Olive groves form characteristic Mediterranean socio-ecological landscapes, occupying more than 5 M ha; 2.5 M ha in Spain. In recent decades, traditional extensive management of olive groves has shifted to an intensive regime, with some cases of abandonment. These situations triggered negative environmental and economic externalities that led farmers to adopt increasingly multifunctional management models. From a transdisciplinary perspective, the current state of Spanish olive groves was analyzed, assessing their vulnerability to climate change as one of the main threats to their sustainability. Based on our findings and assuming that by 2050, in the Mediterranean, there will be an increase in temperature of 0.8–2.3 °C and a decrease in rainfall of up to 200 mm per year, a displacement of the distribution area of olive groves is expected towards zones of lower temperature and higher moisture. The predicted climatic conditions would increase evapotranspiration of vegetation and atmospheric CO₂ emissions. Moreover, climate change will reduce the chill accumulation in olive groves, altering its flowering, fructification and crop yields. Thus, it is necessary to adopt management models that promote olive grove resilience in face of climate change, ensuring their socio-ecological sustainability.

Context: Olive groves are key features of Iberian Mediterranean landscapes. With the intensification of olive grove production, some negative environmental impacts on soils must be considered to achieve farm sustainability. Objectives: To estimate, theoretically and empirically, soil erosion in olive groves of Alentejo (Portugal) considering different planting densities and soil managements (i.e. conventional, integrated, organic), and related impacts on soil loss and farm sustainability. Methods: Soil erosion was empirically calculated using sediment traps. Soil loss was modelled using the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) model. The impact of erosion on farm sustainability was assessed by simulating future projections to 100 and 500 years. Results: An overestimation of theoretical erosion rates for all olive management models compared to the empirical results was observed. Plant cover strongly contributed to reduce soil loss. Temporal simulations based on experimental data showed a longer sustainability of intensive groves than expected according to theoretical values. Conclusions: Despite the negative impacts of intensive agriculture, this study highlights that it is essential to consider soil management impacts on erosion, an aspect that influences farm sustainability, regardless of planting density. Future studies should expand our experiments across a wider sample and locations of olive groves, to better discern how olive sustainability is impacted by different agricultural management options and decisions.

In the last 50 years, both the agricultural labour force and irrigated land area have increased almost eightfold in Spain. The main objective of irrigation, in the short term, is to increase agricultural production. However, in the long term, the environmental externalities of irrigation and its direct relationship with soil erosion processes are more uncertain and still poorly studied. In this study, in an olive-growing region of Andalusia, Spain, the variation of several soil parameters related to irrigation and erosion levels was analysed. The results showed that irrigation, while increasing the productive level of the olive groves, entails a progressive alteration of the soil, modifying physical aspects (greater compaction and humidity of the soil together with lower gravel content, porosity and soil weight) and chemical aspects (reduction of the organic matter of the soil and the content of nitrates) that can aggravate the consequences of the erosive processes. In the long term, the productive benefit attributed to irrigation could be unsustainable from an ecological and, consequently, economic point of view. In addition, the lack of sustainability of olive irrigation agroecosystems could be exacerbated by the future restrictive impacts of climate change on water resources in Mediterranean environments. This situation demands spatial planning and alternative management based on soil conservation and rational and efficient forms of irrigation to ensure the sustainability of olive groves and their economic viability.

Environmental problems on a global scale (such as climate change) are of increasing concern in the scholar. However, it is unclear to what extent society is aware of the severity of these problems. The aim of this study is to advance our knowledge about the environmental perceptions of citizens, with the understanding that citizen participation and action are key to mitigating environmental problems. Specifically, we aim to determine the degree of importance of demographic and sociocultural factors in this perception. To this end, data from 506 questionnaires carried out in Spain and Argentina were analysed. Quantitative data were treated using multivariate analysis based on multiple logistic regression. The results showed that demographic variables, such as location and age, have a greater influence than sociocultural variables, such as profession and sources of environmental information, in the perception of environmental problems. Our findings show that the analysis of environmental perception is a useful tool both for incorporating the point of view of local actors in public policies and for defining effective strategies for action in participatory management. They also show that the different age, occupation and profession of the population must be taken into account and that, to address specific environmental problems, it is necessary to carry out diagnoses focussed on demographic factors, mainly to find out which aspects should be strengthened through programmes and projects aimed at solving environmental problems. It is important to bear in mind that the behaviour of local actors is related to their environmental perception.