Balancing on a Planet: Toward an Agricultural Anthropology for the Twenty-First Century

Robert Netting had a central role in establishing agricultural anthropology. Many people rightly remember him as an astute ethnographer of farming communities, focused on analyzing the empirical details of changing patterns of household composition, land holding size and labor use. Yet, during his career he was increasingly concerned about the sustainability of smallholder vs. conventional industrial agriculture models on a global scale. Thus, Netting also had an important role in laying the foundation for the development of an agricultural anthropology for the twenty-first century, an anthropology that shows how smallholders balancing on an Alp can help us to understand how we might balance on this planet. This paper analyzes Netting's contribution to the future of agricultural anthropology in three key areas: the environment, population, and agriculture relationship; farmer knowledge and epistemology; and models for global sustainability.     

Deagrarianisation and Forest Revegetation in a Biodiversity Hotspot on the Wild Coast,South Africa

Deagraianisation is a worldwide phenomenon with widespread social, ecological and economic effects yet with little consensus on the local or higher level causes. There have been contested views on the causes and consequences of deagrarianisation on South Africa’s Wild Coast, which is an international biodiversity hotspot. Using GIS, household interviews and ecological sampling, we compared the perspectives of current and former cultivators as to why some have abandoned farming, whilst also tracking the uses and woody plant cover and composition of fields abandoned at different periods. The GIS analysis showed that field abandonment had been ongoing over several decades, with a decline from 12.5 % field cover in 1961 to 2.7 % in 2009. The area of forests and woodlands almost doubled in the corresponding period. There was a distinct peak in field abandonment during the time of political transition at the national level in the early 1990s. This political change led to a decrease in government support for livestock farming, which in turn resulted in reduced animal draught power at the household and community level, and hence reduced cropping. The study showed it is largely the wealthier households that have remained in arable agriculture and that the poorer households have abandoned farming. The abandoned fields show a distinct trend of increasing woody biomass and species richness with length of time since abandonment, with approximately three woody plant species added per decade. Most local respondents dislike the increases in forest and woodland extent and density because of anxiety about wild animals causing harm to crops and even humans, and the loss of an agricultural identity to livelihoods and the landscape.     

Grassland butterfly communities of the Western Siberian forest steppe in the light of post-Soviet land abandonment

Land-use change and homogenization of the landscape are severe threats to butterfly diversity. The break-up of the Soviet Union in 1991 led to land abandonment on very large scales. This study aims at assessing the impact of the ongoing abandonment of traditionally managed grasslands and subsequent vegetation succession on butterflies in Western Siberia, a species-rich area with butterfly communities similar to those of Central and Eastern European grasslands. 20 mown and 20 abandoned grasslands were surveyed using Distance Sampling methods in summer 2015. We recorded 997 individuals from 44 species, pooled over two sampling events. An indicator species analysis and detrended correspondence analysis revealed that communities likely underwent changes in species composition during succession, and that habitat specialization decreased. In contrast to previous studies we found no evidence of early stages of abandonment being more species-rich than mown meadows. On unmanaged grasslands litter cover and litter depth were significantly higher than on mown grasslands. Half of the abandoned sites were riparian meadows. The dynamics and ecological characteristics of the floodplain had a stronger influence on community composition than land use. This study shows that structural heterogeneity and lepidopteran diversity of the vast, but understudied, Western Siberian grasslands are driven by mechanic and natural disturbance. Conservation should aim at responding to trends of abandonment and actively maintaining a mosaic with grasslands of different successional stages.     

Smallholders in the Maya Lowlands: Homage to a Garden Variety Ethnographer

Ancient Maya subsistence practices and their relation to the rise and decline of Maya civilization have long been the subject of archaeological debate. Traditionally Mayanists correlate subsistence strategy with political economy, positing that a change in one must correspond to a change in the other. Since smallholders, as defined by Netting, can exist within a variety of political and economic systems, their ubiquity in the Maya Lowlands may explain why household studies often fail to detect political or economic change at a macro level. The absence of smallholders, however, may correlate with the depopulation of many Maya cities at the end of the ninth century.     

