Pasture Landscapes and Nature Conservation
Abstract
Numerous European landscapes and habitats - both natural and cultural - developed and persisted through the activities of large herbivores. In many cases these landscapes were characterized originally by a high level of biodiversity and are therefore of extraordinary importance from a nature conservation perspective. However, due to the ongoing intensification and industrialization of agricultural land use during the past decades, species and habitats - especially those of open and semi-open areas - have become increasingly endangered. Furthermore, the remaining more extensively used sites are at risk of abandonment. In several European countries the establishment and preservation of "pasture landscapes" with a mixed character of open grassland, shrubs and forests has been recognized as a suitable strategy, offering solutions for both nature conservation and traditional farming systems. In response to the need to exchange ideas and experiences on a European level, the University of Lüneburg and the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation organized the 1st International Workshop on Pasture Landscapes and Nature Conservation in March 2001. The resulting proceedings provide an overview of the importance of existing pastoral systems, nature conservation policies and strategies and present the results of scientific research and practical experience with large-scale grazing systems.
Chapters (32)
Based on a brief description of the situation of large mammals in Europe some aspects of the Nature Policy Plan of The Netherlands are elucidated. One of its main objectives is the implementation of an Ecological Network, composed of core areas, nature development areas and robust corridors. For the management of spacious nature areas large herbivore grazing is considered a suitable tool. The Dutch experiences with grazing herds of de-domesticated cattle and horses are presented, using the 5600 ha large nature reserve Oostvaardersplassen as a prominent example. Furthermore a number of questions are being discussed that arise when this type of large scale grazing system is being established.
Presently, extensive farming is very marginal and only present in particular economic and ecological situations, but in the past pastoralism was common in Wallonia, especially on poor, dry, wet or peaty soils, which developed on calcareous or acidic rocks of the Calestienne and Ardennes regions. Sandy soils were also present in the north, but to a lesser extent. Sheep used to graze common lands, heaths and moors on acidic soils, and calcareous grasslands on limestone or chalk. Cattle and horses used to graze in coppiced woodlands or forests. Wet meadows along streams and rivers, and mires were mown for Hwinter fodder or livestock bedding. Nowadays, last remnants of old pastoral landscapes are to be found on the poorest soils of the uplands or on steep slopes of rocky hills not (yet) reafforested.
For many reasons, extensive grazing has rarely been used as a management tool for biodiversity conservation or restoration until recently, even in old pastoral landscapes. Restoration or management operations have frequently been carried out through mechanical management, and the use of large grazers for restoration or maintenance is quite recent. Where they are used, these are hardy breeds of cattle or ponies in wet pastures and abandoned meadows, sheep in heathlands and moors and sheep in association with goats in dry grasslands. Animals belong to NGOs, to amateur stockbreeders or to the Nature and Forests Administration. Sites under management agreements with farmers are generally grazed by productive breeds (non-lactating cows, young bulls or calves) but some use hardy breeds.
This paper presents briefly three cases — the restoration of moors and bogs on the Hautes-Fagnes plateau, fallow wet meadows and pastures in the Ardenne valleys and calcareous grasslands in the Fagne-Famenne region — and notes the problems encountered in grazing management.
As part of a LIFE-Nature project promoted by the Pollino National Park, the semi-open mountain pastureland of the Pollino karstic massif has been studied. The most important habitats in terms of nature conservation have been found at lower altitudes in the Stipa austroitalica garigues, that are composed of a very complex mosaic of successional habitats ranging from open grassland to more or less mature forest. Cattle grazing and burning seem to be the most effective rejuvenation factors and both are helpful in maintaining high biodiversity levels in birds (many lark species), butterflies and Carabid beetles (some quantitative data are presented for invertebrates). Vegetation features, relationships with land use and possible management in relation to faunal conservation are discussed.
The Cantabrian mountain range and the Pyrenees will be analysed, using transects describing the principal types of vegetation, and showing the climatic contrast between an oceanic climate with more than 1200 mm of annual rainfall on the northern slopes and a continental-Mediterranean climate becoming progressively drier southwards.
In Asturias the assistance from the EU for the use of communal pastures is very important. Through this, help is granted to farmers using the communal pastures of the National Park of Picos de Europa. The objective is to maintain the grazing traditions practised in the past and to allow the development of land use systems compatible with the environment, while at the same time improving the use of the hills in the face of an increase of scrubland, which causes serious fires.
Intensive livestock farming, the industrial fatteners, and specialized livestock production based on a mix of tillage and grassland had very harmful effects: for the conservation of biodiversity, the ecologicaluse of extensive grazing lands, the upkeep of the “brañas”, the mountain landscape, the rural architecture, the indigenous breeds and the age-old shepherding culture.
In the Pyrenees we analyse recent changes in land use. A new demographic structure and decrease in population together led to the redevelopment of new management systems: a decrease in the cultivated area, the decline in cereal production and an increase in meadows, and the decline of sheep and expansion of cattle raising.
Current livestock systems in Georgia (Caucasus) are focused mainly on self-supply. Pasturing is present almost everywhere. As mineral fertilizers, concentrated feed and modern machines are almost absent, animal production is basically limited by the natural productivity and carrying capacity of the ecosystems. The ecological effects were enhanced by traditional transhumance (migratory) systems, which caused extensive degradation of soils and vegetation in the summer and winter pasture areas. National independence in 1991 and subsequent civil war resulted in a sharp decline in the stock of domesticated animals. The former transhumance systems collapsed.
The current effects of pasturing on nature are ambivalent. Recent livestock grazing obviously caused considerable soil degradation and erosion. But it is doubtful whether any other kind of land use would improve the situation in ecologically fragile areas. Nor is it clear to what extent current pastoral farming increases damage initiated during Soviet times or even earlier. Positive effects are the generation of a diverse habitat spectrum on a medium spatial scale and of highly diverse “mosaic” landscapes, resulting in very high levels of biodiversity and providing resources for threatened species.
The data from Georgia prove that large-scale pasturing can be an alternative for the development of regions in central Europe where conventional plant production in agriculture vanishes due to insufficient farm income, provided that the western European standards can be kept by subsidies and incentives linked to active measures supporting nature conservation targets.
The results of the study on grazing systems in a joint Ukrainian-German research project “Transformation processes in the Dnister-Region (Western Ukraine)” are presented, whichhas been running since 1995 and is funded by the German Ministry for Education and Science under the patronage of UNESCO.
On the basis of data obtained for three model pastures in the villages of Busovysko and Verkhny Luzhok (Stary Sambir district, Lviv region), for the high mountains region (grasslands above the timberline) and for the humid areas of the Carpathian foothills we determined some changes in the structure of pastures and in the type of grazing. We studied the grazing intensity and analysed the influence of grazing on the plant cover of pastures, on changes in the population structure of indicator plant species and on the biodiversity of Lepidoptera.
The conclusion is drawn that unstructured cattle grazing over large areas is the most effective means for preserving the biodiversity of these sites.
The New Forest is one of the most important areas for nature conservation in western Europe. Its scale and richness are of equal importance to the lessons it affords us in understanding the relationship between history, soils, vegetation and the impact of grazing animals on forest ecosystems. The management of the Forest is described, along with short descriptions of some recent projects that have been inspired by the New Forest and have applied its lessons to other, smaller areas of woodland and heathland in lowland England.
Prior to Frans Vera’s work, several workers in the UK were advocating that areas of temperate Europe were not covered with a continuous unbroken tree cover. Crawley and Green (in prep.) suggest a countryside of ‘glades with trees round them’. It is suggested that pests and diseases could create the glades in woodland or other vegetation and in some cases maintain them. Browsing / grazing animals would continue to maintain the open spaces until they themselves were affected by diseases and pests after events such as prolonged drought, leading to a sudden large drop in numbers allowing colonisation by trees and shrubs. The cycle of tree cover would then begin again — until the arrival of man. Man colonised the savannah and glades and expanded them for the final time … or perhaps until he too succumbs.
This article first gives a short description of the situation of agriculture in Germany, with special reference to the development of land use. During the last decade an increase in the intensity of agricultural land use took place in some areas, while in other areas, especially in marginal areas, the amount of land used for agriculture has decreased steadily. As a consequence, formerly extensively utilized marginal areas became fallow. Red Data Books in Germany show that a great number of plant and animal species that are endangered or threatened with extinction are concentrated in extensively utilized agricultural landscapes. Therefore the development outlined above creates special problems for species and habitat conservation.
Secondly, the article describes the idea of “semi-open pasture landscapes” as an alternative to common concepts of cultivation or management of marginal areas (e. g. poor quality grasslands). In many respects the establishment of semi-open pasture landscapes can be based on existing agricultural practices that are traditional or specific to particular areas. In contrast to traditional forms of agricultural practice, the object of “semi-open pasture landscapes” is to combine both economic and ecological requirements. This would enable the continuation of the extensive use of many marginal areas in Germany as well as the preservation of landscapes valuable for nature conservation and species protection. As an example, the trial and development project “Semi-open Pasture Landscape Höltigbaum” is presented and first results of the research project are reported.
The countryside in the County of South Jutland is, as in most of Denmark, much influenced by man’s activities, mainly farming. The “traditional” scenic pastoral landscape is much reduced in area, and the degree of “naturalness” of the remaining areas is far from a natural state. As a consequence, the county’s focus for nature conservation is set on maintaining and increasing habitat diversity. The article presents a few of the grazing projects run in the County of South Jutland, and the strategies on which they are based.
In the wake of current water management problems, new legislation and a rising public awareness concerning environmental problems, new opportunities for nature development arise. The ecosystem management concept of restoring native ecosystems and rehabilitating original ecosystem functions and processes (such as nutrient cycles and hydrological processes) is being applied along the river Scheldt. Based on analysis and estimates of current and future problems in both the valley and the estuary, a conceptual rehabilitation model with a long-term vision is developed to tackle these problems. This vision is then translated into concrete plans and implementations trying to combine safety measures against flooding as much as possible with ecological rehabilitation and the creation of sustainable river related nature. The entire process from vision building, problem analysis and model making to concrete nature development plans is outlined in this article for the example of an ambitious nature development project in the Kruibeke-Bazel-Rupelmonde polder. The entire landscape (over 500 ha) will be rehabilitated, not by restoring the ecological patterns, but mainly by creating opportunities for ecological processes to take place, such as tides, inundation, seepage and grazing.
