Mediterranean pastoral systems are providers of a wide array of Nature’s Contribution to People (NCP). They are ‘complex systems’ characterized by limited resources and socio-economic dynamics currently threatened by climate and social changes. Despite a growing number of scientific articles dealing with NCP, there is a high risk that the existing literature has left out the complexity of such systems. In the light of ongoing social, economic, and climatic changes in the Mediterranean basin, neglecting the complexity of pastoral systems can lead to significant research biases, missing the priorities affecting the stability and continuity of such systems. A combination of frameworks of analysis provided by the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment and by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services was applied to understand if and to what extent the complexity of Mediterranean pastoral systems has been considered in the available literature. Most of the 126 papers report studies conducted in the European Union zone (102 papers), with the majority in Spain (50). Fewer studies have been conducted in the Middle East (15 papers) and Africa zones (9 papers). Despite results confirming the importance of pastoral systems as providers of NCP, most of the eligible papers focused on regulating NCP. A lack of a multisectoral approach and integration of knowledge suggests that the complexity of Mediterranean pastoral systems has been overlooked by researchers. The creation of ‘hybrid knowledge’ bridging the expertise of different stakeholders could be the key ingredient to properly address the complexity of Mediterranean pastoral systems.

Gasification biochar is a by-product of the high-temperature thermal treatment of biomass to produce syngas. In the last two decades biochar has received much attention due to its beneficial effects on soil fertility and quality, and crop yields. However, these beneficial effects depend on biochar properties and pedoclimatic conditions. To test the effect of a wood gasification biochar (WGB), we run a field experiment applying 0 and 60 Mg ha-1 of WGB only (no fertilizer) to a sub-alkaline and fine-textured soil under Mediterranean climate conditions. The effect of WGB on the soil physicochemical properties and on 12 enzyme activities involved in the C, N, P, and S cycles was monitored during a wheat-growing season together with its effect on grain yield. Results suggested that WGB was rather recalcitrant and the application of high dose of it had no effect for most of the soil physicochemical properties, enzyme activities and wheat grain yield. Since enzyme activities involved in the C cycle were similar in WGB-treated and not-treated soils, WGB failed to stimulate the organic matter mineralization during the monitored period, with no contribution to N and P supply. Since WGB can contribute to soil C stock with no detrimental effects on wheat yield, wood gasification can allow recycling waste woody materials of urban origin to produce energy and return biochar back to agricultural soils. We suggest that future studies on WGB focus on the effect of its aging in soil on soil physicochemical and biochemical properties, and on crop performances.

Secondary origin grasslands are widespread habitats that provide a wide array of ecosystem services. Their conservation relies on management practices that can, in turn, alter their soil carbon cycle to result in higher soil respiration rates. In the perspective of social and climate change scenarios, there is the need to seek the best management practices for conservation of secondary origin grasslands, climate mitigation and economic sustainability for farmers. The aim of this study was to investigate whether increasing the customary practice of mowing twice a year to monthly mowing through the growing season (when herbage production was feasible; i.e., >0.5 t/ha dry matter) generates changes to the drivers and rates of soil respiration of fertilized Bromus erectus-dominated grasslands. Soil CO2 efflux, temperature and moisture were recorded over 3 years (2016-2018) under these "customary" and "monthly" mowing frequencies (twice per year; 4-6 times per year, respectively). Soil CO2 efflux, temperature and moisture were not affected by the higher mowing frequency over the study period. Independent of mowing frequency, soil water content was the main driver of soil CO2 emissions during the growing season (April to October, inclusive), whereas soil temperature was the main driver during the nongrowing season (November to March, inclusive). Therefore, increasing the customary mowing of twice a year to the monthly mowing frequency through the growing season does not impact upon soil respiration of B. erectus-dominated grasslands, at least over a 3-year period.

