The European project LIFE ScrubsNet is working to promote the transformation of livestock landscape management in Extremadura and other Mediterranean regions through an innovative approach: protecting and exploiting scrubland as a strategic resource, far from traditional views that considered it a mere obstacle to production.
Scrubland, so characteristic of the dehesa ecosystem, fulfils essential functions: it provides shade and shelter for livestock, food in times of scarcity, protects the soil from erosion, improves water infiltration, and protects and facilitates the natural regeneration of trees. It also acts as a refuge for biodiversity, an ecological corridor and a barrier against soil diseases and invasive species.
Based on these values, LIFE ScrubsNet has developed a Livestock Management Protocol for the Protection of the Scrub Layer, available at www.lifescrubsnet.eu. This document, designed as a technical tool for livestock farmers, technicians and administrations, compiles strategies for rational grazing, the use of mobile fencing, mixed species management and techniques to promote forage shrubs and nurse plants —such as wild olive, albaida and tagasaste— that enrich the diet of livestock and improve the ecological structure of the landscape.
One of the most notable aspects of the protocol is its alignment with the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). LIFE ScrubsNet debunks the idea that conserving scrubland reduces eligibility for subsidies: on the contrary, proper management of these areas opens the door to agri-environmental measures, improves the resilience of farms to climate change and promotes more efficient land use.
Key actions in the project include conservation activities on pilot farms, where native scrubland is protected as a key tool for biodiversity and forest regeneration. Actions to restore degraded habitats, plant woody species and design mosaic landscapes are also being carried out, improving ecological connectivity. These actions are accompanied by a comprehensive biodiversity monitoring system, with a special focus on flora, birdlife and soil dynamics.
LIFE ScrubsNet also includes awareness-raising and training measures, which enable the knowledge generated to be transferred to technicians, livestock farmers and public managers. This transfer of results is essential for replicating the model in other regions with similar systems, such as southern Portugal and Andalusia.
Innogestiona Ambiental, the project coordinator, is an Extremaduran consultancy specialising in sustainability, with extensive experience in environmental monitoring, bird censuses, flora and biodiversity studies, as well as technical support for agro-environmental and habitat conservation projects. Its work combines scientific rigour and knowledge of the territory to promote a real ecological transition from the local level.
The project, co-financed by the European Union’s LIFE programme, sends a clear message: biodiversity and productivity are not opposites, but allies.