Today’s Border Meuse is an unnatural narrow river in a monotonous landscape with agricultural land use up to the very margins of the river; major floods are always disastrous. Our vision is that of a broader river in a diversified landscape with lots of possibilities for nature development. The river will contain more water: floods will no longer be catastrophic.
This vision will become reality through the border Meuse nature development project. At the heart of the project is a unique combination of gravel extraction and nature development. Through limited and shallow extraction the gravel industry creates possibilities for the river allowing it to develop into a more natural gravel river.
Fifteen hundred hectares of “new nature” will thus be created in a densely populated area. So it is essential that the local residents should be moved into not merely accepting but rather enjoying the new situation.
To achieve this goal a major information campaign is being carried out.
Out in the field adults as well as children learn to appreciate the “new nature” and to marvel at its richness. For most of them it is a real wilderness experience.
Riverine nature itself provides many high points:
• From the first year after extraction people witness a real outburst of flowers, insects and other wildlife.
• Introduced large herbivores (Galloway cattle and Konik horses) assume the role of their wild counterparts. They give a real touch of wilderness to the new river landscape. They also enable the development of a very diverse woodland vegetation.
Once understood and accepted this “new nature” provides moments of pure joy.
The Lake Pape is located in the southwestern corner of Latvia, close to the Baltic Sea. After the breakup of the Soviet Union huge areas of former grassland have fallen fallow. To restore grasslands at the Lake Pape a grazing project with 18 Konik horses has been started by the Ark Foundation, the Large Herbivore Initiative and WWF Latvia in summer 1999. The article gives an insight into this project.
The BUNDE WISCHEN association runs a herd of 350 Galloway cattle on at least 600 hectares of pasture in northern Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. The article gives four examples of the grazing projects run by BUNDE WISCHEN. After 14 years of experience it is evident that extensive grazing is a useful management tool to protect endangered grasslands in northern Germany. As a side effect of grazing, meat production and tourism could help to finance nature conservation.
Swine herding was the predominant pig-keeping system until the beginning of the 20th century. Woodland grazing in autumn was the most important requisite of traditional pig-keeping systems. However, pigs also grazed in open areas, feeding on grasses and herbs.
In contrast to other livestock, pigs exhibit a unique feeding strategy to reach sub-surface food. By ‘rooting’ the ground, they gather rhizomes, roots, insects, earthworms and small rodents. These disturbances caused in the grass sward can have a particular potential for conservation management.
Pig pastures are well known for harbouring a specific and nowadays endangered flora. Traditional grazing systems in countries such as Croatia (in the floodplains of the river Sava) underscore the importance of mixed grazing (cattle, horses and pigs) for nature conservation.
In September 1999 a research project started which aims to study and evaluate the effects of low-intensity outdoor pig-keeping on the environment. The focus is on flora and fauna as well as on soil properties. The evaluation further includes animal health, animal welfare (behaviour) and socio-economic parameters.
The article gives an insight into the aims and structure of this project.
In the valley of the river Eider (Schleswig-Holstein, northern Germany) a conservation management project was established in 1999. A large-scale grazing system has been set up and measures to rewet the area have been implemented.
The effects of conservation management are analysed, focussing on the structure and dynamics of biocoenoses and on water and nutrient balances. Moreover, the costs and benefits of the nature conservation project are investigated in economic terms.
In Germany, sand ecosystems are among the endangered habitats, particularly the open and the ecotone-rich forms including open oak and pine woodland. A practicable nature conservation concept has to take into account the often anthropo-zoogenically caused dynamics of sand ecosystems. The conservation of these ecosystems is problematic, as they form dynamic systems which lose relevance for species and habitat conservation if they are not used or if they are intensively used or fertilized.
Therefore, apart from existing sandy regions, restitution areas are studied, among them an inland dune complex the morphology of which was altered in the context of a trial and development project. The areas studied are located in the north-German lowland plain (“Hase valley”, “Ems valley” in the Emsland region) and in the northern Upper Rhine valley (sandy regions near Darmstadt). Differentiated grazing systems with cattle, sheep, goats, horses, Mangalitza pigs and donkeys are employed.
The central aim of the project is to analyse the effects of different grazing systems on the vegetation, on nutrient dynamics, on selected animal groups and on socio-economics. The article presents conclusions for nature conservation and socio-economic aspects.
The middle Rhine Valley (Germany) is a typical example of the widespread conflict between a high nature conservation value of the cultural landscape on the one hand and the loss of any interest in land use as the traditional ‘management tool’ on the other hand. Therefore, possibilities for the sustainable development of this ‘model region’ with its characteristic xerothermic slopes were studied within the scope of a feasibility study. The projected conservation strategies, which will be implemented within the next years, take into account traditional and alternative forms of land use as well as management practices without any economic interest. The latter include controlled burning of different successional stages on the steep slopes, clearance of scrub-dominated areas with tank-tracks and the extensive (‘semi-wild’) grazing of an area of about 65 ha with wild sheep and goats.
While continental Europe may still retain large areas of early mature managed forest, Britain may have far more old trees on ancient woodland or wood pasture sites and in some traditional agricultural landscapes than most other northern European countries. Ancient woodland sites with existing old trees and shrubs and with a continuity of old trees reaching back into the past are of unsurpassed value for their dead and decaying wood communities especially fungi, lichens and invertebrates. Our priority is to perpetuate the continuity of ancient dead and decaying trees on ancient sites and to ensure the continuity of replacement trees through the next millennium.
Wildfire is one of the main environmental problems in the forests of northern Spain. In recent years the risk of wildfires has increased as traditional exploitation of forest lands has declined. In this paper, after presenting a short list of endemic and rare plants and plant communities, we review several types of silvopastoral Systems in use in north-western Spain. In these Systems native animal breeds are used to graze the undergrowth of pinewoods and eucalyptus and deciduous forests and scrublands, as a means of reducing the amount of combustible material within the forests. Silvopastoral Systems are good practice to maintain and preserve nature and its biodiversity in Galicia.
In addition to administrative regulation, it is necessary to engage in practical maintenance measures in order to ensure the continued existence of typical Central European pasture woodland structures and their biocoenoses. Until now such management, if undertaken at all, has been mostly mechanical, using chainsaws or motor scythes. Since the summer of 2000 in the Solling-Vogler Nature Park (Lower Saxony/Germany), a newer, gentler management method has been implemented using large herbivores. In this case, Heck cattle and Exmoor ponies provide for the natural Clearing of an area of 170 hectares in a part of the forest containing mostly older oak trees. One of the objectives is that the animals should suppress the growth of new beech trees. A more intricate dovetailing of the woodland with the open landscape as well as a general increase in structural diversity, resulting in a diversity of species, should be achieved through the grazing activity. Differing from the intensive manner in which pasture woodlands were historically managed, the grazing should be extensive, i. e. at a lower grazer density. The aim is to develop an optimal management model as well as a conservation and historico-cultural perspective on important woodland locations, and to carry out scientific research to underpin the fmdings. This includes both ecological and economic aspects. It is also assumed that projects like this, using large grazing animals, stimulate public interest and help to lead to a more harmonious relationship between man and nature.
A description is given of the programme of the WWF-founded Large Herbivore Initiative (LHI). The LHI is a network organization, for which the WWF acts as facilitator. In the Programme large herbivores are considered not just as species as such, but also as essential elements in ecosystems and thus as promoters of ecosystem conservation.
The scope, motivations, objectives, activities and projects of the programme are discussed. Some examples from Mongolia are given to illustrate the programme.
In the intensively used agricultural, industrial and urban landscapes of the Netherlands, a lot of public interest is attracted by spontaneous nature in areas where nature ‘just happens’ instead of being planned and rigidly managed. In pilot projects the Ark Foundation experiments with landscape development in floodplains and coastal areas under the influence of natural dynamic processes such as flooding, erosion, Sedimentation and natural grazing by large herbivores. The projects seek to combine different requirements of society such as the need for flood defence, extraction of renewable material, drinking water, biodiversity, and (eco-)tourism, and are always carried out in coalition with different nature conservation organizations, local and regional authorities, the extraction industry and the tourism industry. The areas are fully open to the public, which is actively involved in the projects through field classes, nature education et cetera. Natural grazing, seen as an essential part in landscape development, is defined as mixed grazing with horses and cattle, and preferably other species; at low grazing intensity, where sufficient food supply in late winter defines herbivore densities; with robust races closely related to their wild ancestors, and capable of surviving (almost) without human interference; living in herds in a natural gender ratio, and consisting of their natural social communities like harems and groups of young stallions, or groups of cows, groups of bulls and solitary bulls.
The European landscape reflects several centuries of interaction between people and their natural environments. These “cultural” landscapes are overwhelmingly the product of man’s farming activities. Many such landscapes are linked even today with pastoral farming Systems. The rapid modernization of European agriculture, which spread out from the Atlantic lowlands of the north-west, has resulted in intensification, marginalization, concentration and specialization of farming. This modernization continues today in southern Europe and has begun and is certain to increase in central and eastern Europe. It has resulted in a fundamental imbalance between farming and the environment. Only in recent years has the agricultural policy of the European Union started to respond to the environmental implications of this imbalance. It includes application of compulsory regulation to ensure minimum Standards, and promotion of agri-environment programmes to encourage positive environmental actions. But both measures have had limited effect to date. The latest reforms of the “Common Agricultural Policy“ — known as “Agenda 2000” — have placed greater emphasis on this kind of programme and especially on the concept of “integrated rural development”. The fundamental linkage between extensive farmingand especially with pastoral farming and biodiversity leads to the rationale of why certain styles of farming should be central to future rural development policies, as in the Agenda 2006/2007 concept.
The article gives an overview of new research methods based on Geographic Information Systems. Aerial photography series taken several times a year provide an important database for continuous change detection in grazing Systems. This information is combined with observations of cattle behaviour and density. Interpolations allow for analysis of cattle movement. It is thereby possible to identify correlations between cattle, habitat strueture, the dynamic character of the pasture and selected target species (Milvus milvus, Anthus pratensis, Zygaenidae).
The article describes a 150 ha grazing system near Tbilisi (Georgia). The impact of cattle grazing on habitat quality for selected species of Orthoptera is analysed.
Different cattle densities in time and Space as a result of the large-scale grazing lead to dynamic mosaic of grassland, scrub and trees. As the research clearly shows, grazing haspositive effects on the Orthoptera fauna in the study area. The diversity of habitat structuresoffers suitable habitats for a high number of specialized Orthoptera species.
The Lonjsko Polje nature park in the Sava floodplain is situated southeast of Zagreb (Croatia). It harbours a high number of endangered or rare animal and plant species.
