an income from
the land. Therefore, missing profitability mostly leads to
abandonment, whereas profitability fosters expansion, inten-
sification and renaissance. The demand (or low demand) for
a crop is closely connected to its profitability, as the two rise
or fall together.
In general, natural drivers rarely appear, but within these,
pests or diseases and droughts are prominently mentioned in
the literature included within this study. Natural drivers play
an important role in processes of abandonment and polarisa-
tion but not for expansion and scarcely for intensification.
They mainly reflect negative aspects such as catastrophic
events. Pests and diseases are very influential, especially for
chestnuts. Traditional chestnut landscapes consist of pure
Castanea sativa trees that are not resistant to diseases like
chestnut blight, whereas Castanea sativa that is interbred
with Castanea crenata and/or Castanea molissima can show
resistance (Ramos Guedes-Lafargue etal. 2005). Pests and
diseases determine the yield and thus people’s livelihoods
as well as the profitability of land management.
What isthefuture ofMediterranean landscapes?
Today, external shocks seem to be on the rise: the pressures
posed by pests have increased due to globalisation and land-
scape simplification (Roossinck and García-Arenal 2015;
Rusch etal. 2016), the prices of cork, chestnut and olive
products are dependent on the world market and extreme
weather events are expected to increase in magnitude and
frequency, including droughts in the Mediterranean Basin
(Beniston etal. 2007). Most contemporary forms of land use
are unsustainable, as they are unable to maintain the multiple
societal values of Mediterranean landscapes, such as biodi-
versity, food security, wood, aesthetic value and recreation
for future generations (McIntyre 2008; Kremen etal. 2012).
Our landscape histories demonstrate that tree-crop land-
scapes have met many of these needs in the past and seem
to have considerable potential to meet current and future
challenges (Hernández-Morcillo etal. 2018; Howlett etal.
2011). In fact, most of the renaissance activities in the tree-
crop landscapes have been driven by cultural values such as
tourism, outdoor recreation or sense of place. Nevertheless,
these often fail to lead to increased profitability for land
managers(Flinzberger etal. 2020). With the Mediterranean
Basin being heavily affected by climate change, tree-crop
landscapes may offer manifold adaptation and mitigation
options, in addition to the cultural values they provide. Thus,
finding the right financial instruments that would present
incentives to land managers to support multifunctional tree
crops represents the key to sustainable land management
(Hernández-Morcillo etal. 2018). However, considering the
increasing pressures, traditional systems that are typically
centred on one dominant tree species may be at risk under
changing climatic conditions. Introducing a mix of profit-
abletree-crop species as a crucial component of agroforestry
systems (e.g. combined with pastoralism) may offer a way
forward towards sustainability. Such traditional and novel
systems should be sophisticatedly designed and carefully
managed for diversity, profitability and multifunctionality.
Emerging questions are: how can the attractiveness of sus-
tainable landscape management be enhancedfor locals? And
which will be the incentives supporting this?
Limitations
Our study has covered some of the most iconic tree crops
that shape landscapes and are important for human liveli-
hoods in the Mediterranean region. We have utilised a novel
approach to analyse and compare the processes and driv-
ers of tree-crop landscapes, hence some limitations of our
method need to be considered. We selected three important
tree crops that occur at the landscape scale in the Mediter-
ranean region, but other tree crops, for example pine nuts
or almonds (Salas-Salvadó etal. 2011), have yet to be con-
sidered. Akin to other studies of landscape history (Frat-
taroli etal. 2014; Turner etal. 2018), published material on
the historic development of our study landscapes remains
limited, especially as regards those landscapes in the Mid-
dle Eastern and North African part of the Mediterranean
Basin. Even if there are no natural risks named in certain
periods, this does not necessarily mean the absence of these
drivers. The authors of the literature that we used could
have regarded them as not relevant for their publication. In
particular, there is scant information available on the peri-
ods of continuity. Furthermore, there may be an inherent
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1280 Sustainability Science (2020) 15:1267–1283
1 3
trade-off between our wish to generalise findings across
time and space and the consideration of the complexity of
these landscape histories. This complicates the unravelling
of processes, driving forces, challenges and solutions of the
system (in this case the landscape) because there are many
interdependencies across scales (Muñoz-Rojas etal. 2019).
Given that our study has been based on a review of primary
literature, biases in the identification of relevant drivers of
change or in the assessment of processes in primary sources
will have translated into similar biases in our study. Fur-
thermore, our cross-site comparative approach has implied
that we could not use literature published in local languages
(with the exception of Spanish), potentially presenting
another source of bias. Especially for the southern fringe
of the Mediterranean Basin, there is little English language
information about landscape history available. We attempted
to reduce these biases via triangulation between different
sources concerning each study landscape and by performing
additional interviews with local landscape experts.
Conclusions
Global challenges raise the question of and the need for sus-
tainable landscape management, with agroforestry likely to
play a key role. In this study, we have found that many land-
scapes across the Mediterranean Basin have a long history
of biodiverse and sustainable tree-crop systems, although
they have undergone substantial changes over time. Our
analysis of nine tree-crop landscapes in the Mediterranean
Basin offers the following key lessons for future sustainable
landscape management:
• Landscape history enables us to learn lessons for future
sustainable landscape management. It points to the inher-
ent complexity of landscapes, which must be embraced
to guide land uses towards greater sustainability.
• Driving forces mostly appear in bundles and interde-
pendencies across natural, political technological, socio-
cultural and economic factors, calling for a multi-sec-
torial and holistic approach to landscape management.
However, in some cases single drivers, such as political
restrictions or civil strife, can transform landscapes and
may require particular attention.
• Profitability is a key driver for the existence and the per-
sistence of tree-crop landscapes.
• Cultural and social drivers play an important role for
landscape management, but they have not always been
fully acknowledged.
• Tree-crop histories present considerable potential for
multifunctional and diverse systems to cope with future
challenges, compared to forestry or annual cropping sys-
tems.
Acknowledgements Open Access funding provided by Projekt DEAL.
This research has been funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
(DFG, German Research Foundation), project number 426675955. We
thank the following experts for providing valuable case study informa-
tion: Sana Dallali, Silvo-Pastoral Institute, Tabarka University of Jen-
douba, Tunisia, on cork oak landscapes in Tunisia; Jeffrey Wall, Depart-
ment of Natural Resources, Cornell University, Ithaca, USA, on chestnut
landscapes in Turkey; and Ulrich Deil, Institute of Biology II, University
of Freiburg, Germany, on olive landscapes in Morocco.This study con-
tributes to the Global Land Programme (www.glp.earth ) and the Pro-
gramme on Ecosystem Change and Society (www.pecs-scien ce.org).
Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attri-
bution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adapta-
tion, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long
as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source,
provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes
were made. The images or other third party material in this article are
included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated
otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in
the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not
permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will
need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a
copy of this licence, visit http://creat iveco mmons .org/licen ses/by/4.0/.
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