The application of agro-forestry management is one of the strategies to mitigate the effects of climate change in this part of the Mediterranean region. Patterns of land-use change in the Mediterranean region are developing at a rapid pace. In the north of the region, agricultural crops have been replaced by poorly managed young forests that accumulate biomass, with the consequent risk of fire.

Developed by the Freixe Natura Group, the project “AGROFORESTA: Agro-forestry mosaic and climate change” has the support of the Biodiversity Foundation, through its call for grants.

The loss of the traditional agroforestry mosaic that is taking place in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, where the regeneration and consolidation of poorly developed forest masses in abandoned cultivation areas, leads to a reduction in water resources in temporary water systems and increases the risk of fire spread. With the AGROFORESTA project, 4.85 ha of forested agricultural area has been recovered through stewardship agreements with forest owners, with the removal of forest mass equivalent to 6.9 tons of wood, which means for 5 years of management the recovery of 350 mm/year in terms of drainage water and runoff, together with the storage of water in soil of 5.8 kg/^m2 per year. If we extrapolate these values to the area of crop areas transformed into forest masses in the municipalities of Flix and La Pobla de Benifassà, the recovery of water resources can be considerably high and a reduction in the risk of fire spreading, as these areas function as true agricultural firebreaks. In addition, this type of management favours the heterogeneity of the landscape and favours biodiversity. We highlight that this type of management has favoured the presence of two species of birds that are currently close to extinction, the grey shrike and the wheatear.

Four stewardship agreements achieved, which translate into 4.85 hectares of deforested agricultural areas and a total of 6.9 tonnes of forest biomass removed.