Grupo Operativo Setos: multifunctional hedgerows for climate-resilient agriculture in Murcia

The Grupo Operativo Setos project, funded by the EU’s Europe 2020 strategy and AEI-AGRI, enhanced agricultural resilience in Murcia, Spain, through multifunctional hedgerows. Over two years, 28,000 plants of 60 species were planted across 15 km² in diverse landscapes, including horticulture, orchards, and arid zones. The initiative, involving farmers, water user associations, NGOs, and researchers (IMIDA, CEBAS), focused on conserving pollinators, maintaining natural pest control, and reducing soil erosion and runoff. Hedgerows, designed with eight functional species groups—such as nitrogen-fixing legumes, flowering shrubs, and grasses—improved biodiversity, crop yields, and climate resilience. Supported by research in *Manejo de setos y otras estructuras vegetales lineales para una agricultura sostenible*, the project demonstrated hedgerows’ role in sustainable agriculture, particularly in mitigating extreme rainfall impacts and restoring degraded soils in Mediterranean regions.