Plant traits, litter quality and decomposition in a Mediterranean old-field succession

Human-induced changes in land use lead to major changes in plant community composition which have strong effects on ecosystem processes. Here, we tested the hypothesis that changes in traits of living plants induced by such changes resulted in changes in the quality and decay properties of the litter produced by the different communities. This was done in the context of a secondary succession following land abandonment in the Mediterranean region of Southern France. During the course of succession, species with high specific leaf area (the ratio of leaf area to leaf mass), low leaf dry matter content (the ratio of leaf dry mass to leaf fresh mass) and high leaf nitrogen concentration were progressively replaced by species with opposite characteristics. Accordingly, the initial litter concentrations of carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) decreased, while their C:N ratio and their hemicellulose concentration increased with time after abandonment. Early-successional communities had faster rates of litter decay and N release from litter, but these differences damped out with decomposition time. Nitrogen release from litter was related to initial litter chemical composition, particularly to its N concentration. This also held for litter decay rate, but only during the first 18 months of decomposition. Community functional parameters (i.e. trait values weighed according to the relative abundance of species) were tightly linked to initial litter N concentration, and thereby to litter decay and N loss rates. The strongest correlations were found with leaf dry matter content, which therefore appears as a powerful marker of litter properties. This provides further evidence that characteristics of living leaves persist in litter, and that some ecosystem processes can be inferred from plant functional traits. Responsible Editor: Alfonso Escudero     

Secondary old‐field succession in an ecosystem with restrictive soils: does time from abandonment matter?

Question: Our knowledge of secondary old‐field succession in Mediterranean environments is extremely poor and is non‐existent for restrictive soil conditions. How these ecosystems, such as those on semi‐arid gypsum outcrops, recover seems a priority for managing change and for ensuring conservation of specialized and endangered biota. We tested whether reinstallation of gypsum vegetation after cropland abandonment requires: (1) soil physical restructuring and (2) chemical readjustment to enable growth and survival of specialized gypsophilous vegetation, and more specifically how time from abandonment drives such environmental change. Location: We sampled a complete set of old fields on gypsum soils (1–60 yr since abandonment) in Villarrubia de Santiago (Toledo, Spain). Methods: Generalized linear models and model comparisons were used to analyse the effect of several environmental parameters on species abundance and richness. Ordination methods (canonical correspondence analyses and partial canonical correspondence analyses) were undertaken to evaluate compositional variation among the sampled fields. Results: Secondary old‐field succession on semi‐arid Mediterranean gypsum soils was controlled by a complex set of factors acting relatively independently. Surprisingly, time since abandonment explains only a small proportion of compositional variation (3%). Conversely, soil chemical features independently from time since abandonment are important for explaining differences found in old‐field composition. Conclusions: Secondary succession on specialized Mediterranean soils does not follow the widely described “amelioration” process in which soil features and composition are closely related over time. Restrictive soil conditions control both structure and functioning of mature communities and also secondary succession.     

Impacts of Land Abandonment on Vegetation: Successional Pathways in European Habitats

Changes in traditional agricultural systems in Europe in recent decades have led to widespread abandonment and colonization of various habitats by shrubs and trees. We combined several vegetation databases to test whether patterns of changes in plant diversity after land abandonment in different habitats followed similar pathways. The impacts of land abandonment and subsequent woody colonization on vegetation composition and plant traits were studied in five semi-natural open habitats and two arable habitats in six regions of Europe. For each habitat, vegetation surveys were carried out in different stages of succession using either permanent or non-permanent plots. Consecutive stages of succession were defined on a physiognomic basis from initial open stages to late woody stages. Changes in vegetation composition, species richness, numbers of species on Red Lists, plant strategy types, Ellenberg indicator values of the vegetation, Grime CSR strategy types and seven ecological traits were assessed for each stage of the successional pathway. Abandonment of agro-pastoral land-use and subsequent woody colonization were associated with changes in floristic composition. Plant richness varied according to the different habitats and stages of succession, but semi-natural habitats differed from arable fields in several ecological traits and vegetation responses. Nevertheless, succession occurred along broadly predictable pathways. Vegetation in abandoned arable fields was characterized by a decreasing importance of R-strategists, annuals, seed plants with overwintering green leaves, insect-pollinated plants with hemi-rosette morphology and plants thriving in nutrient-rich conditions, but an increase in species considered as endangered according to the Red Lists. Conversely, changes in plant traits with succession within the initially-open semi-natural habitats showed an increase in plants thriving in nutrient-rich conditions, stress-tolerant plants and plants with sexual and vegetative reproduction, but a sharp decrease in protected species. In conclusion, our study showed a set of similarities in responses of the vegetation in plant traits after land abandonment, but we also highlighted differences between arable fields and semi-natural habitats, emphasizing the importance of land-use legacy.     

