The study found that most research done to date pays little attention to the wild species that grow naturally in olive grove environments. The main working hypothesis was therefore based on assessing the potential of these species. Jiménez-Alfaro explains that "for this reason, we developed a methodology that systematically collects information about native plants linked to an agroecosystem and evaluates them experimentally to see if they are suitable for mass seed restoration".

After collecting seeds from wild plants and evaluating their ecological and agronomic characteristics using experiments done in the laboratory and in crop fields in Andalusia, it was concluded that 85% of the species - which had been selected previously through database filtering - have characteristics that are suitable for meeting the requirements of olive growers and seed producers, and could be used as seed sources to restore vegetation cover - so long as the properties of the selected species do not compete with olive trees. The selection system can also be managed in accordance with the needs of farmers: some species fulfil the function of covering the bare soil and preventing erosion, while others optimise interaction with pollinators and other animals that support the system's biodiversity.

The research team believes that a working method such as the one created during this study will be fundamental in implementing the ecological restoration decade defined by the United Nations for 2021-2030, and in developing CAP sustainability policies. In fact, the same principles can be applied to any other agroecosystem on the planet - by adapting the experimental methodology to each specific case.

The study was carried out over four years as part of the NASSTEC project - an ambitious technology training programme aimed at restoring herbaceous ecosystems in Europe and funded by the European Union's ITN Marie Curie programme, in conjunction with Stephanie Frischie (Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, United States) and Juliane Stolz (Technische Universität Dresden, Germany).

References for the project:

Jiménez-Alfaro B, Frischie S, Slotz J & Gálvez C. Native plants for greening Mediterranean agroecosystems Nature Plants