Urban Natural Spaces as Laboratories for Learning and Social Awareness

Ana Cano-Ortiz, José Carlos Piñar Fuentes, Catarina I. Rodrigues Meireles and Eusebio Cano ()
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Ana Cano-Ortiz: Department of Didactics of Experimental, Social and Matematical Sciences, Complutense University of Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain
José Carlos Piñar Fuentes: Department of Animal and Plant Biology and Ecology, Section of Botany, University of Jaen, 23071 Jaen, Spain
Catarina I. Rodrigues Meireles: Department of Landscape, Environment and Planning, Institute for Mediterranean Agrarian and Environmental Sciences (ICAAM), School of Science and Technology, University of Évora, Rua Romão Ramalho, nº 59, 7000-671 Évora, Portugal
Eusebio Cano: Department of Animal and Plant Biology and Ecology, Section of Botany, University of Jaen, 23071 Jaen, Spain

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 8, 1-14

Abstract: Mediterranean areas contain a great diversity of flora and phytocenosis, due to the different substrates and the special Mediterranean climate, and it is in the Iberian Peninsula where the greatest diversity is concentrated. The need for didactic techniques that generate awareness and good learning results is considered of great relevance in order to obtain well-trained environmental managers. We proceed to the research on different phytosociological groups. The one with the largest number of associations or plant communities is the one located in nitrified environments near urban areas; the group of communities dominated by Poa bulbosa is of great interest for sheep farming, while, for equine and bovine farming, the communities rich in grasses and legumes that are located in rural environments rich in organic matter are of interest. The latter communities are also interesting because they act as a sink for CO 2 . Due to the serious alterations in Mediterranean grasslands, we propose cultural, socio-educational, and socio-economic strategies to increase family income, thus avoiding the south–north migratory flow, as well as combining exploitation and conservation, and promoting sustainable development.

Keywords: botany; grazing; sustainability; teaching; environmental deterioration (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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