Agro-Food Supply Chains in Peri-Urban Agricultural Areas: Do They Contribute to Preserve Local Biodiversity? The Case of Baix Llobregat Agrarian Park

Jon Marín (), Teresa Garnatje and Joan Vallès
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Jon Marín: Laboratori de Botànica (UB)—Unitat Associada al CSIC, Facultat de Farmàcia i Ciències de l’Alimentació, Universitat de Barcelona, 08028 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
Teresa Garnatje: Institut Botànic de Barcelona (IBB) (CSIC-CMCNB), 08038 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
Joan Vallès: Laboratori de Botànica (UB)—Unitat Associada al CSIC, Facultat de Farmàcia i Ciències de l’Alimentació, Universitat de Barcelona, 08028 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 7, 1-16

Abstract: Peri-urban regions, especially in the Mediterranean, face challenges like farmland loss due to urban pressure. This study emphasizes retail stores as strategic focal points for evaluating societal, economic, and production systems. It hypothesizes that analyzing retail stores in agricultural areas provides insights into traded and cultivated agrobiodiversity. Using the Baix Llobregat Agrarian Park (Catalonia, NE Iberian Peninsula) as a case study, this research examines different food retailers from short and conventional food supply chains. Results indicate variations in plant diversity, origin, and seasonality among different retail stores. Farmers’ markets exhibit higher intraspecific diversity, contributing to local agrobiodiversity conservation. This study observes temporal changes in farmers’ markets, highlighting shifts influenced by socioeconomic factors and climate change perceptions. Finally, this research underscores certain strategies to promote sustainable peri-urban local food systems and preserve agrobiodiversity, offering valuable insights into food supply chain dynamics in peri-urban agricultural regions.

Keywords: agrobiodiversity; farmers’ market; peri-urban region; short food supply chain; Spain (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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