Sustainable livestock intensification in Mediterranean agrosilvopastoral systems

The PhD project builds on the rationale proposed by four key reviews (Bernués et al. 2011; Dumont et al. 2018; Aguilera et al. 2020; Pulina et al. 2021). The livestock sector is currently challenged by climate change and evolving society expectation. Specially, the beef sector is highly criticized because of its harmful impact on the environment. Despite the criticisms, beef cattle present opportunities for sustainable development. They contribute significantly to the socio-economic well-being of rural areas, offering high-nutritive-value food, and provide essential ecosystem services through grazing management. Therefore, identifying and implementing viable solutions is essential to transitioning towards sustainable livestock farming systems, particularly in mitigating environmental impacts while maintaining economic viability and social benefits. This PhD thesis explore agroforestry as a practice that combines sustainable intensification and agroecology. It focuses on facilitating the transition toward a sustainable livestock intensification in Mediterranean agrosilvopastoral systems by exploring five main research issues: (i) resilience toward climate change, (ii) grassland and grazing management, (iii) heat stress and animal welfare in extensive systems, (iv) quantification of ecosystem services, and (v) missing technology in extensive systems.