Mediterranean forests: human use and complex adaptive systems

This book links the emerging concepts of complexity, complex adaptive system (CAS) and resilience to forest ecology and management. It explores how these concepts can be applied in various forest biomes of the world with their different ecological, economic and social settings, and history. Individual chapters stress different elements of these concepts based on the specific setting and expertise of the authors. Regions and authors have been selected to cover a diversity of viewpoints and emphases, from silviculture and natural forests to forest restoration, and from boreal to tropical forests. In this chapter, we show that Mediterranean forests can be considered complex adaptive systems and thus be understood and managed according to the principles of complexity science. First, we examine the profound impact of the long history of human use on Mediterranean forest ecosystems and how this human impact has created a unique set of conditions not commonly found elsewhere in the world. Then we define management strategies that increase the resilience and adaptive capacity of Mediterranean forests facing rapidly changing conditions. We refer to forests of the northern Mediterranean Basin, with particular attention to Italy and Spain. Due to their geography and long history of human uses, these two countries provide very good examples of complex socio-ecological linkages that characterize Mediterranean forests and their management.