The large-scale and low-intensity grazing regime seems to be a key factor in the maintenance of viable populations. First, this regime helps to establish and maintain a high level of habitat diversity. As a result, species with complex habitat requirements, such asspoonbills, amphibians and various invertebrates, find optimum conditions in the area.Second, the overgrazing of specific areas, the trampling and especially the disturbance by pigs is beneficial to poorly competing plant and other pioneer species.
The results of investigations of a 24 ha pasture in Werchnej Luschok are presented. The movements of the cattle were observed with an automatic camera set-up which took a photo of the area every twenty minutes. Changes in land use between 1896 and 1999 were also analysed. In 1999 the grassland covers a larger area, while the area under tillage has declined considerably. The spatial heterogeneity of grazing pressure is high. Higher grazing intensity leads to higher habitat diversity. With higher grazing intensity the number of grasshopper species per plot is lower. The Shannon Index for grasshoppers also declines with higher grazing intensity.
The article gives an insight into the research project “Co-operative grazing Systems: An alternative concept for the management of endangered open and semi-open landscapes”. Cooperatively grazed pastures in the south-west of Bavaria are analysed with regard to their ecological and economic structures. The organization, hypothesis and methods of the project are discussed. Proceeding from preliminary results, the research area is characterized.
The “Mosaik” project studies the effects of two new management concepts, on the one hand the creation of permanent pastures with low stocking densities (< 0. 5 animals/ha) under an overall ‘semi-open pasture landscape’ approach, and on the other hand a spatial mosaic with cyclic, massive interventions in the Vegetation cover (hoeing/mechanical cultivation) under an overall ‘ley landscape’ approach. Both management approaches will lead to a semi-open landscape with scrub and a mosaic — both spatial and temporal — of habitat qualities for flora and fauna. This may pose a risk of colonization and extinction for some of the endangered species.
The aim of the research project is to predict the local and regional risk of extinction of flora and fauna when such management Systems are used. If the risk is low, intensive, expensive maintenance and Simulation of traditional land use can be replaced by these generally simpler and cheaper management Systems.
Natural riverine landscapes are characterized by a high proportion of open areas which are sparsely covered with Vegetation. Thus, river restoration and the re-establishment of river dynamics may be a promising strategy for the conservation of species living in open habitats. This paper discusses the effects of river restoration measures at the rivers Main and Rodach (northern Bavaria, Germany), presenting first results that demonstrate how newly initiated dynamics create high structural diversity including a significant proportion of open landscapes. The restored areas provide habitat for many animal and plant species that live in open landscapes.
Pasture landscapes with free ranging grazers were once typical of large areas in Europe. These ecosystems are important habitats for a great number of endangered plant and animal species. Roaming or transhumant grazers support the dispersal of plant and invertebrate animal species both by transporting diaspores or specimens and by creating open linear structures functioning as connecting lines between patches of open habitats.
Changing agro-economic and social conditions have led to a completely different Situation. Extensive grasslands have been converted into intensive grasslands or arable land, or they have been abandoned in the case of less productive soils. Also, traditional transhumance Systems have been discontinued in large areas of Europe.
The re-introduction of large extensive semi-open pastoral landscapes could be an important approach for both the maintenance of extensive grassland farming Systems and for nature conservation. This paper provides a brief overview of the ecological significance, histrical background and theoretical foundation of pasture landscapes as a tool for nature conservation and for extensive land use. Additionally, problems in implementing large-scale pastoral Systems caused by current economic and legal circumstances are discussed.
... The abandonment of traditional forms of land use such as grazing and mowing over the last decades has brought an increasing concern about the consequences of the resulting expansion of shrubs and trees on species-rich dry calcareous grasslands (Dzwonko, Loster, 1998;Hansson, Fogelfors, 2000;Willems, 2001;Bąba, 2003;Alard et al., 2005;Köhler et al., 2005;Dostálek, Frantík, 2008;Schrautzer et al., 2009;Jacquemyn et al., 2010;Ruprecht et al., 2010;Török, Szitár, 2010;Tälle et al., 2018). Some studies have shown that the abandonment of traditional land use had negative impact on the species richness, diversity, and area of dry grasslands in Central Europe Galvánek, Lepš, 2008;Schrautzer et al., 2009;Hegedüšová, Senko, 2011;Pipenbaher et al., 2013), and in the last few years, more attention is being devoted to conservation management (Poschlod et al., 1998;Barbaro et al., 2001;Münzbergová, 2001;Willems, 2001;Kahmen et al., 2002;Riecken et al., 2002;WallisDeVries et al., 2002;Bąba, 2004;Masé, 2005;Bornkamm, 2006;Stadler et al., 2007;Dostálek, Frantík, 2008;Peter et al., 2009;Kuzemko et al., 2016). The importance of conservation management and maintenance of traditional ways of farming is visible not only in the case of grasslands but also in the case of various other types of habitats (Mojses, Petrovič, 2013;Špulerová et al., 2016) and other scientists have also devoted their research to changes in various types of vegetation (Palaj, Kollár, 2018). ...
... Our study confirmed the trend of decline in biodiversity of species-rich dry calcareous grasslands after abandonment of traditional management during recent decades shown in other studies from Central Europe (Galvánek, Lepš, 2008;Schrautzer et al., 2009;Hegedüšová, Senko, 2011;Pipenbaher et al., 2013). From numerous studies, it is clear that the dry calcareous grasslands should receive attention in regard to conservation management (WallisDeVries, 1999;Barbaro et al., 2001;Münzbergová, 2001;Willems, 2001;Kahmen et al., 2002;Riecken et al., 2002;WallisDeVries et al., 2002;Bąba, 2004;Masé, 2005;Bornkamm, 2006;Stadler et al., 2007;Dostálek, Frantík, 2008;Peter et al., 2009;Hegedüšová, Senko 2011;Kuzemko et al., 2016). Our study showed similar conclusions as these studies. ...
This study is focused on the evaluation of the values of the diversity indices of semi-natural dry calcareous grasslands of the Festuco-Brometea class in the area of Devínska Kobyla National Nature Reserve 50 years after abandonment of traditional management (grazing and mowing). The values of the species richness, the Shannon–Wiener index of diversity, the Simpson index, and Pielou’s measure of species evenness in the communities in the old and recent data, and the values of the environmental variables based on the Ellenberg indicator values of species were analyzed. For most of these analyses, we used Kruskal–Wallis in R 3.5.1. Compared to the past, we have recorded a significant lower values of the species richness, biodiversity, and species evenness in some communities. In some communities, no significant changes were recorded. Only in one community—Poo badensis-Festucetum pallentis, the higher values of Shannon–Wiener index was recorded compared to the past. The analysis of the Ellenberg indicator values revealed a statistically significant higher Ellenberg indicator values for moisture and nutrients and lower values for light in more recent period compared to the old period. The recorded results could be caused by the changes in the management after the year 1965, after abandonment of grazing and the gradual overgrowing by woody species took place in the area. The frequency of occurrence of some woody species (e.g., Populus alba, P. nigra, and Robinia pseudoacacia) in some communities increased compared to the past.
... Numerous European landscapes and habitats-both natural and cultural-developed and persisted through the grazing of domestic ruminants. Many of these landscapes have a high level of biodiversity and are therefore very important for nature conservation [1]. However, the more extensively used sites are at risk of abandonment. ...
... However, the more extensively used sites are at risk of abandonment. The establishment and preservation of "pasture landscapes" with a mixed character of open grassland, shrubs and forests (agroforestry systems) have been recognized as a suitable strategy of management in several European countries, offering solutions for both nature conservation and traditional large-scale grazing systems [1]. In this context, the southern region of Spain (Andalusia) is the region with the largest protected area (1,784,992 ha), consisting of 27.3% of the protected area in the country [2]. ...
This paper describes the typological characterization of the Natural Park Sierra de Grazalema (NPSG) livestock farms using its communal pastures (N = 23, 100% of population) in order to study their sustainability from 160 technical, economic and social variables (from direct on-farm data collection). A principal components analysis (PCA) produced four principal components related to size, livestock species, main productions and intensification level, explaining 73.6% of the variance. The subsequent cluster analysis classified the farms into four groups: C1 (medium size farms without sheep), C2 (large size and very extensive farms), C3 (farms with multipurpose sheep) and C4 (farms with dairy goat and without cattle). Forty-eight-point-seven percent of the surface was registered as organic but none of the farms' commercialized products were organic. C2 and C3 (both having three ruminant species) are those farms that have more economic differences, the former generating the lowest profit, and the latter generating the highest; however, there is a risk to grasslands conservation from the current tendency that leads dairy farms to rapid intensification. Nevertheless, the very extensive farms are the most interesting for NPSG conservation and the administration should help to maintain the profitability of this sustainable traditional activity, which is necessary to conserve communal pastures.
... Many landscapes of high biodiversity and cultural significance are intimately associated with traditional livestock systems (Bunce et al., 2018a(Bunce et al., , 2018bPlieninger et al., 2015;Redecker et al., 2002). ...
• Factors influencing grazing behavior in species-rich grasslands have been little studied. Methodologies have mostly had a primary focus on grasslands with lower floristic diversity.
• We test the hypothesis that grazing behavior is influenced by both animal and plant factors and investigate the relative importance of these factors, using a novel combination of video technology and vegetation classification to analyze bite and step rates.
• In a semi-natural, partially wooded grassland in northern Estonia, images of the vegetation being grazed and records of steps and bites were obtained from four video cameras, each mounted on the sternum of a sheep, during 41 animal-hours of observation over five days. Plant species lists for the immediate field of view were compiled. Images were partnered by direct observation of the nearest-neighbor relationships of the sheep. TWINSPAN, a standard vegetation classification technique allocating species lists to objectively defined classes by a principal components procedure, was applied to the species lists and 25 vegetation classes (15 open pasture and 10 woodland) were identified from the images.
• Taking bite and step rates as dependent variables, relative importance of animal factors (sheep identity), relative importance of day, and relative importance of plant factors (vegetation class) were investigated. The strongest effect on bite rates was of vegetation class. Sheep identity was less influential. When the data from woodland were excluded, sheep identity was more important than vegetation class as a source of variability in bite rate on open pasture.
• The original hypothesis is therefore supported, and we further propose that, at least with sheep in species-rich open pastures, animal factors will be more important in determining grazing behavior than plant factors. We predict quantifiable within-breed and between-breed differences, which could be exploited to optimize conservation grazing practices and contribute to the sustainability of extensive grazing systems.
