Management Practices Boosting Ecosystem and Landscape Functions and Services in Greek Olive Groves

Agriculture has been shaping the landscape of Greece for thousands of years. Following a dynamic change in the twentieth century by expansion of olive groves, landscape seems relatively stable during the past two decades. During the recent decade, minimum tillage practice has gained wide adoption by olive farmers all over Greece in the framework of modern farming aiming at sustainably producing food. Soil mulching on the olive grove ground, combining spontaneous or to a lesser extent cover crops residues and trimmed tree pruning residue as well as composted olive mill pomace and manure, is a practice which is currently booming with positive effects on plant, bird, insect and soil microbe diversity. In most mountainous areas, a mixed economic model consisting of olive growing, sheep farming and other minor activities is common. This socio-economic model plays a fundamental role in the resilience of these populations against economic crisis and climatic extremes and should be safeguarded by long-term and continuous policy planning and implementation. Agricultural practices when planned as a holistic olive grove management system, taking into account all the elements of the agroecosystem and society, are easier to apply, produce multiplicative effects and are more sustainable in the long term.