Soil acts as a natural source and sink for greenhouse gases (GHG) that are responsible for global warming and climate change. As the agricultural sector has an important impact on GHG (e.g., CO2, CH4, N2O) emissions, the definition of mitigation strategies is needed, especially for the Mediterranean climate areas that appear most vulnerable to climate change. The introduction of perennial legumes, such as alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.), falls within this scope, but it requires the application of a termination method aimed at reduction of GHG emissions. With the aim of assessing the short-term effects of two different alfalfa termination methods (Tillage vs No tillage plus herbicide), we defined the hypothesis that alfalfa termination by Tillage will increase soil GHG emissions compared to its termination by No tillage plus herbicide. Soil CO2, CH4 and N2O emissions were monitored over similar to 2 months (71 days; October-December, 2017) following alfalfa termination, using closed static chambers. The soil total GHG emissions after 71 days were significantly different for Tillage and No tillage plus herbicide: 311.90 +/- 21.21 versus 195.89 +/- 11.14 g CO2 equivalent m(-2), respectively. For both termination methods, CO2 (up to a maximum value of 1.24 +/- 0.18 and 0.65 +/- 0.07 kg C-CO2 ha(-1) h(-1), respectively) was the greatest contributor to the total soil GHG emissions (about 96%), compared to N2O (up to a maximum value of 0.37 +/- 0.13 and 0.31 +/- 0.10 g N-N2O ha(-1) h(-1), respectively) and CH4 (up to a maximum value of -0.01 +/- 0.03 and 0.07 +/- 0.03 g C-CH4 ha(-1) h(-1), respectively). These data suggest that over the short term, legume perennial crop termination by No tillage plus herbicide better supports the purpose of climate regulations.

Within Mediterranean cropping systems, legume forage crops that last up to 6 years or more (e.g., alfalfa) are replaced with cereal crops (e.g., wheat). The change from forage to cereal crops has negative climate and environmental impacts that must be addressed with mitigation actions. This study evaluated the synergies and tradeoffs between the ecosystem services provided by three management systems after forage legume. A field trial was set up from October 2017 to September 2019 on a 6-year-old alfalfa field subjected to the following management systems: (i) alfalfa termination followed by wheat for 2 years (WW, control); (ii) alfalfa termination followed by single amendment with 60 Mg ha−1 recalcitrant biochar and then by wheat for 2 years (WWB60); and (iii) extension of alfalfa for 2 years (AEXT). A range of regulating, supporting, and provisioning ecosystem services were assessed during the 2018 and 2019 cropping seasons. The results highlight that WWB60 can guarantee carbon sequestration without causing tradeoffs with other services, while AEXT can enhance soil conservation while not increasing soil greenhouse gas emissions. Future policies should support the WWB60 system if the goal is to increase the supporting services. Conversely, the AEXT system should be used if the goal is to increase the regulating and provisioning services.

Soil-biodegradable mulch films are a promising solution to replace conventional polyethylene-based mulch films, the use of which has led to negative environmental impacts. Soil-biodegradable mulch films are specifically designed to be incorporated into the soil at the end of the cropping cycle, and are expected to be biodegraded by soil microorganisms. The biodegradability of such products must be tested under laboratory-controlled conditions following international standards, although these can fail to represent real environmental conditions where mulch films are used. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of soil refinement on the degradation rates of three different commercial soil-biodegradable mulch films after their incorporation into the soil. The hypotheses were that: (i) soil refinement (i.e., ploughing followed by grubbing) creates more favourable conditions for film biodegradation compared to ploughing alone; and (ii) different mulch films show different degradation rates. An open-field completely randomised design was applied to test the effects of soil refinement by ploughing to 0.35 m depth without and with subsequent grubbing to 0.15 m depth twice. Three commercially available soil-biodegradable mulch films were sampled in 2020 (i.e., two Mater-bi-based, one Ecovio-based) at the end of a zucchini growing season (~3 months) when films were still lying above ground, and were later buried at 0.2 m depth inside mesh bags. Biodegradation rates of the sampled films were assessed with the indirect indicators of film weight loss and surface area loss at ~2-month intervals over 314 days. The results showed that soil refinement significantly accelerated degradation of the three tested mulch films by 14% and 17% according to the loss of weight and surface area indicators, respectively. One Mater-bi-based film showed higher degradation rates compared to the other two films. Future studies are needed to quantify the time needed for these different mulch films to be completely biodegraded. Such studies should be carried out following standards for laboratory incubation and/or in-field quantification of residual polymers in the soil over time. Highlights- Degradation rates of three biodegradable mulch films were evaluated in the open-field.- Soil refinement accelerates the degradation of film weight (14%) and surface (17%).- Highest degradation rates were observed for one Mater-bi-based film.- Fastest degradation rates were observed in spring for all the tested films.- Weight and surface area loss indicators showed positive relationship.