Community structure and diversity of bryophytes and vascular plants in abandoned fen meadows

We examined effects of abandonment on species diversity and species composition by comparing 21 calcareous fen meadows in the pre-alpine zone of central and northeastern Switzerland. Meadows were divided into three classes of successional stages (mown: annually mown in late summer, young fallow: 4–15 years, and old fallow: >15 years of abandonment). In each fen, we measured litter mass in four 20 cm×20 cm plots, as well as (aboveground) biomass and species density (number of species per unit area) of bryophytes and vascular plants. Bryophyte biomass was reduced in abandoned fens, whereas litter mass and aboveground biomass of vascular plants increased. Species density of both taxonomic groups was lower in abandoned than in mown fens. Young and old successional stages were not different except for bryophytes, for which old successional stages had higher species density than young stages. We used litter mass and aboveground biomass of vascular plants as covariables in analyses of variance to reveal their effects on species density of both taxonomic groups. For bryophytes, litter mass was more important than vascular plant biomass in explaining variance of species density. This indicates severe effects of burying by litter on bryophyte species density. For species density of vascular plants, both vascular plant biomass and litter mass were of similar importance in explaining the decreased species density. Canonical correspondence analyses showed that abandonment also had an effect on species composition of both bryophytes and vascular plants. However, young and old successional stages were not different indicating fast initial changes after abandonment, but slow secondary succession afterwards. Furthermore, indicator species analysis showed that there was no establishment of new species after abandonment that might dramatically alter fen communities. Re-introduction of mowing as a nature conservation strategy may thus be very promising – even for old fallows.     

Gendered Homegardens: A Study in Three Mountain Areas of the Iberian Peninsula

Gendered Homegardens: A Study in Three Mountain Areas of the Iberian Peninsula. As an example of the importance of gender relations in the use of natural resources, several authors have analyzed the role of women in homegardens. Gendered differences in homegarden management have been difficult to disentangle due to the often–shared nature of gardening. Here, we use an innovative approach to analyze gendered differences in the characteristics and management of homegardens. Specifically, we use information on the prevalence of different household members in gardening activities to classify homegardens as women’s, men’s, or shared. Then, we compare several garden characteristics across the three types of homegardens. For the case study, we use data from homegardens in three rural areas of the Iberian Peninsula. We found that household members generally share homegarden responsibilities in these three regions and that many homegarden characteristics vary with the distribution of gardening tasks. Specifically, we discovered that gardens managed mainly by men were larger, more distant from the dwelling, and better exposed than gardens managed by women. Men and women also used different management techniques; organic fertilizers and traditional pest control management systems predominated in gardens managed by women. Men and women also differed in how they reportedly use garden products, with women favoring household consumption versus sale or gifting. Last, gardens managed mainly by women had a larger diversity of uses for species and a larger diversity of species per unit area. Cultural norms of what is considered appropriate behavior for men and women help explain differences in garden characteristics and their plant composition and structure.     

Abandonment of Dogs and Cats: Public Opinions as Population Management Indicators

This study involved characterizing public opinions on selected issues related to the abandonment of dogs and cats in Votorantim, São Paulo, Brazil. This goal was achieved by applying multiple correspondence analysis to answers recorded in questionnaires of a population-based survey. The results suggest that the tolerance of potentially problematic behaviors did not depend on the specific kind of behavior, at least among the behaviors evaluated. The opinions given for the most frequent fate of the companion animals did not depend on the species, and those who considered abandonment to be one of the most frequent fates tended to also consider abandonment as a solution to problematic behaviors. The provision of reasons for abandonment was more frequent among interviewees who considered abandonment as one of the more common fates of nonhuman animals and as a solution to problematic behaviors. Population management interventions should be reflected in public opinion, so the public opinion characteristics that were found can be used as indicators of changes generated by such interventions.     