... Many landscapes of high biodiversity and cultural significance are intimately associated with traditional livestock systems (Bunce et al., 2018a(Bunce et al., , 2018bPlieninger et al., 2015;Redecker et al., 2002). ...
Abstract
Factors influencing grazing behavior in species-rich grasslands have been little studied. Methodologies have mostly had a primary focus on grasslands with lower floristic diversity.
We test the hypothesis that grazing behavior is influenced by both animal and plant factors and investigate the relative importance of these factors, using a novel combination of video technology and vegetation classification to analyze bite and step rates.
In a semi-natural, partially wooded grassland in northern Estonia, images of the vegetation being grazed and records of steps and bites were obtained from four video cameras, each mounted on the sternum of a sheep, during 41 animal-hours of observation over five days. Plant species lists for the immediate field of view were compiled. Images were partnered by direct observation of the nearest-neighbor relationships of the sheep. TWINSPAN, a standard vegetation classification technique allocating species lists to objectively defined classes by a principal components procedure, was applied to the species lists and 25 vegetation classes (15 open pasture and 10 woodland) were identified from the images.
Taking bite and step rates as dependent variables, relative importance of animal factors (sheep identity), relative importance of day, and relative importance of plant factors (vegetation class) were investigated. The strongest effect on bite rates was of vegetation class. Sheep identity was less influential. When the data from woodland were excluded, sheep identity was more important than vegetation class as a source of variability in bite rate on open pasture.
The original hypothesis is therefore supported, and we further propose that, at least with sheep in species-rich open pastures, animal factors will be more important in determining grazing behavior than plant factors. We predict quantifiable within-breed and between-breed differences, which could be exploited to optimize conservation grazing practices and contribute to the sustainability of extensive grazing systems.
... Thus, it may appear advisable to create shared landscapes, e.g., areas of pastures present with drinking water wells under typical flow regimes that can also function as flood polders if needed. In many cases, grazing is even an essential management element for flood polders as it reduces the velocity of vegetative succession and conserves an open landscape (Redecker et al., 2002). Nonetheless, a number of studies have demonstrated that the combination of different land-uses may not always be advisable. ...
While it is well recognized that the frequency and intensity of flood events are increasing worldwide, the environmental, economic, and societal consequences of remobilization and distribution of pollutants during flood events are not widely recognized. Loss of life, damage to infrastructure, and monetary cleanup costs associated with floods are important direct effects. However, there is a lack of attention towards the indirect effects of pollutants that are remobilized and redistributed during such catastrophic flood events, particularly considering the known toxic effects of substances present in flood-prone areas. The global examination of floods caused by a range of extreme events (e.g., heavy rainfall, tsunamis, extra- and tropical storms) and subsequent distribution of sediment-bound pollutants are needed to improve interdisciplinary investigations. Such examinations will aid in the remediation and management action plans necessary to tackle issues of environmental pollution from flooding. River basin-wide and coastal lowland action plans need to balance the opposing goals of flood retention, catchment conservation, and economical use of water.
... Während in den Tieflagen Europas die Auswirkung verschiedener Beweidungssysteme bezüglich Nutzungsintensitäten und Weidetieren auf die Biodiversität eingehend erforscht ist (BAKKER 1989, REDECKER et al. 2002, ZERBE & WIEGLEB 2009, BLAKESLEY & BUCKLEY 2016, ist die Kenntnis zu Alpweiden der subalpinen und alpinen Stufe bislang nicht sehr umfassend (DULLINGER et al. 2003, SPIEGELBERGER et al. 2006. Zugleich gehören alpine Rasen in der Paläarktis zu den Lebensräumen mit besonders hoher Artenvielfalt an Gefäβpflanzen (DENGLER et al. 2020). ...
To study how the cessation of transhumant sheep grazing in alpine areas influences biodiversity, three study sites along a chronosequence (space-for-time substitution) were studied in the Canton of St. Gallen (Switzerland): (i) an intensively used sheep pasture (approx. 81 and 195 sheep ha-1) (SB0), (ii) a sheep pasture abandoned since five years and now used by approx. 1 chamois ha-1 (SB5), and(iii) a sheep pasture abandoned since 19 years and now used by about 5 chamois and 1 ibex ha-1(SB19). Focussing on the two most frequent vegetation types, Poion alpinae and Nardion, we compared vascular plant diversity and floristic similarity among the three study sites at two grain sizes (10 m2 and 200 m2). In addition, butterfly and orthopteran species were mapped. In SB0, Nardion was the most frequent vegetation type, whereas in SB5 and SB19 Poion alpinae prevailed. Mean plant species richness on 10 m2 and 200 m2 did not differ significantly between the three sites of the chronosequence for either Poion alpinae or Nardion. Only for the 200-m² plots of the Poion alpinae, we found a substantial but non-significant increase in plant species richness (46.8 vs. 40.8 species). The two extreme points of the chronosequence, SB0 and SB19, were most dissimilar in their floristic composition. In SB0, more butterfly and orthopteran species were recorded than in the areas no longer grazed by sheep, but the difference was significant only for the latter. The fact that the vascular plant species richness at the studied grain sizes did not differ significantly along the 19-year chronosequence suggests that alpine grasslands respond very slowly to changes such as the replacement of sheep by chamois and ibex. However, it also suggests, that sheep have no major adverse effects on alpine grasslands, even though there seems to be a trend towards increased large-scale diversity when sheep are replaced by wild ungulates. By contrast, sheep grazing clearly influenced vegetation composition. For example, the higher frequency of Nardion grasslands and typical Nardion species in SB0 might be attributed to the effects of relatively intense sheep grazing.
... Ezek a munkák részben vagy teljesen, állattartással foglalkozó gazdák és pásztorok tudását ismertetik. Fás legelőkre vonatkozó információkat a legeltetéssel foglalkozó tanulmányok mellett (Redecker et al. 2002) a hagyományos erdő-és tájhasználatot ismertető munkákban találhatunk (Parotta et al. 2006, Gugić 2009). Az utóbbi években több tanulmány is megjelent az európai fás legelőkre vonatkozóan, melyek közül kiemelendő a Hartel & Plieninger (2014) által szerkesztett, a témát legátfogóbban bemutató könyv és Hartel et al. (2015) tájtörténetet összefoglaló cikke. ...
A hagyományos ökológiai tudás a biológiai és kulturális örökség meghatározó eleme, mely számos élőhelytípus védelméhez elengedhetetlen információval szolgál. Ilyen élőhelyek például az agrár-erdészeti rendszerek közé tartozó fás legelők és legelőerdők, melyek iránt az utóbbi években a természetvédelem és az agrárium részéről is jelentősen megnőtt az érdeklődés. Célunk, hogy felvázoljuk az ezekre az élőhelyekre vonatkozó, ma is élő hagyományos ökológiai tudást. Kutatásunk során Magyarország 28 településén vagy azok határában 52 pásztorral és gazdálkodóval készítettünk interjút. Sok helyen a mai napig a hagyományos ökológiai tudáson alapul a fás legelőkön és legelőerdőkön történő legeltetés. A pásztorok és gazdálkodók az élővilágról, ökológiai folyamatokról és a legeltetésnek a legelők hosszú távú fenntartásában betöltött szerepéről is mély ismerettel rendelkeznek. Mindemellett kiemelendő, hogy bár egyre kevesebb, mégis számos – régi pásztorcsaládból való és újonnan lett – pásztor legeltet fás legelőkön is, akik a régiek tudását megbecsülik, fontosnak tartják a hagyományok továbbadását és a természet tiszteletét. A hagyományos ökológiai tudás alkalmazása a kiemelkedő természeti, valamint kulturális értékkel bíró gazdálkodás folytatása mellett hozzájárul a pásztorok szellemi kulturális örökségének és közösségének továbbéltetéséhez.
... In the European Union, pastureland covers one-third of the area used for agriculture (European Commission, 2015). The extensive management of livestock supports rich biodiversity (Redecker et al., 2002) and is consequently promoted by European policy (Kerven and Behnke, 2011). However, the socioeconomic context drives polarization in livestock activities, with large areas left abandoned while practices are intensified in concentrated locations (Mazoyer and Roudart, 2002;Steinfeld et al., 2013). ...
Given the impact of livestock on ecosystems worldwide, it is necessary to understand the effects of grazing practices on biodiversity in order to improve the sustainability of pasture management practices. In a pasture, spatio-temporal variability in livestock activity results in a heterogeneous distribution of defoliation, trampling and excreta. To date, fine-scale analyses of grazing intensity have been rare, and the geographical extent of the studies often limited. In this study, we addressed this gap by analysing the influence of contrasting intra-pasture grazing intensity on the structure and composition of dung beetle assemblages. To do this, we studied a three-level grazing intensity gradient in two distinct bioclimatic contexts, a Mediterranean steppe and the Alps, which also allowed us to determine if dung beetle responses to grazing intensity are related to bioclimatic conditions. The observed dung beetle responses showed an imprint of the bioclimatic context and the local pasture conditions , and species composition and relative abundance showed strong variations along the grazing intensity gradient in both study areas. Species assemblages from the most and least grazed parts of pastures differed strongly. By altering habitat conditions, changing dung availability and modifying competitive interactions, fine-scale heterogeneity in grazing intensity led to substantial variations in the abundance of dung beetle nesting guilds. In both study areas an increase in grazing intensity was detrimental to the largest species and the soil-digging species (which bury dung in underground nests), whereas dung-dwelling species (which reproduce inside dung pads) were favoured. We discuss the combined use of nesting guilds and body mass as potential features to generalize the application of dung beetles as indicators of grazing practices.
... Zu den integrativen gehört der folgende Ansatz, neue Funktionen für vertraute Formen zu schaffen und dabei diese Formen zu vervielfachen, etwa Zu den segregativen Ansätzen zählt die Wiederaufnahme "altmodischer" Nutzungsformen unter Aufl ösung vorhandener Grenzen und Geometrien, etwa in Gestalt großfl ächiger, extensiver Weiden, in die hier und dort auch Wald einbezogen wird (z. B. Redecker et al. 2002). Dabei sollen auch bewusst eingefahrene Bahnen verlassen werden, was die Tierarten und -rassen angeht. ...
