Agricultural uses management in middle Mediterranean protected mountainous areas. Study in the Andalusian Sierra Morena

The connection between protected areas and agrarian-based activities - particularly in Mediterranean mountainous environments - is analysed. This connection has a special relevance according to factors such as the variety and richness of the forms of agricultural use and their compatibility - in a fragile balance - with the conservation of environments and landscapes. Evidence is the significant increase in recent decades of large and multifunctional protected areas - particularly under the category of Park. With the support of cartographic sources, statistics, and fieldwork, the general situation in the natural parks of the Andalusian Sierra Morena is studied. The various agrosystems in different parks are verified, as well as the achievements and shortcomings in the organisation and management of the main agricultural uses and the impact on their development.