Building Climate-Resilient Mediterranean Olive Systems: Integrating Soil, Water, Carbon, Biodiversity, and Innovation for a Sustainable Future
Abstract
Abstract Mediterranean olive systems face compound climatic, ecological, and socio-economic pressures. Drawing on the consensus of the International Conference on Sustainability in Olive Cultivation (ICSOC) 2025, we propose an integrated framework structured along three axes: five thematic pillars (soil, biodiversity, plant health, water–energy–carbon nexus, market and governance), four operationally defined transversal concepts (resilience, sustainability, circularity, and innovation), and three nested levels of analysis (plot, landscape, socio-ecological system). We map cross-pillar synergies and trade-offs that must be governed, including intensification versus biodiversity and monitoring-intensive carbon farming versus the inclusion of small producers. Agricultural productivity is treated as the operational anchor that underwrites rural livelihoods and legitimizes regenerative management. Anchored in the EU Green Deal, EU Soil Mission, and EU Carbon Removals and Carbon Farming Regulation, this Perspective offers an actionable map for the transition to climate-resilient, productive olive systems.
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Authors: Antonio J. Manzaneda, Tassos C. Kyriakides, Panos Panagos, Artemi Cerdà, Julio Calero, Blanca B. Landa, Nektarios N. Kourgialas, Sabrina Moret, Anastasio J. Villanueva, Christine Alewell, Conchi M. Díez, Emmanouil M. Kabourakis, Juan A. Polo, Pedro J. Rey, Tullia Gallina Toschi, Eva M. Murgado-Armenteros, J. A. Pereira, M. Dolores La Rubia, Vasileios Gkisakis, Juan F. García-Reyes, Juan M. Martín-García, Aadil Bajoub, Giorgos Stavrianakis, Juan B. Barroso
Institutions: University of Basel, Universitat de València, Yale University, University of Bologna, Universidad de Granada, University of Udine, Polytechnic Institute of Bragança, Universidad de Jaén, Joint Research Centre, Instituto de Agricultura Sostenible, Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Chania, Andalusian Institute of Agricultural and Fisheries Research and Training, University of Córdoba, Mediterranean University, International Olive Council, Czech Agrifood Research Center, École Nationale d'Agriculture de Meknès, University of the Aegean