Welche Auswirkungen hat der globale Wandel für die regionale Entwicklung? Welche Konsequenzen ergeben sich daraus in gesellschaftlicher, ökonomischer und politischer Hinsicht? Diesen drängenden Fragen geht der vorliegende Band mit Blick auf die Region Berlin-Brandenburg nach. Im Fokus stehen dabei die Verfügbarkeit, die nachhaltige Nutzung und der Schutz der Ressource Wasser. Die Experten der Arbeitsgruppe Globaler Wandel – Regionale Entwicklung der Berlin-Brandenburgischen Akademie der Wissenschaften untersuchen die verschiedenen Dimensionen des globalen Wandels: Die Beiträge befassen sich mit den regionalen Auswirkungen des Klimawandels, mit dem Wandel von Landnutzungen und Aspekten innovativer Agrarwirtschaft sowie mit Auswirkungen des sozial- und raumstrukturellen Wandels auf Infrastrukturen. An die Analyse schließt die Erörterung von Handlungsoptionen und möglichen regionalen Anpassungsstrategien an. Angesprochen sind Akteure und Entscheider in Politik, Verwaltung und Wirtschaft sowie die interessierte Öffentlichkeit. Dabei steht die Region Berlin-Brandenburg im Mittelpunkt der Ausführungen; die Analysen und Empfehlungen sind jedoch auf eine generelle Übertragbarkeit auf vergleichbare Regionen hin angelegt.
... Zu den integrativen gehört der folgende Ansatz, neue Funktionen für vertraute Formen zu schaffen und dabei diese Formen zu vervielfachen, etwa Zu den segregativen Ansätzen zählt die Wiederaufnahme "altmodischer" Nutzungsformen unter Aufl ösung vorhandener Grenzen und Geometrien, etwa in Gestalt großfl ächiger, extensiver Weiden, in die hier und dort auch Wald einbezogen wird (z. B. Redecker et al. 2002). Dabei sollen auch bewusst eingefahrene Bahnen verlassen werden, was die Tierarten und -rassen angeht. ...
Vor dem Hintergrund des globalen Wandels und damit einhergehender Landnutzungsänderungen ist es das Ziel dieses Kapitels, geeignete Anpassungsstrategien zur verbesserten Nutzung und Optimierung agrarischer Ökosysteme zu entwickeln. Solche Strategien werden umso wichtiger, je mehr der Einfl uss des globalen Wandels – besonders als Klimawandel und Landnutzungswandel – sichtbar wird. Dieses Kapitel versucht, die Folgen dieser Entwicklungen für die Landnutzung in der Fokusregion zu analysieren und Strategien vorzustellen, die mögliche negative Auswirkungen auf die Landbewirtschaftung mildern und die Wettbewerbsfähigkeit des Sektors sichern können.
... Ezek a munkák részben vagy teljesen, állattartással foglalkozó gazdák és pásztorok tudását ismertetik. Fás legelőkre vonatkozó információkat a legeltetéssel foglalkozó tanulmányok mellett (Redecker et al. 2002) a hagyományos erdő-és tájhasználatot ismertető munkákban találhatunk (Parotta et al. 2006, Gugić 2009). Az utóbbi években több tanulmány is megjelent az európai fás legelőkre vonatkozóan, melyek közül kiemelendő a Hartel & Plieninger (2014) által szerkesztett, a témát legátfogóbban bemutató könyv és Hartel et al. (2015) tájtörténetet összefoglaló cikke. ...
sszefoglaló: A hagyományos ökológiai tudás a biológiai és kulturális örökség meghatározó ele-me, mely számos élőhelytípus védelméhez elengedhetetlen információval szolgál. Ilyen élőhelyek például az agrár-erdészeti rendszerek közé tartozó fás legelők és legelőerdők, melyek iránt az utóbbi években a természetvédelem és az agrárium részéről is jelentősen megnőtt az érdeklődés. Célunk, hogy felvázoljuk az ezekre az élőhelyekre vonatkozó, ma is élő hagyományos ökológiai tudást. Kutatásunk során Magyarország 28 településén vagy azok határában 52 pásztorral és gazdálko-dóval készítettünk interjút. Sok helyen a mai napig a hagyományos ökológiai tudáson alapul a fás legelőkön és legelőerdőkön történő legeltetés. A pásztorok és gazdálkodók az élővilágról, ökológiai folyamatokról és a legeltetésnek a legelők hosszú távú fenntartásában betöltött szerepéről is mély ismerettel rendelkeznek. Mindemellett kiemelendő, hogy bár egyre kevesebb, mégis számos-régi pásztorcsaládból való és újonnan lett-pásztor legeltet fás legelőkön is, akik a régiek tudását meg-becsülik, fontosnak tartják a hagyományok továbbadását és a természet tiszteletét. A hagyományos ökológiai tudás alkalmazása a kiemelkedő természeti, valamint kulturális értékkel bíró gazdálkodás folytatása mellett hozzájárul a pásztorok szellemi kulturális örökségének és közösségének tovább-éltetéséhez. Kulcsszavak: hagyományos ökológiai tudás, agrár-erdészeti rendszerek, természetvédelmi kezelés, természetvédelmi őr, szellemi kulturális örökség, tájhasználat Bevezetés Az emberiség szellemi öröksége részét képező kulturális sokféleség elvesztésé-nek fokozódó veszélye az elmúlt évtizedekben a természetvédelem egyik kiemelt kérdésévé vált az egész világon (Berkes 2008, Agnoletti & Rotherham 2015, Schmeller & Bridgewater 2016). Ennek az örökségnek meghatározó eleme a ha-gyományos ökológiai tudás, melynek természetvédelmi célú kutatása Magyaror-szágon és a Kárpát-medence számos pontján az utóbbi évtizedben erősödött meg
... Prompted by the fact that traditional grazing systems become less and less profitable, 'semi-open pasture landscapes' have turned out to be a promising instrument in the conservation of High Nature Value grasslands and other open habitats, and are successfully applied to various larger conservation areas, mainly in the Benelux countries and Germany (Redecker et al., 2002;Finck et al., 2004;von Oheimb et al., 2006;Bunzel-Drüke et al., 2015). This whole concept has been largely inspired by the 'megaherbivore theory', suggesting that the region would be much more open than some textbooks tell because the expansion of humans in the Holocene led to the extinction of various previously widespread megaherbivores, such as European bison (Bos bonasus), Aurochs (Bos primigenius) and Wild horse (Equus ferus), which are thought to have opened the landscape at least in certain places similar to the African savanna (Bunzel-Drüke et al., 2008). ...
About 17% of the territory of Western and Northern Europe (including the western part of Central Europe) is covered by grasslands. Of these 1/5 are natural grasslands, mainly in arctic-alpine and coastal areas, while 4/5 are secondary grasslands created via millennia of human land management, such as grazing, mowing and burning. As long as technological constraints limited the intensity of use, grasslands accumulated a lot of biodiversity, making them now the most species-rich habitat for many taxa. The direct economic value of agricultural products from grasslands (mainly dairy and meat) is 71 billion EUR per year (0.7% of the Gross Domestic Product of the region), while other ecosystem services like water and nitrogen retention, erosion control, biodiversity conservation and touristic use of traditional cultural landscapes together have a significantly higher value. After World War II, the situation of grasslands changed dramatically due to the excessive use of artificial fertilizer, much increased livestock numbers and the large-scale homogenization of site conditions towards mesic nutrient-rich situations. On the other hand, less productive and more remote sites were not profitable for agricultural use anymore and thus were abandoned (and subject to secondary succession). Both intensification and abandonment have strong negative impacts on grassland biodiversity. Many grassland habitats and their species are now highly threatened. Further important threat factors for grasslands in the region are airborne eutrophication and conversion to other land uses (croplands, forests, built-up areas), while we consider climate change, biotic invasions and direct human impacts to be less relevant than often thought. While grasslands are underrepresented among the nationally protected areas of the region, the Habitats Directive of the European Union put many of the more threatened grassland types into the conservation focus, so that they are now reasonably covered in the Natura 2000 network (spatially at least). Maintenance or restoration of semi-natural grasslands of High Nature Value (HNV) requires that they are managed in a way that mimics traditional agricultural use with hay-making and low-intensity grazing, but can also involve new approaches, such as controlled burning, “semi-open pasture landscapes” or “extensive green roofs”, which sometimes might be more feasible in the current socioeconomic situation. Semi-natural grasslands are a unique feature of the cultural landscapes of Europe. We conclude that conserving them and their biodiversity for the future requires a drastic further “greening” of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) of the EU and of similar instruments in the non-EU countries of the region, while at the same conservationists should be more open-minded towards conservation approaches that go beyond designation of protected areas and mimicking traditional grassland management.
... The majority of orchid species in Europe are connected to open landscape, especially grasslands and pastures, but also mires (Delforge 1995). Such landscapes have typically drawn large levels of human settlement and development (Finck et al. 2002). Urbanization, changing land use, and the intensification of agriculture are all particularly important impact factors (Stewart 1992;Tsiftsis et al. 2011). ...
The red list has become a ubiquitous tool in the conservation of species. We analyzed contemporary trends in the threat levels of European orchids, in total 166 species characterized in 27 national red lists, in relation to their reproductive biology and growth form, distribution area, and land cover where they occur. We found that species in central Europe are more threatened than those in the northern, southern, or Atlantic parts of Europe, while species were least threatened in southern Europe. Nectarless and tuberous species are significantly more threatened than nectariferous and rhizomatous taxa. Land cover (ratios of artificial land cover, area of pastures and grasslands, forests and inland wetlands) also significantly impacted the threat level. A bigger share of artificial land cover increases threat, and a bigger share of pasture and grassland lowers it. Unexpectedly, a bigger share of inland wetland area in a country increased threat level, which we believe may be due to the threatened nature of wetlands themselves relative to other natural land cover types. Finally, species occurring in multiple countries are on average less threatened. We believe that large-scale analysis of current IUCN national red lists as based on their specific categories and criteria may particularly inform the development of coordinated regional or larger-scale management strategies. In this case, we advocate for a coordinated EU protection and restoration strategy particularly aimed at central European orchids and those occurring in wetland area.
... Humans inevitably bring a cultural bias to the problem of which species or habitats to conserve. Throughout Europe, for example, where landscapes have had a more pronounced history of human occupation and alteration, environmental legislation puts high conservation value on numerous habitat types and species communities that resulted from traditional land-use practices, and are now at risk from abandonment of these practices (e.g., semi-natural grasslands; European Union Habitats Directive 92/43/EEC; Redecker et al., 2002). ...
Most landscapes bear the imprint of past human land use that in some cases dates back centuries or even millennia. Land use
has the potential to create strong legacy effects on biotic communities that may persist for decades or centuries, even after
the landscape has been abandoned and seemingly restored to its natural pre-settlement state. Current species distributions
may thus better reflect historical than contemporary landscape configurations, owing to the lagged response of species to
landscape change.