Reduction of soil greenhouse gas emissions is crucial to control increases in atmospheric CO2 concentrations. Permanent grasslands are of considerable importance in climate change mitigation strategies as they cover about 13% of the global agricultural area. However, uncertainties remain for the effects of management practices on soil respiration, especially over the short term. This study investigated the influence of different mowing intensities on soil respiration over the short term for Bromus erectus-dominated grasslands in the central Apennines. From 2016 to 2018, soil respiration, temperature, and moisture were measured under three different management systems: customary management, intensive use, and abandonment. Both soil water content and temperature changed over time, however mowing did not affect soil water content while occasionally altered soil temperature. The intensive use promoted higher seasonal mean soil respiration compared to the abandonment only during the 2016 growing season. Soil temperature was the main driver of soil respiration above a soil water content threshold that varied little among treatments (18.23–22.71%). Below the thresholds, soil moisture was the main driver of soil respiration. These data suggest that different mowing regimes have little influence on soil respiration over the short term in Bromus erectus-dominated grasslands. Thus, more intensive use would not have significative impacts on soil respiration, at least over the short term. Future studies need to clarify the role of root mycorrhizal and microbial respiration in the light of climate change, considering the seasonal redistribution of the rainfall.

ABSTRACT: Studies that have investigated soil carbon dynamics under Mediterranean conditions are scarce and fragmented and contrasting results have often been reported. This study aimed to fill some gaps in our knowledge by: (i) determining annual dynamics of total (RS) and heterotrophic (RH) soil respiration; (ii) estimating annual cumulative RS and RH; and (iii) investigating the relationships between RS and RH and soil temperature and water content. The study was carried out in central Italy, for a plain and a hilly site, with the focus on two main cropping systems: an alfalfa-based forage system and a wheat-based rotation system. RS and RH showed different dynamics, with spatial and temporal variability across these sites. Estimated annual cumulative RS fluxes were 8.97 and 7.43 t C ha–1 yr–1 for the plain and hilly alfalfa-based sites, respectively, and 4.67 and 5.22 t C ha–1 yr–1 for the plain and hilly wheat-based sites, respectively. The RH components of RS were 4.26 and 3.52 t C ha–1 yr–1 for the plain and hilly alfalfa-based sites, respectively, and 3.89 and 2.45 t C ha–1 yr–1 for the plain and hilly wheat-based sites, respectively. A model with a combination of soil temperature and soil water content explained 43 % to 49 % and 33 % to 67 % of the annual variation of RS and RH, respectively. These findings help to extend our knowledge of Mediterranean cropping systems, although further studies are needed to clarify the effects of management practices on the modelling of soil respiration efflux.

Grassland habitats are particularly threatened in Europe, especially in marginal areas where funds and manpower for their conservative management are limited. Knowledge of the vegetation dynamics is crucial for the timeliness and economy of any conservation actions. However, there is a lack of studies on effective and rapid containment of tall rhizomatous geophytes, such as asphodel (Asphodelus macrocarpus Parl. subsp. macrocarpus), which are particularly active in the earliest stages of the natural vegetation succession. We present an interdisciplinary study carried out on an abandoned semi-natural grassland (European Union habitat code 6210*) colonized by Asphodel within a Natura 2000 site in the central Apennines (Italy). This experimental trial lasted 4 years (2012-2015) and applied three different treatments (mowing with removal of cut material, mowing without removal of cut material and chopping), compared to the control (abandonment). The results highlight that the disturbance produced by biomass removal has positive effects on biodiversity. In particular, mowing (both with or without removal of cut material) provided better results for restoration of the grassland biodiversity, even over the short term. Chopping is not a viable alternative to mowing, especially because of the risk of eutrophication over time, and the consequent settlement and increase in nitrophilous species.

Lamb meat is the main product of Central Italy transhumant farms, where lambs are traditionally reared with their mothers on pastures and are supplemented with concentrates and/or hay from day 20-30 until slaughter. However, few data are available on the fatty acid (FA) composition of unweaned lambs reared by extensive systems in Central Italy. The study aimed to evaluate the effect of breed (Bergamasca, Italian Merino, and Sopravissana) on the FA composition of intramuscular (longissimus lumborum, LL) and subcutaneous (SC) fats of light lambs. Statistical analysis showed that breed had effect only on some FAs in LL muscle fat (C18:0, C20:0, C14:1, C16:1, C17:1, C18:3 n-3, trans and conjugated linoleic acid isomers) and in SC adipose tissue (C21:0, C16:1, C18:1, C20:4 n-6, C20:5 n-3, C18:1 trans isomers). Gas chromatography data in combination with a chemometric approach could have some potential to discriminate among breeds. Indices of nutritional quality of the lipids suggested that the meat of Italian Merino and Sopravissana lambs might have better nutritional quality than Bergamasca; further studies, involving a greater number of animals, are needed to confirm these early results.