The role of landuse and natural determinants for grassland vegetation composition in the Swiss Alps

The Alps provide a high habitat diversity for plant species, structured by broad- and fine-scale abiotic site conditions. In man-made grasslands, vegetation composition is additionally affected by the type of landuse. We recorded vegetation composition in 216 parcels of grassland in 12 municipalities representing an area of 170×70 km in the south-eastern part of the Swiss Alps. Each parcel was characterized by a combination of altitudinal level (valley, intermediate, alp), traditional landuse (mown, grazed), current management (mown, grazed, abandoned), and fertilization (unfertilized, fertilized). For each parcel we also assessed the abiotic factors aspect, slope, pH value, and geographic coordinates, and for each municipality annual precipitation and its cultural tradition. We analysed vegetation composition using (i) variation partitioning in RDA, (ii) cover of graminoids, non-legume forbs, and legumes, and (iii) dominance and frequency of species. Species composition was determined by, in decreasing order of variation explained, landuse, broad-scale abiotic factors, fine-scale abiotic factors, and cultural tradition. Current socio-economically motivated landuse changes, such as grazing of unfertilized former meadows or their abandonment, strongly affect vegetation composition. In our study, the frequency of characteristic meadow species was significantly smaller in grazed and even smaller in abandoned parcels than in still mown ones, suggesting less severe consequences of grazing for vegetation composition than of abandonment. Therefore, low-intensity grazing and mowing every few years should be considered valuable conservation alternatives to abandonment. Furthermore, because each landuse type was characterized by different species, a high variety of landuse types should be promoted to preserve plant species diversity in Alpine grasslands.     

Fear of the dark: decline in plant diversity and invasion of alien species due to increased tree canopy density and eutrophication in lowland woodlands

The abandonment of traditional forest management and the conversion of lowland woodlands from coppices to high forests may lead to a reduction in plant diversity. We studied long-term changes in semi-natural lowland woodland vegetation in the Czech Republic (Central Europe) by resampling 29 vegetation plots (relevés) first sampled in the 1950s. The results indicated a shift to shady plant communities (i.e. loss of heliophilous species and expansion of shade-tolerant species), caused by an increase in the tree and shrub layer canopy due to the expansion of deciduous tree species. At the same time, species richness (alpha diversity) had declined significantly, though we noted no signs of homogenisation in the vegetation cover. Species typical of nutrient-rich habitats and alien and/or invasive species had expanded. We confirmed the shift in vegetation composition, which was probably caused by changes in lowland woodland forest management (decline in coppicing), eutrophication (deposition of atmospheric nitrogen, agricultural runoff) and disturbance effects of game, especially wild boar (Sus scrofa).     

The Waste Footprint of French Households in 2020: A Comparison of Scenarios of Consumption Growth Using Input‐Output Analysis

This study aims at quantifying and analyzing the waste footprint of French household consumption in 2020 with respect to different scenarios of economic growth. Three models are jointly used: (1) a multiregional unilateral input‐output model extended to waste, to quantify waste generation from economic activities induced by household consumption; (2) a coefficient‐based model dedicated to quantifying postconsumer waste as a function of household consumption; and (3) the New Econometric Model of Evaluation by Sectorial Interdependency and Supply (NEMESIS), a macroeconometric model used to elaborate different scenarios of growth in household consumption in the period 2008–2020. Three scenarios consider changes primarily in terms of household consumption volume, while one scenario additionally considers changes in the composition of consumption according to the past‐30‐year trend. First, this study suggests that if the trend in changes of composition is maintained, it will lead, by 2020, to a “relative” decoupling between French household consumption and waste footprint with respect to dry recyclables, mixed wastes, and organic wastes and to an “absolute” decoupling with respect to mineral wastes. Second, this study provides a mapping of the changes in French household waste footprints from 2008 to 2020 as a function of scenarios, with indications of where these changes would actually occur in the economy (waste from economic activities or postconsumer waste) and geographically (in France or abroad). In particular, for most of the scenarios considered, changes in French household consumption from 2008 to 2020 primarily induce changes in organic and mineral waste generation abroad rather than in France.     