Grassland is one of the most important elements of the cultural landscapes in Central Europe. Especially extensively managed, moderately or non-fertilized grassland on dry, calcareous, acidic, or wet sites harbour a high species diversity. Land-use history, ecology, and vegetation diversity are briefly presented, the ecosystem services of grassland are outlined, and regional, national, and international initiatives for their protection and restoration are introduced. The various measures for restoring species-rich grasslands, encompassing interventions in the abiotic and biotic site factors, are discussed and critically reflected upon. A restoration project from the Rhön Biosphere Reserve is presented as a case study, which takes into account both, the ecological as well as the socio-economic aspects of grassland restoration.
For the identification of the restoration potential, the selection of suitable restoration or management measures, the coordination and, if necessary, the resolution of conflicts of land use with the stakeholders and the financing of restoration activities, it is indispensable to determine the objectives in advance of a restoration project. The corresponding reference systems can be found in the pristine natural landscape or the historical and current cultural landscape, or they can be constructed hypothetically.
The measures applied for the restoration of ecosystem range from the well-known measures applied in nature conservation management, agriculture, and forestry or established in the context of ecological engineering to procedures specifically developed for the restoration of ecosystems. The variety of these restoration measures, some of which are applied similarly in different ecosystems and land-use systems, respectively, is presented in an overview. These measures of ecosystem restoration range from doing nothing (passive restoration) to extensive technical measures.
Restoration ecology is an interdisciplinary field of research that builds on the concepts and foundations of ecology and makes use of other disciplines of the natural and social sciences in both theory and practice. After a brief historical overview of restoration ecology or ecosystem restoration, important basic ecological terms and key concepts, as well as the concepts of ecosystem services and ecosystem degradation, are explained. As a basis for this interdisciplinary textbook, ecosystem restoration is defined to embed the numerous approaches to restoration for Central European ecosystems and land-use systems, respectively, in a comprehensive framework.
Over the past four decades the dietary needs of the global population have been elevated, with increased consumption of animal products predominately due to the advancing economies of South America and Asia. As a result, livestock production systems have expanded in size, with considerable changes to the animals' management. As grazing animals are commonly grown in herds, economic and labour constraints limit the ability of the producer to individually assess every animal. Precision Livestock Farming refers to the real-time continuous monitoring and control systems using sensors and computer algorithms for early problem detection, while simultaneously increasing producer awareness concerning individual animal needs. These technologies include automatic weighing systems, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) sensors for individual animal detection and behaviour monitoring, body temperature monitoring, geographic information systems (GIS) for pasture evaluation and optimization, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for herd management , and virtual fencing for herd and grazing management. Although some commercial products are available, mainly for cattle, the adoption of these systems is limited due to economic and cultural constraints and poor technological infrastructure. This review presents and discusses PLF applications and systems for grazing animals and proposes future research and strategies to improve PLF adoption and utilization in today's extensive livestock systems.
In Georgia’s Lesser Caucasus, extremely species rich wooded grasslands are still used as pastures or meadows. These silvopastoral systems are one of the oldest land-use types in Europe, hosting both light-demanding and shade-tolerant species. However, in Europe silvopastoral systems have decreased over the past centuries. The aim of this study is to map, quantify, and classify the local land use and forest types in comparison to the potential natural vegetation to analyze and evaluate the high-mountain landscape pattern. Therefore, we mapped a 223 km2 study area and classified this mountainous terrain by topographical variables in a cluster analysis. Our results revealed a small-scale pattern of agriculture and forest in the study area, both strongly interlinked. The forest pattern strongly depends on altitude and aspect. The mentioned wooded grassland consists of forests with varying canopy covers connecting the settlement-near pastures and meadows in the montane belt with the natural open grassland in the alpine belts. The forest is in a near-natural condition compared with the potential natural vegetation. However, the quantifications revealed shrub encroachment indicating land-use abandonment. The compiled GIS-maps and the spatial classification of the landscape can be used to support sustainable management strategies in forestry and agriculture.
Referring to the manifold studies and the long-term experiences of the restoration of near-natural ecosystems and traditional land-use types, respectively, examples from all over the world are outlined. Additionally to rewilding as a progressive approach to nature conservation, letting nature take care of itself and enabling natural processes, particularly the restoration of heathland, agricultural grassland, savannas, agroforestry systems, silvopastoral systems, coppice forests, lakes, peatland, coastal mangroves, terraced and irrigation land-use systems is addressed. The unique features of these ecosystems and land-use systems, respectively, which are or could be embedded in traditional and multifunctional cultural landscapes encompass high biodiversity, agrobiodiversity, and agrodiversity, respectively, as well as the provision of manifold ecosystem and landscape services.
The characteristics and values of traditional cultural landscapes are comprehensively outlined by addressing biodiversity, agrobiodiversity, and agrodiversity as well as ecosystem and landscape services. Additionally, cultural landscapes are considered as potentially healthy environments and approaches, and related concepts such as therapeutic landscapes are introduced. Traditional ecological and indigenous knowledge, respectively, is an intrinsic asset of those landscapes under consideration, contributing to biodiversity and resource management, to the use and processing of agricultural, forestry, and fishery products, to climate change mitigation and adaptation, to environmental education, to communication, and to the governance of local communities.KeywordsBiodiversityAgrobiodiversityAgrodiversityClimate change mitigationHealthy environmentsTherapeutic landscapesTraditional ecological knowledge
This chapter lays out the foundations for this book regarding the concepts of “landscape” and “traditional cultural landscapes.” The term “cultural landscape” is introduced from a holistic perspective and examples of operationalization are given. “Traditions” should hereby be considered as a combination of elements through which it is possible to evoke collective memories, identities, and social cohesion. Multifunctionality of landscapes is addressed here as an interdisciplinary approach integrating both environmental and socio-economic characteristics. Additional to outstanding and well-known examples of traditional cultural landscapes worldwide such as the UNESCO World Heritage Sites, also the “every-day” cultural landscapes are considered here.KeywordsLandscapeCultural landscapeEvery-day landscapeMultifunctionalityTraditional cultural landscapeTraditions
Traditional cultural landscapes are classified and described, which might occur all around the globe or only in certain regions of the world. These landscapes have been shaped by humans over the centuries and represent a historical continuity, despite landscape dynamics and historical changes. Typically, these landscapes have a considerable proportion of low-input and extensive land-use types (agriculture and forestry) and/or fishery. The cultural landscape classification encompasses forest landscapes, agroforestry landscapes, pasture landscapes, terraced landscapes, irrigation landscapes, lakescapes, riverscapes, coastal landscapes and seascapes, saltscapes, hunting and park landscapes, monastic landscapes, and sacred and spiritual landscapes. These landscapes integrate natural as well as cultural heritage.KeywordsAgroforestry landscapesExtensive land-use systemsIrrigation landscapeLandscape classificationLow-input agricultureRiverscape
Background and aims
Heathlands are a broad vegetation type characterized by the dominance of evergreen shrub species that thrive on nutrient-poor soils, thus
sensitive to small changes in soil conditions. Here we aimed to identify soil gradients related to climate, management and main species in wet heathlands.
Methods
Soil nutrient levels, organic matter and acidity were studied at two soil depths on ninety plots from 18 sites in Erica mackayana wet heaths of NW Iberian Peninsula, in relation to presence and cover of structural plant species (shrubs and graminoids) at
two scales: plot and site (landscape) scale.
Results
We identified one main soil gradient explained by soil organic matter (SOM), the effective cation exchange complex (eCEC), available phosphorus (P), and Aluminium-
Calcium ratio (Al:Ca). Cattle density had a positive correlation with the main gradient in the surface layer, all other climate and management factors were unrelated to soil conditions. Molinia caerulea had a positive relation with SOM, eCEC, basic cations and low Al:Ca ratio. Erica cinerea showed the opposite reaction at both scales. Ulex gallii
showed a negative correlation with C:N ratio at the plot scale and deeper layer.
Conclusion
SOM accumulation, low nutrient levels and Al toxicity explain the uniqueness of E. mackayana heathland vegetation and soils. Main indicator species react to soil conditions at plot and landscape scales. Cattle density correlated positively with soil nutrient levels,
but density of wild ponies is unrelated to soil conditions. Large herbivores, especially ponies, are needed for conservation management of these heathlands.
Wooded pastures serve as a traditional source of forage in Europe, where forest grazing is valued as an efficient tool for maintaining the diversity of semi-natural habitats. In a forest grazing setting with diverse diet composition, assessing the energy content of animal diets can be a difficult task because of its dependency on digestibility measures. In the present study, prediction equations of metabolizable energy (ME) were obtained performing stepwise regression with data (n = 297; 44 plant species) on nutritional attributes (Acid Detergent Fiber, lignin, silica, dry matter, crude protein, in vitro organic matter digestibility) from 20 representative stands of Atlantic dry heathlands and pedunculate oak woodlands. The results showed that the prediction accuracy of ME is reduced when the general model (R2 = 0.64) is applied, as opposed to the use of the specific prediction equations for each vegetation type (R2 = 0.61, 0.66, 0.71 for oak woodlands; R2 = 0.70 heather-gorse dominated heathlands, R2 = 0.41 continental heathlands). The general model tends to overestimate the ME concentrations in heaths with respect to the observed ME values obtained from IVOMD as a sole predictor, and this divergence could be corrected by applying the specific prediction equations obtained for each vegetation type. Although the use of prediction equations by season would improve accuracy in the case of a Winter scenario, using the general model as opposed to the prediction equations for Spring, Summer or Fall would represent a much smaller loss of accuracy.
Questions
European pasture landscapes have been shaped by grazing and alternate husbandry. They are structurally characterised by mosaics of open habitat patches, individual trees and groups of trees or shrubs. We investigated whether these semi‐open habitats may act as stepping stones and thus as dispersal corridors for both plants from woodlands and open habitats to mitigate habitat fragmentation effects. We (i) contrasted the plant communities in semi‐open habitats with those of woodlands and open habitats, and (ii) explored which life‐history traits or environmental requirements are associated with the presence or absence of species in semi‐open habitats.
Location
Swabian Jura, S‐Germany; Lueneburg Heath, N‐Germany
Methods
We selected four study sites in two contrasting landscapes and conducted vegetation surveys and analysed canopy closure and soil chemical properties in four different habitat types: woodlands, semi‐open habitats with high and low canopy closure and open habitats. We tested whether habitat type affected species composition, identified habitat‐specific indicator species and compared Ellenberg indicator values for light and moisture and species’ dispersal and establishment traits across these habitat types.