Agricultural activities are potential sources of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and nitrous oxide (N2O) is one of the most important non-carbon-dioxide GHGs. Perennial legumes such as alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) have potential roles for reduction of soil GHG emissions as part of crop rotation systems. However, the implications of perennial legume termination by tillage and subsequent soil incorporation of the residues for reduced GHG emissions have been poorly examined in Mediterranean environments. With the aim to assess the magnitude of soil N2O emissions (important for the definition of mitigation strategies) after perennial legume termination in alfalfa-wheat crop rotation systems in a Mediterranean environment, we defined the hypothesis that alfalfa termination by tillage with incorporation of the crop residues will increase soil N2O emissions during the subsequent wheat season. To test this hypothesis, closed static chambers were used in a field–plot experiment, using a complete randomised block design with three replicates. Soil N2O emissions were monitored across 33 sampling dates from October 2017 to July 2018, as a comparison between an original 6-year-old alfalfa field (‘continuous alfalfa’) and alfalfa termination followed by wheat (‘alfalfa+ wheat’). The soil N2O emission fluxes varied markedly across the treatments and throughout the monitoring period (from – 0.02±0.01 to 0.53±0.14 g N-N2O ha–1 h–1, and from 0.02±0.07 to 0.37±0.11 g N-N2O ha–1 h–1 for continuous alfalfa and alfalfa+wheat, respectively), generally following the changes in soil temperature. Several soil N2O emission peaks were recorded for both treatments, which mainly coincided with rainfall and with increased soil water content. In the 2 months following alfalfa termination, alfalfa+wheat showed higher cumulative weekly soil N2O emissions compared to continuous alfalfa. Following alfalfa termination for alfalfa+wheat, the increased cumulative weekly soil N2O emissions appeared to be due to asynchrony between nitrogen (N) released into the soil from mineralisation of the alfalfa residues and N uptake by the wheat. Despite these initial high soil N2O emissions for alfalfa+wheat, the seasonal cumulative soil N2O emissions were not significantly different (0.77±0.09 vs 0.85±0.18 kg N-N2O ha–1 for continuous alfalfa and alfalfa+wheat, respectively). These data suggest that legume perennial crop termination in alfalfa–wheat rotation systems does not lead to significant loss of N2O from the soil. The alfalfa termination by tillage performed in autumn might, on the one hand, have slowed the mineralisation process, and might, on the other hand, have synchronised the N release by the mineralised crop residues, with the N uptake by the wheat reducing the soil N2O emissions. Highlights - Soil N2O emissions peak after alfalfa termination and rainfall. - Soil N2O emissions increase after spring alfalfa mowing. - Seasonal cumulative soil N2O emissions are similar for alfalfa and alfalfa followed by wheat. - Mitigation effects of perennial legume on soil N2O emissions are not lost after termination by tillage under alfalfa-wheat rotation.

The research for sustainable crop production is mandatory to face climate change and reduction of genetic biodiversity and soil fertility in farming systems and to increase food security, food safety and ecosystem services. Evolutionary history of crop species, effects of crop domestication and adaptation to different environments on crop population and identification of genes/genomic regions that control important agronomic and adaptive traits were studied. Yield and quality have been primary aims for our breeders, who also strived to anticipate the future needs of the society, developing resilient varieties to environment, pests and diseases by using traditional and biotechnological tools. Innovation in vineyard and orchard management was introduced by developing new strategies or adapting traditional techniques to the needs of social and climate changes. Cultivated landscape preservation was pursued by improving carbon sequestration, increasing soil fertility and reducing the risks of soil erosion and nitrogen leaching. Studies on social support and consumer appreciation of sustainable farming systems marked the importance of matching food safety and security, conservation of biodiversity and improvement of ecosystem services. These last at farm and landscape scale are the framework approach for describing the benefits of crop production to human well-being.

