Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-dk4vv Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-18T21:56:45.778Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

People and nature in the Fuerteventura Biosphere Reserve (Canary Islands): socio-ecological relationships under climate change

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 March 2017

MARÍA F. SCHMITZ*
Affiliation:
Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Department of Ecology, 28040-Madrid, Spain
CECILIA ARNAIZ-SCHMITZ
Affiliation:
Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Social–Ecological Systems Laboratory, Department of Ecology, 28049-Madrid, Spain
CRISTINA HERRERO-JÁUREGUI
Affiliation:
Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Department of Ecology, 28040-Madrid, Spain
PABLO DÍAZ
Affiliation:
Universidad de La Laguna, Institute of Political and Social Sciences, 38205-Tenerife, Spain
DANIELA G.G. MATOS
Affiliation:
Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Department of Ecology, 28040-Madrid, Spain
FRANCISCO D. PINEDA
Affiliation:
Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Department of Ecology, 28040-Madrid, Spain
*
*Correspondence: Prof. María F. Schmitz email: [email protected]

Summary

This paper analyses the interdependence between environment and society in terms of socio-ecological webs, in which human and biophysical systems are linked. A quantitative model, based on canonical correlation analysis applied in Fuerteventura Island (Canary Archipelago), detected indicators of human–landscape relationships and predicted potential shifts based on simulated environmental changes. In the last few decades, the landscape of Fuerteventura Island has changed: natural components and cultural agrarian uses have decreased, while the population has increased due to immigration, mainly from mainland Spain and other European countries. The island shows a transition from a coupled local socio-ecosystem to one based on the interaction between environment and coastal tourism that decouples native inhabitants from the landscape and traditional land-use practices. As vulnerability and adaptation to climate change represent critical sets of potential interactions in Canary Islands, a model and a map of the socio-ecological system under four Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change scenarios show rural decoupling through ‘deagrarianization’ and ‘deruralization’, as well as stronger links to the tourism system.

Type
Papers
Copyright
Copyright © Foundation for Environmental Conservation 2017 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

Supplementary material can be found online at https://doi.org/10.1017/S0376892917000169

