European farming Living Labs perspective for Climate Change and Biodiverdity in Food Systems: Co-Creating Solutions for Threatened Mediterranean Agroforestry

Abstract

The Portuguese Montado is a vibrant, mosaic Mediterranean agro-silvo-pastoral system spanning approximately 1 million hectares. Possessing immense ecological and socio-economic value, this unique landscape is currently facing severe decay. Driven by intensification and climate change, the system is losing roughly 5,000 hectares per year due to poor soil health, lack of tree renewal, land abandonment, and economic agendas that favor short-term productivity over sustainable, multifunctional management. Because these complex degradation patterns often remain subtle and un-seen, they frequently go unaddressed by traditional conservation models. To counter this decline, the Montado Living Lab was established as a long-term, transdisciplinary open innovation ecosystem. Formally integrated as an Adherent Member of the European Network of Living Labs (ENoll), it operates via a 10-year protocol uniting 39 entities across the quadruple helix—including 6 research entities, 8 public administrations/associations, 4 companies, and 21 farmers and landowners. Anchored on trust and transparency, the lab utilizes 40 experimental plots as real-world laboratories. Through co-creation workshops, transdisciplinary field visits, and capacity-building events, stakeholders collaboratively test and implement regenerative practices aimed at boosting soil health, expanding water retention, and fostering tree cover restoration.