Use of vegetation classification and plant indicators to assess grazing abandonment in Estonian coastal wetlands

Question: What are the effects of grazing abandonment on the vegetation composition of Estonian coastal wetlands? Location: Vormsi Island and Silma Nature Reserve in western Estonia, Europe. Methods: Local knowledge and field reconnaissance were used to identify current and historical management levels of wetland sites within the west Estonian study area. Nine study sites, with varying management histories, were selected comprising an area of 287 ha. A total of 198 quadrats were taken from 43 distinct vegetation patches in five of the sites. TWINSPAN analysis was used to identify community type, and a phytosociological key was constructed for character taxa. This vegetation classification was then applied within a GIS‐based context to classify all the study sites, using a ground survey technique and 1:2000 scale air photos. Results: We identified 11 different brackish coastal wetland community types. Indicator species were defined with community characteristics for the seven main vegetation types readily recognisable in the field. Coastal wet grasslands were most extensive in grazed sites, or sites that had been more intensively grazed, while abandoned sites were largely composed of Phragmites australis stands, tall grassland, and scrub. Site variations based on vegetation composition were significantly correlated with past grazing intensity. Plant community types showed significant edaphic differences, with particularly low soil moisture and high conductivity and pH for open pioneer patches compared to other vegetation types. Conclusion: Abandonment of traditionally grazed coastal grasslands threatens their characteristic biodiversity. This study found that grazing abandonment reduced the extent of coastal wetland grasslands of particular conservation value. Nevertheless, plant species of conservation interest were found across the sequence of community types described. The study shows that grazing is an important factor influencing coastal wetland plant communities but suggests that vegetation distribution is affected by environmental variables, such as topography.     

Effect of tall-grass invasion on the flowering-related functional pattern of submediterranean hay-meadows

Several studies demonstrated that abandonment changes the functional composition of grasslands; nevertheless, little is known about the effects of grassland abandonment on the flowering-related functional pattern. We hypothesized that invasion by tall grasses affects this pattern. We counted the number of flowering shoots per species at five times during the growing season, in 80 plots placed in mown and in abandoned grasslands (central Apennines), and assessed the differences in the trait composition of flowering species between the two treatments. The selected traits were linked to resource acquisition and stress tolerance strategies. Our results indicated that abiotic environmental control is prevalent in determining the phenological pattern in both conditions and in accordance with the phenological “mid-domain hypothesis”. We demonstrated that when the dominant species is a tall grass with competitive behaviour, the magnitude of this phenomenon is amplified due to the abiotic changes yielded by the tall grass invasion. Indeed, in the central and late phases of the growing season (when invasive tall grasses are growing and blooming), abandoned grasslands were marked by a set of traits devoted to stress tolerance or underlying a long reproductive cycle or linked to competition for light.     

Biodiversity composition reflects the history of ancient semi-natural woodland and forest habitats—Compilation of an indicator complex for restoration practice

For centuries, Fennoscandian wooded meadows and woodland pastures (Habitats Directive habitat types *6530 and 9070 respectively) covered large areas of Northern Europe. In the Twentieth Century, abandonment-driven encroachment has led to the wooded grasslands changing into what may be considered as old-growth deciduous forests. The present paper examined whether the present stand structure and the composition of three contrasting functional groups (herbaceous layer vascular plants, epiphytic bryophytes, and earthworms) could serve as indicators of the historic origin of the forest patches, i.e. to what extent changes in ecological conditions in overgrown woodlands have shifted towards broad-leaved forests with ancient trees. Indicators were tested for the objective of restoration planning of habitat quality, i.e. whether semi-open woodlands could be restored or if it would be more appropriate to preserve them as broad-leaved forests. The study was carried out by comparing the composition of ancient forest cores, forest edges and overgrown wooded grasslands. The land use history of sample sites was examined from historical topographical maps and aerial photos.The results showed that as long as 60 years after abandonment, parts of the studied forests still retained some light-demanding plant species characteristic of historical wooded grasslands. The composition of earthworm communities was similar in all of the studied historical forest groups. Only some of the stand structure characteristics and epiphytic mosses indicated that there were differences between ancient forest cores and overgrown wooded grasslands. We conclude that the combination of various functional indicators should be used in the evaluation of successional woodlands for habitat restoration.     

Effects of Alpine land‐use changes: Soil macrofauna community revisited

Although soil invertebrates play a decisive role in maintaining ecosystem functioning, little is known about their structural composition in Alpine soils and how their abundances are affected by the currently ongoing land‐use changes. In this study, we re‐assessed the soil macrofauna community structure of managed and abandoned Alpine pastureland, which has already been evaluated 14 years earlier. Our results confirm clear shifts in the community composition after abandonment, in that (1) Chilopoda and Diplopoda were recorded almost exclusively on the abandoned sites, (2) Coleoptera larvae and Diptera larvae were more abundant on the abandoned than on the managed sites, whereas (3) Lumbricidae dominated on the managed sites. By revisiting managed and abandoned sites, we infer community patterns caused by abandonment such as changes in the epigeic earthworm community structure, and we discuss seasonal and sampling effects. Our case study improves the still limited understanding of spatio‐temporal biodiversity patterns of Alpine soil communities.     

