Abandoned farmland near Westing, Unst, Shetland, Scotland. Nirian / E+ / Getty Images
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Abandoned farmland in Europe, which covers around 25 percent of the continent's area, could potentially be rewilded, according to a new study published in the journal Current Biology.
According to a Cell Press press release, the researchers found that 289 million acres of farmland in Europe have ample potential for rewilding.
“Europe has many areas with a low human footprint, important animal species and potential for rewilding,” Miguel B. Araújo, a biogeographer at the University of Évora in Portugal and the National Museum of Natural Sciences in Spain and lead author of the study, said in a press release. “We also highlight that different strategies are needed depending on each local situation.”
The team presented a roadmap for countries to reach the European Biodiversity Strategy's targets of protecting 30 percent of land area and strictly conserving 10 percent by 2030.
The team found that 70 percent of the opportunities for rewilding landscapes exist in the cooler climates of Northern Europe, particularly Scotland, Scandinavia and the Baltic States, with the greatest potential in the Iberian Peninsula.
Abandoned farmhouse on abandoned farmland in Spain. OlivierGuiberteau / iStock / Getty Images Plus
Researchers developed a benchmark for determining the rewilding potential of a given area: a large area of land, at least 24,710.5 acres, with little human interference and containing important species.
The team also established two rewilding strategies, passive and active, depending on the size of the area and the types of animals present there.
Passive rewilding relies on the natural process of recolonization, where animals gradually and spontaneously return to abandoned areas. This approach works best in areas with healthy populations of important herbivores such as deer, moose, ibex and rabbits, in addition to carnivores such as bears, lynx and wolves.
Areas where key herbivore or carnivore species are lacking require active rewilding, i.e. the reintroduction of missing species to speed up ecosystem recovery. The aim of both strategies is to create biodiverse, self-sustaining landscapes.
“I often call herbivores ecosystem engineers because they graze on plants and shape them, while predators are the architects who create the 'landscapes of fear' that herbivores avoid,” Araújo said in a press release. “The interactions between herbivores and carnivores create a mosaic of patterns in the landscape that is essential for biodiversity.”
A black and chestnut Icelandic horse lives in abandoned farmland on the Snæfellsnes Peninsula in Iceland. Rixipix / iStock / Getty Images Plus
Several countries, including France, Spain, the UK and the Scandinavian countries, stand to achieve their conservation goals if they adopt the rewilding strategies and zones proposed in the study.
Due to Europe's high population densities, other countries such as Belgium, Denmark, Ireland, Italy and the Netherlands would not be able to achieve their conservation targets by relying solely on the recommendations of this study, highlighting the need for alternative approaches to conservation.
“Conservation strategies that include ecosystem restoration in densely populated areas could help some countries achieve their conservation goals,” Araújo said. “Countries could clear land for conservation areas or create networks of small protected habitats. Traditional multi-use landscapes, such as the oak parklands of the Iberian Peninsula and various large-scale agricultural and forestry systems across Europe, could also help if managed sustainably.”
The researchers hope that as organizations and governments continue to invest in land conservation, their framework and findings will inform land acquisition and management efforts where rewilding is most likely to be successful.
“We are in a race against time,” Araujo said, “and the areas that seem most promising for rewilding today may not be the same in 50 years' time because of the effects of climate change.”
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Kristen is a writer of fiction and non-fiction. She holds a J.D. and a Certificate in Marine and Coastal Law from the University of Oregon Law School and an MA in Creative Writing from Birkbeck, University of London. She is the author of a collection of short stories, The Smallest of Entryways, and a travel memoir, Ernest's Way: An International Journey Through Hemingway's Life.