Permanent grasslands provide a wide array of ecosystem services. Despite this, few studies have investigated grassland carbon (C) dynamics, and especially those related to the effects of land-use changes. This study aimed to determine whether the land-use change from permanent grassland to arable lands resulted in variations in the soil C stock, and whether such variations were due to increased soil respiration or to management practices. To address this, seasonal variations of soil respiration, sensitivity of soil respiration to soil temperature (Q10), and soil C stock variations generated by land-use changes were analyzed in a temperate mountain area of central Italy. The comparisons were performed for a permanent grassland and two adjacent fields, one cultivated with lentil and the other with emmer, during the 2015 crop year. Soil respiration and its heterotrophic component showed different spatial and temporal dynamics. Annual cumulative soil respiration rates were 6.05, 5.05 and 3.99 t C ha−1 year−1 for grassland, lentil and emmer, respectively. Both soil respiration and heterotrophic soil respiration were positively correlated with soil temperature at 10 cm depth. Derived Q10 values were from 2.23 to 6.05 for soil respiration, and from 1.82 to 4.06 for heterotrophic respiration. Soil C stock at over 0.2 m in depth was 93.56, 48.74 and 46.80 t C ha−1 for grassland, lentil and emmer, respectively. The land-use changes from permanent grassland to arable land lead to depletion in terms of the soil C stock due to water soil erosion. A more general evaluation appears necessary to determine the multiple effects of this land-use change at the landscape scale.

This study was designed to evaluate the effects of slaughter age (40 vs. 60 days) on slaughter performance, carcass and meat quality, and fatty acid composition of intramuscular and subcutaneous fat of Bergamasca lambs reared according to the traditional transhumant system in central Italy. Lambs slaughtered at 60 days of age had higher carcass weight (12.44 vs. 10.36 kg), lower dressing percentage (47.68% vs. 52.16%), and higher proportion of non-carcass components and leg commercial cut (37.82% vs. 35.49%). Furthermore, after 3 and 6 days of storage, the meat of older lambs showed lower drip loss (3.69% vs. 6.16%; 5.73% vs. 9.36%, respectively). Slaughter age did not influence meat pH, cooking loss, or chemical composition while older lambs had meat with higher a* (19.43 vs. 18.91). The fatty acid composition of intramuscular fat was not affected by slaughter age, except for C:13 and C:14 fatty acids, which were higher in older lambs. Subcutaneous fat of lambs slaughtered at 40 days of age showed a better fatty acid profile, as lower saturated fatty acids (52.46% vs. 55.68%) and higher mono- and polyunsaturated fatty acids (34.06% vs. 30.16%, 6.46% vs. 5.79%, respectively), and n-6 and n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids. Furthermore, subcutaneous fat of lambs slaughtered at 40 days of age had better polyunsaturated/saturated fatty acid ratio (0.12 vs. 0.11) and hypocholesterolemic/hypercholesterolemic ratio (1.42 vs. 1.03), and lower atherogenic index (1.32 vs. 1.82) and thrombogenic index (1.98 vs. 2.35). For light lamb production using the traditional rearing systems, slightly heavier lambs can be produced without worsening chemical composition and cooking loss and fatty acid composition of the longissimus lombonon muscle. However, lambs slaughtered at 60 days of age had lower dressing percentages and higher SFA amount of the subcutaneous fat than lambs slaughtered at 40 days.

The ecosystem services (ES) approach is a framework for describing the benefits of nature to human well-being, and this has become a popular instrument for assessment and evaluation of ecosystems and their functions. Grazing lands can provide a wide array of ES that depend on their management practices and intensity. This article reviews the trends and approaches used in the analysis of some relevant ES provided by grazing systems, in line with the framework principles of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA). The scientific literature provides reports of many studies on ES in general, but the search here focused on grazing systems, which returned only sixty-two papers. This review of published papers highlights that: (i) in some papers, the concept of ES as defined by the MA is misunderstood (e.g., lack of anthropocentric vision); (ii) 34% of the papers dealt only with one ES, which neglects the need for the multisectoral approach suggested by the MA; (iii) few papers included stakeholder involvement to improve local decision-making processes; (iv) cultural ES have been poorly studied despite being considered the most relevant for local and general stakeholders; and (v) stakeholder awareness of well-being as provided by ES in grazing systems can foster both agri-environmental schemes and the willingness to pay for these services.

