No abstract

Highlights 23 extensive grazing by cattle, sheep and pigs has decreased since the 1940s 24  the number of habitat types used by cattle and pigs decreased significantly 25  use of non-pasture grassland habitats decreased, especially the use of stubbles 26 agricultural and conservation policies should cover all grazeable habitat types 27  sustainable extensive grazing need cooperation between various knowledge systems 28 *Manuscript Click here to view linked References  Abstract 29Many habitats in Europe have been managed by grazing for thousands of years. However, 30 extensive grazing systems are becoming increasingly rare in the region, and there is a lack of 31 understanding of the functioning of these systems. 32We carried out 147 structured interviews in 38 landscapes throughout the Carpathian Basin, with 3-33 5 informants/landscape. The number of actively grazing cattle, sheep and pigs, their year-round habitat 34 use and the proportion of herds actively tended were documented for four characteristic historical 35 periods (before, during and after socialist co-operatives and after EU Accession). We conclude that agricultural policies should take into account the full spectrum of habitat types 49 necessary for the effective operation of extensive grazing systems. We argue that conservation-50 oriented extensive grazing should use the traditional wisdom of herders but adapted to the present 51 situations. 52 53

Actual distribution maps of vegetation types are important data sources of basic and applied research, respectively. Though there were several attempts to map the actual vegetation of Hungary, the MÉTA program was the first to map all the (semi-)natural habitat types on the whole territory of Hungary. The paper discusses the woodland and shrubland habitats. 41 habitats are presented and discussed. The paper provides additional data on the area and distribution of the habitats mainly at the physical geographical macroregion scale.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

A key driver of biodiversity loss is human landscape transformation. Change detection and trajectory analysis are frequently applied methods for studying landscape change. We studied to what degree habitatspecific change detection and trajectory analysis provide different information on landscape change compared to the analysis with land-cover statistics. Our research was carried out at two spatial scales (regional, 1800 km 2 , 360 random points; local, 23 km 2 , polygon-based maps) in the Kiskunság, Hungary. Spatio-temporal databases were prepared using historical maps, aerial photos and satellite images from 1783, 1883, 1954, and 2009. Local expert knowledge of landscape history and recent vegetation was used during the historical reconstructions.We found large differences at both scales between land-cover based and habitat-specific analyses. Habitatspecific change detection revealed that grassland loss was not continuous in the different habitats, as land-cover based analysis implied. Ploughing affected open sand grasslands and sand steppes differently in different periods. It was only apparent from the habitat-specific analyses that from the grasslands only mesotrophic and Molinia meadows were relatively constant, up until the 1950s. The gradual increase in forest area revealed by land-cover CHD analyses was split into natural and anthropogenic processes by habitat-specific analyses. Habitat specific trajectory analysis also revealed ecologically important historical differences between habitats. Afforestation affected especially the open sand grasslands, whereas wetland habitats were relatively stable. The most important trajectory was the one in which closed sand steppes were ploughed during the 19 th century, and remained arable fields until present. Fifty percent of the regional trajectories of 18 th century open sand grasslands terminated in tree plantations at present, though 82% of the current open sand grasslands of the local site can be regarded as ancient.We concluded that dividing land-cover categories into finer habitat categories offered an opportunity for a more precise historical analysis of key habitats, and could reveal important ecological processes that cannot be reconstructed with land-cover based analyses. It also highlighted habitat-specific processes making natural and social drivers better interpretable. Information on the diversity of habitat-histories may serve as a basis for spatially more explicit conservation management.

No abstract