Assessing the impact of gold mining in headwater streams of Eastern Amazonia using Ephemeroptera assemblages and biological traits

Whilst the biological traits composition of invertebrate assemblages has been successfully used to monitor temperate rivers, it has been seldom tested in tropical areas. We compared the trait composition of Ephemeroptera assemblages (five traits, 21 modalities) in three categories of headwater streams of FG: reference (undisturbed) sites, sites formerly impacted by gold-mining, and sites currently impacted by gold-mining. Differences in macroinvertebrate assemblage according to environmental characteristics and disturbance were evaluated using correspondence analysis and MANOVA. Among the considered traits, food acquisition, respiration and locomotion detected both past and current disturbance associated with gold-mining in headwaters. A fuzzy correspondence analysis showed a significant segregation of currently gold-mined, formerly gold-mined, and reference sites according to species traits. Shifts in trait composition were mostly related to changes in assemblage composition. Interestingly, no significant decline in diversity indices was observed in formerly gold-mined sites compared to the reference sites, 2 years after abandonment, while the taxonomic and trait composition of communities changed at these sites. These results support the case for further fundamental quantification of species traits, and for the inclusion of sensitive, trait-related metrics in upcoming multimetric indices for the assessment of river health.     

How do management and restoration needs of mountain grasslands depend on moisture regime? Experimental study from north‐western Slovakia (Western Carpathians)

Question: How does species composition change in traditionally managed meadows after mowing has ceased, and in abandoned meadows after re‐introduction of mowing? Are there differences in the dynamics of dry and moderately wet meadows? Location: Zázrivá‐Ple?ivá (19°11′N, 49°16′E), north‐western Slovakia, western Carpathians. Methods: Pairs of experimental plots (mown and unmown) were established to replicate each combination of dry/wet and traditionally managed/abandoned meadows. Changes in species composition were studied over 5 years. The data on changes in species composition was analysed by constrained and unconstrained ordinations, and visualized using Principal Response Curves. Results: Species composition of newly abandoned wet grasslands was changing towards the corresponding long‐abandoned plots even in the first year of abandonment. Similarly, newly established restoration mowing in abandoned dry grasslands rapidly shifted the stand species composition towards that of traditionally managed ones. Nevertheless, 4 year after reintroduction of mowing, the species composition of the restored plots was still far from the target composition. The effect of mowing in abandoned wet grasslands and abandonment in dry grasslands was much less pronounced and slower. Conclusions: Moisture regime is a very important factor determining the management needs of various grassland types. Wet grasslands are much more sensitive to abandonment, with a rapid degradation rate and limited possibilities for restoration, which can be extremely slow. Even in the dry grasslands, that quickly responded to restoration mowing, restoration is a long‐term process.     

Consequences of abandonment for a regional fen flora and mechanisms of successional change

Abstract. Until the 1960s, species-rich vegetation on minero-trophic peaty soüs (fen sites) were characteristic of the alluvial plains in Schleswig-Holstein (Northwest Germany). Today, many of these habitats undergo successional changes due to abandonment. Vegetation development after abandonment can be characterized as a sequence of different successional stages and described in terms of a successional model. Successional stage I includes grazed, mown and recently abandoned sites without dominants. Stages II and III are characterized by the dominance of highly competitive herbaceous species whüe stage IV consists of woody vegetation. Ca. 3000 phytosociological relevés were assigned to the respective successional stages. Mean cover values were calculated for 250 species of the regional fen flora and assigned to successional categories according to their changes in cover in the successional series. According to our results 141 species decrease during succession, while 100 species were restricted to early successional stages and 85 species increased. Abandonment of all fen sites in Schleswig-Holstein will probably lead to the regional loss of 23 species of the fen flora. To identify mechanisms underlying successional change, the successional categories were correlated with life history traits and ecological requirements of the species. Results indicate that both light competition and limitation of sexual reproduction of small-seeded species might play a major role in the decrease and extinction of species during succession. Finally, conservation strategies for endangered species in a cultural landscape are discussed.