References

AEMET (2007) Base de datos meteorológicos. Madrid, Spain: Ministerio de Medio Ambiente (MARM).Google Scholar
Antošová, G. (2014) The determinants of methodological discussion in the multidisplinary framework of cultural rural development. Journal of Education, Psychology and Social Sciences 2: 2429.Google Scholar
Arco, M. (2008) La flora y la vegetación canaria ante el cambio climático actual. In: Naturaleza Amenazada por los Cambios en el Clima, ed. Afonso-Carrillo, J., pp. 105140. Tenerife, Spain: Inst. Estudios Hispánicos Canarias.Google Scholar
Barros, C., Thuiller, W., Georges, D., Boulangeat, I. & Münkemüller, T. (2016) N-dimensional hypervolumes to study stability of complex ecosystems. Ecology Letters 19: 729742.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Biggs, R., Blenckner, T., Folke, C., Gordon, L., Norström, A., Nyström, M. & Peterson, G.D. (2012) Regime shifts. In: Encyclopedia of Theoretical Ecology, eds. Hastings, A. & Gross, L., pp. 609617. Ewing, NJ: University of California Press.Google Scholar
Bujosa, A. & Rosselló, J. (2013) Climate change and summer mass tourism: the case of Spanish domestic tourism. Climate Change 117: 363375.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Butler, R.W., ed. (2006) The Tourism Area Life Cycle: Applications and Modifications. Clevedon, UK: Channel View Publications.Google Scholar
Chesnais, J.C. (2001) A march toward population recession. Population and Development Review 27: 255259.Google Scholar
Collins, M., Tett, S.F.B. & Cooper, C. (2001) The internal climate variability of HadCM3, a version of the Hadley Centre coupled model without flux adjustments. Climate Dynamics 17: 6181.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cumming, G.S., Allen, C.R., Ban, N.C., Biggs, D., Biggs, H.C., Cumming, D.H.M., de Vos, A., Epstein, G., Etienne, M., Maciejewski, K., Mathevet, R., Moore, C., Nenadovic, M. & Schoon, M. (2015) Understanding protected area resilience: a multi-scale social-ecological framework. Ecological Applications 25: 299319.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
De Aranzabal, I., Schmitz, M.F., Aguilera, P. & Pineda, F.D. (2008) Modelling of landscape changes derived from the dynamics of socio-ecological systems. A case of study in a semiarid Mediterranean landscape. Ecological Indicators 8: 672685.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Díaz, P., Ruiz Labourdette, D., Darias, A.R., Santana, A., Schmitz, M.F. & Pineda, F.D. (2010) Landscape perception of local population: the relationship between ecological characteristics, local society and visitor preferences. In: Sustainable Tourism IV, eds. Brebbia, C.A. & Pineda, F.D., pp. 309318. Southampton, UK: Wit Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
ESRI (2012) ArcGIS 2012. Redlands, CA: Environmental Systems Research Institute.Google Scholar
European Commission (2014) Towards an Integrated Approach to Cultural Heritage for Europe. Brussels, Belgium: European Commission.Google Scholar
European Commission (2016) European Red List of Kabitats. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union.Google Scholar
Folke, C., Carpenter, S., Elmqvist, T., Gunderson, L., Holling, C.S. & Walker, B. (2002) Resilience and sustainable development: building adaptive capacity in a world of transformations. AMBIO: A Journal of the Human Environment 31: 437440.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fu, P. & Rich, P.M. (2000) The Solar Analyst 1.0 User Manual. Lawrence, KS: Helios Environmental Modeling Institute, LLC.Google Scholar
Gangoso, L., Donázar, J.A., Scholz, S., Palacios, C.J. & Hiraldo, F. (2006) Contradiction in conservation of island ecosystems: plants, introduced herbivores and avian scavengers in the Canary Islands. Biodiversity & Conservation 15: 22312248.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
García-Herrera, R., Gallego, D., Hernández, E., Gimeno, L., Ribera, P. & Calvo, N. (2003) Precipitation trends in the Canary Islands. International Journal of Climatology 23: 235241.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
García-Rodríguez, J.L., García-Rodríguez, F.J. & Castilla-Gutiérrez, C. (2016) Human heritage and sustainable development on arid islands: the case of the Eastern Canary Islands. Island Studies Journal 11: 113130 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gatzweiler, F.W. (2014) Value, institutional complementarity and variety in coupled socio-ecological systems. Ecosystem Services 10: 137143.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gual, M.A. & Norgaard, R.B. (2010) Bridging ecological and social systems coevolution: a review and proposal. Ecological Economics 69: 707717.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gunderson, L.H. & Holling, C.S., eds. (2002) Panarchy: Understanding Transformations in Human and Natural Systems. Washington, DC: Islands Press.Google Scholar
Haines, A., Kovats, R.S., Campbell-Lendrum, D. & Corvalan, C. (2006) Climate change and human health: impacts, vulnerability and public health. Public Health 120: 585596.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hamilton, J.M. & Tol, R.S.J. (2004) The Impacts of Climate Change on Tourism and Recreation. Hamburg, Germany: Hamburg University and Centre for Marine and Atmospheric Science.Google Scholar
Holling, CS. (2001) Understanding the complexity of economic, ecological, and social systems. Ecosystems 4: 390405.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
IPCC (2000) Special Report on Emissions Scenarios. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
IPCC (2007) Climate Change 2007: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. Southern Europe. Working Group II Contribution to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Brussels, Belgium: United Nations Environmental Program.Google Scholar
ISTAC (2016) Instituto Canario de Estadística [www document]. URL www.gobiernodecanarias.org/istac Google Scholar
Lorenzoni, I., Jordan, A., Hulme, M., Kerry Turner, R. & O'Riordan, T. (2000) A co-evolutionary approach to climate change impact assessment: part I. Integrating socio-economic and climate change scenarios. Global Environmental Change 10: 5768.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
MEA (2005) Ecosystems and Human Well-being: Desertification Synthesis. Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. Washington, DC: World Resources Institute.Google Scholar