Results
Plant communities of woodlands were significantly different from those of all other habitat types, whereas open habitats showed some similarities to semi‐open habitats. On average, 73% of open habitat and 39% of woodland species were present in semi‐open habitats. Habitat requirements as well as dispersal and establishment traits of woodland species were often more specialised and differed from species of the other habitat types, making them less capable for dispersal into semi‐open habitats.
Conclusions
Semi‐open corridors have the potential to connect patches of open habitats and to a lesser extent also of woodlands without creating new barriers for either habitat type. Thus, semi‐open corridors may counteract habitat fragmentation effects and are a promising tool for biodiversity conservation, particularly in fragmented pasture landscapes.
Ce projet de thèse vise à mieux comprendre l’effet des activités pastorales sur les communautés d'insectes coprophages et, en conséquence, sur le fonctionnement des écosystèmes. L'objectif est premièrement d'analyser les réponses fonctionnelles de ces insectes face à une diversité de pratiques pastorales, et en particulier le long de gradients de pression de pâturage. L'intensité du pâturage conditionne plusieurs facteurs (perturbation du sol, disponibilité de la ressource) susceptibles de contraindre la présence locale des espèces via des effets sur des traits biologiques et écologiques particuliers. Deuxièmement, nous souhaitons comprendre les effets du pâturage sur les rôles écologiques fournis par les communautés de coprophages, et en particulier sur la dégradation des excréments et l'enrichissement des sols en nutriments. Les réponses à ces questions mettront en lumière les processus écologiques, et notamment le rôle des coléoptères coprophages dans le fonctionnement des écosystèmes pâturés. Nous privilégierons la compréhension des mécanismes à la description des patrons, et nous placerons notre réflexion dans le cadre conceptuel de l’écologie des communautés avant d’envisager la valorisation des résultats pour le pastoralisme. Cette valorisation passera entre autres par la prise en compte des bousiers dans les enjeux de préservation de la biodiversité liés à la gestion actuelle des parcours. Enfin, nous travaillerons dans des contextes bioclimatiques différents et en collaboration avec trois aires protégées (la Réserve Naturelle Nationale des Coussouls de Crau, et les Parcs Nationaux des Cévennes et de la Vanoise) pour mettre en évidence les déterminismes généraux caractéristiques de l’entomofaune coprophage ouest-européenne.
Leseproben, Inhaltsverzeichnis und Erwerb über https://www.abu-naturschutz.de/projekte/laufende-projekte/naturnahe-beweidung (18 Euro Einzelexemplar).
Im Vordergrund des Buches stehen die Auswirkungen naturnaher Beweidung auf die Lebensraumtypen sowie die Tier- und Pflanzenarten der FFH-Richtlinie und die Vogelarten der Vogelschutzrichtlinie. Mittlerweile mehren sich wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen von Ganzjahresweiden; einige Arbeiten sind bereits veröffentlicht, andere noch nicht abgeschlossen. „Naturnahe Beweidung und Natura 2000“ gibt eine Zusammenschau der vielfältigen Erfahrungen und leistet damit Hilfestellung bei Beurteilung, Management und Neueinrichtung von Weideprojekten. Für einige Arten und Lebensraumtypen ist naturnahe Beweidung das beste Management, manche Lebensraumtypen brauchen selbst keine Beweidung, können aber ohne Nachteile in Weideflächen liegen; nur für wenige wird empfohlen, sie nicht zu beweiden.
Andere Kapitel beschäftigen sich mit weiteren naturschutzfachlich wertgebenden Habitaten und Artengruppen wie Quellen, Röhrichten, Kadavern, Orchideen, Zikaden und Dung sowie mit „Problempflanzen“. Politischer Rahmen und Ökonomie von naturnahen Weiden, Beziehungen zur EU-Wasserrahmenrichtlinie sowie Klimawirksamkeit und Ästhetik von Weidelandschaften werden zusätzlich thematisiert.
Was ist anders in der zweiten Auflage des Werkes im Vergleich zur ersten? Das neue Buch hat zusätzliche 11 Autoren und ist 120 Seiten länger. Der größere Umfang kommt zum einen dadurch zustande, dass viele Jahresreihen von Langzeitstudien über Auswirkungen naturnaher Beweidung fortgesetzt wurden und diese Ergebnisse dargestellt und diskutiert werden, u.a. zu Auswirkung Pflanzen, Vegetationsstruktur, Brutvögel und Zikaden. Zum anderen gibt es neue Kapitel zu Themen wie z.B. zur Rolle der Beweidung bei der Entstehung der Kulturlandschaft, zum shifting-baseline-Syndrom, zur Bedeutung des Dungs unbehandelter Weidetiere für Insekten und zur CO2-Speicherung des Grünlandes. Außerdem enthält das Buch Vorschläge für eine verbesserte Förderung „Wilder Weiden“ in der EU-Agrarpolitik sowie eigene Kapitel zu Wisent, Wolf und Biber, die FFH-Tierarten sind und Weidewirtschaft beeinflussen können. Auch das Literaturverzeichnis ist beträchtlich gewachsen, weil es viele, in den letzten Jahren erschienene Arbeiten berücksichtigt. Neue Fotos von Weidelandschaften und Arten – vom Frauenschuh bis zum Mönchsgeier – informieren und schmücken das Werk, sodass neben vielen Informationen abermals auch ein beeindruckender "Bildband" auf den Leser wartet.
• Cattle Bos taurus can perform valuable ecological functions in the maintenance of high nature value (HNV) pastoral systems. They have also attracted attention as potentially filling the ecological niches of megaherbivores, notably the extinct aurochs Bos primigenius, in rewilding initiatives. Native cattle breeds are recognized under the 1992 Rio Convention as components of biodiversity. They are used in HNV settings, but their conservation as breeds has rarely been an important consideration for their management in these contexts.
• The Chillingham herd has been kept under minimal management in Chillingham Park (northern England) for several centuries. Chillingham Park is not a rewilding scenario, but the long‐term study of the cattle can be informative for the design of rewilding schemes that involve cattle as megaherbivores. The pastures of the park are species‐rich seminatural grasslands.
• To 2004, pasture management was influenced by the need to provide herbage for a flock of sheep that was under separate ownership, as well as for the cattle. Surveys of the vegetation conducted in 1979 and 2006–2008 showed a decline of plant species richness (species per 100 m² quadrat) from 33.8 in 1979 to 22.6 in 2006–2008. This was acceptable as the conservation priority has always been the cattle herd. With removal of the sheep from 2004, it became possible to include recovery of plant diversity as a management goal.
• In 2017, the cattle numbered 111 (64 in 1979). Plant species richness in 2017 had increased to 26.3 species per quadrat. It has therefore been possible at Chillingham both to conserve the cattle herd and to improve plant diversity. While providing basic information of relevance to the management of cattle in free‐ranging situations, this study also suggests a general principle, that the management of pastoral landscapes by native breeds of cattle, can deliver multiple conservation benefits.
Livestock breeds, and the genetic diversity they embody, are components of global biodiversity.
Intimately enfolded in human societies, they are also components of agroecosystems, providing food, non‐food products, and other services including labour and social security. Under traditional management in pastoral systems, they can assure conservation of landscapes and of floral and faunal biodiversity.
Conservation of these genetic resources has been supported scientifically by animal genetics. This paper argues that ecosystem services science could provide further support to, and will in turn benefit from involvement in, genetic conservation. The focus is on the cultural significance in its landscape contexts of livestock biodiversity, and it is recommended that linkages be strengthened among ecosystem sciences, cultural geography and animal sciences.
These linkages will help development of policies that enhance the delivery, and support the resilience, of the ecosystem services provided by livestock and the systems of which they are part. Policy interventions that promote the conservation and sustainable development of livestock biodiversity are likely to confer both ecological and cultural benefits, and strengthen linkages between people and nature.
In turn, while the science of ecosystem services should take more account of livestock biodiversity, animal sciences should engage more with its cultural dimensions.
A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article.
In Europe, the interest in introducing megaherbivores to achieve ambitious habitat restoration goals is increasing. In this study, we present the results of a one-year monitoring program in a rewilding project in Germany (Doeberitzer Heide), where European bison (Bison bonasus) and Przewalski´s horses (Equus ferus przewalskii) were introduced for ecological restoration purposes. Our objectives were to investigate diet and habitat preferences of Przewalski´s horses and European bison under free-choice conditions without fodder supplementation. In a random forest classification approach, we used multitemporal RapidEye time series imagery to map the diversity of available habitats within the study area. This spatially explicit habitat distribution from satellite imagery was combined with direct field observations of seasonal diet preferences of both species. In line with the availability of preferred forage plants, European bison and Przewalski´s horses both showed seasonal habitat preferences. Because of their different preferences for forage plants, they did not overlap in habitat use except for a short time in the colder season. European bison used open habitats and especially wet open habitats more than expected based on available habitats in the study area. Comparative foraging and feeding niches should be considered in the establishment of multispecies projects to maximize the outcome of restoration processes.
Key message
Whilst livestock has maintained grasslands over centuries in south European mountains, current ungulate densities are insufficient to control tree and forest expansion effectively. The present results based on fir population dynamics and radial/height growth raise questions about the sustainable management of new forests that are former mountain grasslands. This empirical case study contributes to debate about methods for long-term management of grasslands in Mediterranean mountains.
Context
Forest expansion following the cessation of grazing is a threat to biodiversity in mountain grasslands that are components of Mediterranean cultural landscapes.
Aims
We hypothesised that ungulates could mitigate tree recruitment, thus conserving mountain grasslands. We tested the efficiency of grazing and browsing by domestic and wild ungulates (sheep, roe and red deer) at inhibiting silver fir (Abies alba Mill.) encroachment in a conservation area, one of the main browsed trees.
Methods
The fir trees’ age structure was analysed by dendrochronology, and the individual growth patterns and scars were recorded in their tree-ring series.
Results
Fir density has increased since the 1960s, simultaneously with the increase in ungulate populations. The scar occurrences only appeared during the 1970s. Most scars were observed on seedlings and small saplings. The impacts of ungulates are observed on the radial and height growth of trees, mostly on trees < 100 cm, but it did not however result in controlling the recruitment of fir.
Conclusion
The hypothesis that a moderate density of ungulates might inhibit tree encroachment is therefore rejected, even in the case of a highly palatable species such as silver fir. Ungulates, solely, would not be an appropriate policy for grassland conservation in Mediterranean mountains.
