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Simple Summary: Agricultural abandonment is a very relevant process in Europe and its consequences on biodiversity are not yet clear. Moreover, abandonment is focused on marginal areas, characterized by traditional agricultural landscapes, with high cultural and biodiversity values, which are particularly vulnerable to this process. Although increasing attention has been paid to agricultural abandonment in recent years, studies focused on traditional orchards are scarce. In our study, we analyzed how abandonment and landscape complexity (measured as the percentage of semi-natural habitats) affected three groups of beneficial arthropods (spiders, bees and hymenopteran parasitoids) in almond orchards established on the border between Spain and Portugal. Our results showed that traditional and abandoned orchards harbor different arthropod communities, with the latter favoring these beneficial arthropods in simple landscapes (with a low percentage of semi-natural habitats). However, abandoned orchards lose relevance as the percentage of semi-natural habitat in the landscape increases, highlighting the important role that these habitats play in traditional agricultural landscapes. While abandoned orchards provide valuable habitats and alternative resources, they do not substitute semi-habitats nor traditional orchards. From a conservation management perspective, both traditional almond orchards and semi-natural habitats should be conserved to protect the rich biodiversity associated with these traditional cultural landscapes. Agricultural abandonment is one of the main land-use changes in Europe, and its consequences on biodiversity are context- and taxa-dependent. While several studies have worked on this topic, few have focused on traditional orchards, especially in different landscapes and under a Mediterranean climate. In this context, we aimed to determine the effects of almond orchard abandonment on the communities of three groups of beneficial arthropods and the role of the landscape context in modulating these effects. Between February and September 2019, four samplings were carried out in twelve almond orchards (three abandoned and three traditional (active orchards under traditional agricultural management) located in simple landscapes as well as three abandoned and three traditional in complex landscapes). Abandoned and traditional almond orchards harbor different arthropod communities and diversity metrics that are strongly conditioned by seasonality. Abandoned orchards can favor pollinators and natural enemies, providing alternative resources in simple landscapes. However, the role that abandoned orchards play in simple landscapes disappears as the percentage of semi-natural habitats in the landscape increases. Our results show that landscape simplification, through the loss of semi-natural habitats, has negative consequences on arthropod biodiversity, even in traditional farming landscapes with small fields and high crop diversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Copyright of Revista Canadiense de Estudios Hispánicos is the property of Asociacion Canadiense de Hispanistas and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper argues that important notions are imbedded within the seemingly marginal backgrounds of the ceiling paintings in the Alhambra's so-called "Hall of Justice." The shared European and Islamic iconographies evident in the paintings' settings, and the creatures that appear therein, reiterate the complexities inherent in the multicultural context of the Alhambra. Through the processes of intercultural appropriation, interpretation and adaptation, these plants and animals seem to transcend their many individual cultural resonances, generating new meanings based on the particular convergences fostered by the Nasrid court. The paintings' backgrounds, on the edges of the central courtly dramas, literally visualize the cultural "outsideness" of forests, which, as spaces for seclusion and distance from the distractions of daily life, also may have served as a metaphor for the Nasrid court in Granada. At the same time, these newly reconstituted meanings often seem to speak directly to the nature of the relationships between the figures depicted in the main scenes. Displaying integrated associations deliberately culled from the visual repertoires of several cultures, these paintings appear to offer something of an oasis, where intellectuals of various religious and cultural affiliations would have been encouraged to engage in contemplation and dialogue with one another. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agricultural intensification is one of the main causes for the current biodiversity crisis. While reversing habitat loss on agricultural land is challenging, increasing the farmland configurational heterogeneity (higher field border density) and farmland compositional heterogeneity (higher crop diversity) has been proposed to counteract some habitat loss. Here, we tested whether increased farmland configurational and compositional heterogeneity promote wild pollinators and plant reproduction in 229 landscapes located in four major western European agricultural regions. High-field border density consistently increased wild bee abundance and seed set of radish ( Raphanus sativus ), probably through enhanced connectivity. In particular, we demonstrate the importance of crop-crop borders for pollinator movement as an additional experiment showed higher transfer of a pollen analogue along crop-crop borders than across fields or along semi-natural crop borders. By contrast, high crop diversity reduced bee abundance, probably due to an increase of crop types with particularly intensive management. This highlights the importance of crop identity when higher crop diversity is promoted. Our results show that small-scale agricultural systems can boost pollinators and plant reproduction. Agri-environmental policies should therefore aim to halt and reverse the current trend of increasing field sizes and to reduce the amount of crop types with particularly intensive management., (© 2018 The Author(s).)