Martín, J.L., Bethencourt, J. & Cuevas-Agulló, E. (2012) Assessment of global warming on the island of Tenerife, Canary Islands (Spain). Trends in minimum, maximum and mean temperatures since 1944. Climatic Change 114: 343355.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mitchell, T.D., Carter, T.R., Jones, P.D., Hulme, M. & New, M. (2004) A Comprehensive Set of High-resolution Grids of Monthly Climate for Europe and the Globe: The Observed Record (1901–2000) and 16 Scenarios (2001–2100). Working Paper 55. Norwich, UK: Tyndall Centre for Climatic Change Research.Google Scholar
Mitchell, N., Rössler, M. & Tricaud, J.M., eds. (2009) World Heritage Cultural Landscapes. A Handbook for Conservation and Management. Paris, France: UNESCO World Heritage Centre.Google Scholar
Morata, A. (2014) Guía de Escenarios Regionalizados de Cambio Climático sobre España a Partir de los Resultados del IPCC-AR4. Madrid, Spain: Agencia Estatal de Meteorología, Ministerio de Medio Ambiente y Medio Rural y Marino.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ninyerola, M., Pons, X. & Roure, J.M. (2007a) Objective air temperature mapping for the Iberian Peninsula using spatial interpolation and GIS. International Journal of Climatology 27: 12311242.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ninyerola, M., Pons, X. & Roure, J.M. (2007b) Monthly precipitation mapping of the Iberian Peninsula using spatial interpolation tools implemented in a Geographic Information System. Theoretical and Applied Climatology 89: 195209.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Norberg, J. & Cumming, G.S. (2008) Complexity Theory for a Sustainable Future. New York, NY: Columbia University Press.Google Scholar
Okabe, A. & Suzuki, A. (1997) Locational optimization problems solved through Voronoi diagrams. European Journal of Operational Research 98: 445456.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ostrom, E. (2009) A general framework for analyzing sustainability of social–ecological systems. Science 325: 419422.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Palmer, M.W. (1993) Putting things in even better order: the advantages of canonical correspondence analysis. Ecology 74: 22152230.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Parcerisas, L., Marull, J., Pino, J., Tello, E., Coll, F. & Basnou, C. (2012) Land use changes, landscape ecology and their socioeconomic driving forces in the Spanish Mediterranean coast (El Maresme County, 1850–2005). Environmental Science &; Policy 23: 120132.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Petrosillo, I., Aretano, R. & Zurlini, G. (2015) Socioecological systems. In: Reference Module in Earth Systems and Environmental Sciences, ed. Elias, S.A., pp. 17. Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Elsevier.Google Scholar
Reynolds, J.F., Grainger, A., Stafford Smith, D.M., Bastin, G., Garcia-Barrios, L., Fernández, R.J., Janssen, M.A., Jürgens, N., Scholes, R.J., Veldkamp, A., Verstraete, M.M., Von Maltitz, G. & Zdruli, P. (2011) Scientific concepts for an integrated analysis of desertification. Land Degradation & Development 22: 166183.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rivas-Martínez, S. & Rivas-Sáenz, S. (2009) Sistema de clasificación bioclimática mundial (1996–2009) [www document]. URL www.ucm.es/info/cif Google Scholar
Ruiz-Labourdette, D., Schmitz, M.F. & Pineda, F.D. (2013) Changes in tree species composition in Mediterranean mountains under climate change: indicators for conservation planning. Ecological Indicators 24: 310323.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sharpley, R. & Jepson, D. (2011) Rural tourism a spiritual experience? Annals of Tourism Research 38: 5271.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schmitz, M.F., De Aranzabal, I., Aguilera, P., Rescia, A. & Pineda, F.D. (2003) Relationship between landscape typology and socioeconomic structure. Scenarios of change in Spanish cultural landscapes. Ecological Modelling 168: 343356.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schmitz, M.F., Matos, D.G.G., De Aranzabal, I., Ruiz-Labourdette, D. & Pineda, F.D. (2012) Effects of a protected area on land-use dynamics and socioeconomic development of local populations. Biological Conservation 149: 122135.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sherry, A. & Henson, R.K. (2015) Conducting and interpreting canonical correlation analysis in personality research: a user-friendly primer. Journal of Personality Assessment 84: 3748.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
SIGA (1980–2010) Mapa de Cultivos y Aprovechamientos 1980–1990; 1991–2010. Madrid, Spain: Ministerio de Agricultura Alimentación y Medio Ambiente.Google Scholar
UNESCO (2005) Biosphere Reserves: Benefits and Opportunities. Paris, France: Programme on Man and the Biosphere (MAB).Google Scholar
Uyarra, M.C., Côté, I.M., Gill, J.A., Tinch, R.R.T., Viner, D. & Watkinson, A.R. (2005) Island-specific preferences of tourists for environmental features: implications of climate change for tourism-dependent states. Environmental Conservation 32: 1119.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Van Nes, E.H. & Scheffer, M. (2005) A strategy to improve the contribution of complex simulation models to ecological theory. Ecological Modelling 185: 153164.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Verón, S.R., Paruelo, J.M. & Oesterheld, M. (2006) Assessing desertification. Journal of Arid Environments 66: 751763.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
WFNC (2015). World Forum on Natural Capital. Edinburgh, UK [www document]. URL http://naturalcapitalforum.com Google Scholar
Wilby, R.L., Dawson, C.W. & Barrow, E.M. (2002) SDSM – a decision support tool for the assessment of regional climate change impacts. Environmental Modelling & Software 17: 147159.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Williams, J.W. & Jackson, S.T. (2007) Novel climates, no-analog communities and ecological surprises. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 5: 475482.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Supplementary material: File

Schmitz supplementary material S1

Appendix

Download Schmitz supplementary material S1(File)
File 14.5 KB
Supplementary material: File

Schmitz supplementary material S2

Appendix

Download Schmitz supplementary material S2(File)
File 13.2 KB