• Global habitat destruction is bringing species to the edge. Consequently, understanding species dispersal behaviour is becoming essential in order to safeguard vital meta‐populations. Nevertheless, dispersal is too often seen as unconditional rather than triggered by habitat cues.
• We applied radio telemetry on female European stag beetles [Lucanus cervus (L., 1758)] in a mosaic landscape to investigate the hypothesis that dispersal is habitat driven, in this case by canopy closure and presence of suitable dead wood, SDW.
• We found that the decision to disperse depended on canopy closure and that dispersal distance depended both on SDW availability and canopy closure. Long distance dispersal (by flying), in contrast to small distance dispersal (mainly walking), is shown to be a successful strategy to reach locations with lower canopy closure.
• We conclude that dispersal of female stag beetles is not unconditional but shaped by habitat resources. It is therefore likely that habitat also affects dispersal of other insects and should be considered in future dispersal studies.
• For the conservation of the European stag beetle, our results imply that it is essential to provide stepping stones of suitable dead wood, preferably every 100 m and not more than 1 km apart. These stepping stones should be provided in open to half‐shaded conditions. Management systems such as coppicing which provide periodic sun‐exposure and sufficient amounts of (underground) dead wood are good management procedures for conservation of the stag beetle but they need to be performed at small scales to ensure suitable habitat proximity.
Many agropastoral systems worldwide are supported by important linkages between crop production and rangeland grazing. We explored the connections between smallholder farming and public rangeland grazing in northern New Mexico, USA. We retrieved historical data of livestock inventories, drought, and hay production which we analyzed using either ordinary least squares models, generalized autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity models (GARCH), or exponential GARCH models. We also conducted a survey of farmers and ranchers (n = 74) of traditional communities in our study area using a mixed methods design. County hay production was the only predictor that explained year-to-year variation in allotment livestock numbers. Allotments that increased livestock numbers tended to have larger base properties (mostly irrigated cropland). Most survey respondents (95%) raised livestock and slightly more than half agreed that livestock provided better financial security than crops. Availability of summer grazing lands and ability to grow or purchase hay to feed livestock during winter were the factors cited least (6% of responses) and most (42%), respectively, as limiting farmers’ ability to increase their herd size. Livestock-raising apparently continues to be critical to the acequia agropastoral economy. Ability to acquire winter feed (hay) appears to regulate the demand for summer grazing on public forested rangelands.
Trophic rewilding is the introduction of species to restore top–down trophic interactions and associated trophic cascades to promote self-regulating biodiverse ecosystems. A core example of trophic rewilding is the restoration of large mammalian grazer communities to restore or maintain biodiverse open to half-open landscapes. Across Europe, cattle and horse breeds are being introduced as substitutes of the extinct aurochs (Bos primigenius) and tarpan (Equus ferus). More recently, European bison (Bison bonasus) is being introduced because it is supposed to fill a niche that pure grazers such as cattle and horses leave empty, especially in terms of reducing woody encroachment. But how functionally diverse are the diets of these three species? We investigated this question in the Kraansvlak pilot; a trophic rewilding project in the Netherlands where European bison, horses, and cattle have been introduced in spatially heterogeneous landscapes of forest, shrub land, and grassland. We present 4 years of data from direct observations on the diet use of all three species. Whereas cattle and bison included a significant proportion of woody plants in their diet throughout the year, horses strictly grazed. However, cattle and bison differed clearly in terms of the woody plant part they used (bark vs. twigs), and we discuss how this may affect the way they influence vegetation structure. Finally, we discuss the implications of our study for the increasing number of trophic rewilding initiatives in Europe.
The Zhetysu (Junggar) Alatau mountain system consists of mainly two parallel, high mountain ranges: the northern and the southern. The natural border between the ranges is the Koksu river and the Boro Tala river (located in China). Climate conditions, water resources, soil cover, altitudinal zonality of plant cover vary in the northern and the southern ranges (macro slopes). The aim of the research was to give phytocoenotic characteristic of meadow vegetation, to determine the ecological-physiognomic types of meadows, to identify the species composition of natural communities and indicators of anthropogenic influence. Meadow vegetation inhabits a wide altitudinal range from piedmont deserts and low-hill terrains to subalpine and alpine belts, with a high degree of species and phytocoenotic diversity. According to ecological-physiognomic classification, 6 vegetation types of meadows are found in the Zhetysu Alatau Mountains: halophytic on meadow–serozem saline soils, flood-plain-valley (forb-grass typical, grass-forb on floodplain meadow and meadow-chernozem soils; swamp meadows on paludal-meadow soils), steppe on meadow-chernozem and meadow-kastanozem soils, mid-mountain rich grass-forb on ordinary and leached chernozems, high-mountain subalpine on mountain-meadow subalpine turf soils, high-mountain alpine on mountain-meadow alpine turf soils. The meadows of the northern range are most diverse, those of the southern, more arid one, are fragmentary. Meadow vegetation is mostly used for grazing and haying, sometimes for tillage. Oftentimes, river valleys are significantly impacted by recreation. The degree of human-induced degradation is assessed as moderate, with sites of severe degradation of vegetation cover. Within the limits of the “Zhongar Alatau” and “Altyn Emel” National Parks remain natural samples of the Zhetysu Alatau meadow vegetation.
Modern management of traditional lands: A case study of common rangelands in Germany's Southern Black Forest.
Einer der wesentlichen Faktoren, die vom globalen Wandel beeinflusst werden und ihn andererseits auch selbst ursächlich mit beeinflussen, ist die Landnutzung, d. h. jegliche Art der Inanspruchnahme von Böden und Landflächen durch den Menschen. Das schließt intensiv oder extensiv bearbeitete Agrarflächen und Wälder bzw. Forste genauso ein wie Siedlungs- und Verkehrsinfrastruktur. Die Art und das Ausmaß der Kultivierung land- und forstwirtschaftlicher Nutzflächen werden dabei auf regionaler und überregionaler Ebene bestimmt durch Agrarmarktpolitik, Weltwirtschaft, Bevölkerungsentwicklung und technische Innovationen. Wandel von Landnutzung bezieht sich nicht nur auf die Änderung der Landbedeckung, sondern auch darauf, wie die Bevölkerung die natürlichen Ressourcen Wasser, Vegetation und Boden nutzt und auf diese einwirkt, etwa durch Bewässerungs-, Entwässerungs- und Düngepraktiken, Ausmaß und Art der Bodenbearbeitung. Das Thema Landnutzung steht in unmittelbarem Zusammenhang mit dem Landschaftswasserhaushalt, der Ernährung, der Produktion nachwachsender Rohstoffe, der Fixierung von CO2 aus der Atmosphäre und der Abgabe von Treibhausgasen, aber auch mit der Erhaltung eines vertrauten Landschaftsbildes, dem Heimatgefühl und den Bereichen Erholung und Tourismus.
This chapter summarizes the level of understanding about large-scale livestock grazing under the conditions existing in the low mountain ranges of Germany. Following the description of the investigation area in Sect. 8.1.2, Sect. 8.1.3 will introduce a financial calculation of cattle keeping which, although specifically based on the Rhoen area, can also offer orientation with the necessary modifications.
For many insect species, grassland is an essential living and feeding habitat. Particularly for the guilds of flower-visiting insects such as wild bees and hover flies, meadows and pastures provide an irreplaceable source of nutrition. This is particularly the case in summer after the trees and shrubs have finished flowering and most of the woodland flowering plants (e.g., spring geophytes) have withered.
Globally, nature conservation over the last 50 years has largely been characterized by segregated, preserving strategies (Plachter 1995). This was by no means always the case, at least for European nature conservation. A holistic approach related to landscape was one of the roots of nature conservation in the first place, as is expressed even now in the dual term 'nature conservation and landscape stewardship'.
Context
The pasture-woodlands of Central Europe are low-intensity grazing systems in which the structural richness of dynamic forest-grassland mosaics is causal for their high biodiversity. Distinct mosaic patterns in Picea abies- and Fagus sylvatica-dominated pasture-woodlands in the Swiss Jura Mountains suggest a strong influence of tree species regeneration ecology on landscape structural properties. At the landscape scale, however, cause-effect relationships are complicated by habitat selectivity of livestock.
Objectives
We asked which tree species regeneration traits and what kind of feedbacks among local-scale vegetation dynamics and landscape-scale herbivore behavior are causal for the contrasted landscape structural characteristics of Picea- and Fagus-dominated pasture-woodlands.
Methods
We performed simulation experiments of mosaic pattern formation in both pasture-woodland types. The regeneration traits, namely dispersal distance, resistance to browsing and tolerance to shade, and the rules for habitat selection of cattle were modified and the corresponding shifts in landscape structure were analyzed.
Results
Dispersal distance showed a significant, but only local, effect promoting forest fringe formation. Saplings’ resistance to browsing mainly determined overall tree cover, but did not influence landscape structure. At the landscape scale, both shade tolerance of saplings and selective habitat use by cattle were responsible for forest-grassland segregation: high shade tolerance triggered segregation, whereas non-selective habitat use hindered it.
Conclusions
Existing local-scale theory on pasture-woodland dynamics is complemented by an herbivore-vegetation feedback among spatial scales. In low-intensity pastures, where large herbivores are preferentially “grazers” and trees form dense canopies, an intrinsic trend towards forest-grassland segregation at the expense of forest-grassland ecotones is predicted.
Transhumance, the seasonal movement of herds between highlands and lowlands following precise, repeated routes, is a common practice in many Mediterranean regions. This livestock movement exploits natural vegetation in both winter and summer pastures. In Greece transhumant herders, drawn by relatively abundant vegetation, usually relocate to mountainous areas between April and October. Mount Vermio was an ideal summer pasture for the nomadic, ethnic group Sarakatsanoi of Thessaly, who used to own big herds. Socio-economic conditions of the 20th century led to the gradual decline of transhumance, resulting in reduction in grazing pressure and changes in vegetation dynamics. The purpose of this study was to monitor changes in landscape patterns in response to transhumance abandonment. Landscape metrics were employed to estimate land use/cover in two altitudinal zones. Results reveal that due to the abandonment of transhumance in the highlands landscape fragmentation increased. Meanwhile, in the lowlands, due to the uninterrupted presence of animals, landscape structure is more stable and diversified. Grasslands and agroforestry systems became smaller and more isolated. In conclusion, the abandonment of transhumance led to the overall deterioration of the rural landscape in the highlands.
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