Organic farming is claimed to improve soil fertility. Nonetheless, among organic practices, net C-inputs may largely vary in amount and composition and produce different soil conditions for microbial activity and plant-root system adaptation and development. In this study, we hypothesised that, in the regime of organic agriculture, soil chemical and biochemical properties can substantially differ under contrasting crop rotation systems and produce conditions of soil fertility to which the plant responds through diverse growth and production. The impact of 13 years of Alfalfa-Crop rotation (P-C) and Annual Crop rotation (A-C) was evaluated on the build up of soil organic carbon (SOC), active (light fraction organic matter, LFOM; water soluble organic carbon, WSOC) and humic fraction (fulvic acids carbon, FAC; humic acids carbon, HAC), soil biochemical properties (microbial biomass carbon, MBC; basal respiration, dBR; alkaline phosphatase AmP; arylsulfatase ArS; orto-diphenoloxidase, o-DPO) and the amount of available macro-nutrients (N, P, and S) at two different soil depths (0-10 cm and 10-30 cm) before and after cultivation of wheat. We also studied the response of root morphology, physiology and yield of the plant-root system of wheat. Results showed that the level of soil fertility and plant-root system behaviour substantially differed under the two crop rotation systems investigated here. We observed high efficiency of the P-C soil in the build up of soil organic carbon, as it was 2.9 times higher than that measured in the A-C soil. With the exception of o-DPO, P-C soil always showed a higher level of AmP and ArS activity and an initial lower amount of available P and S. The P-C soil showed higher rootability and promoted thinner roots and higher root density. In the P-C soil conditions, the photosynthesis and yield of durum wheat were also favoured. Finally, cultivation of wheat caused an overall depletion of the accrued fertility of soil, mainly evident in the P-C soil, which maintained a residual higher level of all the chemical and biochemical properties tested.

An Agri-environmental measure (AEM) is a payment to farmers to reduce environmental risks or to preserve cultivated landscapes. The single farm scale that is the basis for the AEM has often inhibited the achievement of the environmental goals since many biophysical processes (e.g. soil erosion, water pollution, biodiversity losses) occur at landscape scale. This creates a spatial scale mismatch between the implementation scale of the measures and the ecological processes controlling the target agri-environmental issues. In this paper, we propose how to address this spatial scale mismatch by analysing nine case studies of AEMs implementation at landscape scale concerning biodiversity conservation and water protection. The analysis highlights that the inclusion of the landscape scale in AEMs depends on the level of the involvement of the local stakeholders (SH) in the building process. When the authorities created the space for the SHs to participate in the defining process of AEMs, the inclusion of local knowledge led to the emergence of new landscape and site-specific AEMs which were not previously considered by the autorities. On the contrary, when the SHs were only allowed to choose among the AEMs predefined by the authorities, many site specificity and acceptance issues arose. The creation of space in Rural Development Programmes for collaborative, bottom-up and landscape scale AEMs and the overcoming of institutional constraints in the design of specific actions are the key ingredients for the successful adoption of measures and for enhancing their effectiveness. In this paper, we explore in depth what made these stories successful and provide a framework for the implementation of site-specific and landscape AEMs.

Since adaptation to climate changes has become a major challenge for the scientific communities, provisioning Ecosystem Services as Climate Regulation are growing in research interest. Greenhouse gasses are widely considered drivers of climate change and it has been demonstrated how different agro-ecosystems can influence the climate by either taking or realising greenhouse gases. Land use change does affect the soil C pool and many authors showed how the conversion of permanent vegetation (forests or grasslands) to cultivated crops led to a loss of soil C. On the contrary, many researches highlighted how croplands re-converted in grasslands ensure a soil C increment. Central Italy cropping system is characterised by rainfed winter cereals in rotation with preparative crops in the hilly areas and with high value crops (mainly, horticultural crops or vegetables) in the river valleys. Within this system, the presence of transhumant sheep farms allowed the conversion of annual crops in long lasting alfalfa grasslands (up to 10 years) grazed by flocks during the winter period. In this paper, we compared two conventional crop fields with a five-years lasting alfalfa grassland analysing heterotrophic soil respiration effluxes and soil C stock. Results suggest that transhumant system is able to increase the soil C sequestration.

To date, scientific literature provided a vast amount of studies on Ecosystem Services (ES) underpinning their benefits to human well-being. Livestock grazing systems occupy a vast area of the terrestrial surface and are essential to the livelihood especially for vulnerable communities. Grazinglands are able to provide a wide array of ES depending on management practices and intensity. In this perspective and according to the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA) framework, the paper reviews the methods and the approaches used in the analysis of the main ES provided by grazing systems. The search criteria produced a scarce amount of papers (few referred to Mediterranean climate areas), also because many authors did not consider ‘goods’ or ‘benefits’ (e.g. food) as ES. The bibliography review highlighted that: i) some papers misunderstood the concept of ES as defined by MA (e.g. biodiversity considered as ES; lack of anthropocentric vision); ii) ES planning need management and development options to be based on systems’ internal dynamics; iii) ES multiscale and multisectoral analysis emerged in many papers but just few included stakeholder (SHs) involvement; iv) a better SHs awareness of the wellbeing provided by ES in livestock grazing systems could foster agri-environmental schemes and the willingness to pay for their services.