20% loss of unimproved farmland in 22 years in the Engadin, Swiss Alps

Graf, Roman; Müller, Mathis; Korner, Pius; Jenny, Markus; Jenni, Lukas

doi:10.1016/j.agee.2013.12.009

Cited by 28 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…Economic factors include barriers that act as disincentives and competition from intensification, as well as financial incentives such as agri-environment schemes that may compensate for low productivity under different farming conditions. Jitea and Arion (2015) and Graf et al (2014) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 3 highlight the importance of such subsidies in supporting traditional agriculture. Other practical and biophysical factors cited in literature include topography, soil quality and remoteness of land from human settlements (Lieskovsky, 2014;Jitea and Arion, 2015), which in turn interact with social and economic drivers.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Across Europe, a range of researchers note that such financial incentivisation is key to conserving traditional socio-ecological landscapes such as HNV grasslands (Lieskovsky, 2015, Jitea andArion, 2015;Babai and Molnar, 2014). Indeed agri -1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 17 environment funding can also drive extensification (Graf et al, 2014), the reverse of intensification, and in England funding schemes are used to fund restoration schemes (Natural England, 2009). However, the implementation of and eligibility criteria for such schemes vary considerably from country to country (Kleijn & Sutherland, 2003;Dahlstrom et al, 2013).…”

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confidence: 99%

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The threat of abandonment in socio-ecological landscapes: Farmers’ motivations and perspectives on high nature value grassland conservation

McGinlay

Gowing

Budds

2017

Environmental Science & Policy

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Future sustainability of the conservation management of socio-ecological landscapes is typically reliant on on-going agricultural management. Such management may be threatened by changes in the drivers of management and the fragility of the stakeholder networks that deliver management. This study examined evidence for the risk of abandonment in a series of case study high nature value (HNV) grassland sites. The work found that the motivation of farmers to participate in the conservation management was typically limited and often marginal. Landowners and conservation stakeholders who relied on partner farmers to manage such sites often struggled to recruit and retain their help, leading to intermittent turnover in managing farmers and to some sites being under-managed. A trend towards greater financial incentivisation of farmers was evident, which policy-makers responsible for agri-environment schemes should note, and elsewhere some conservation organisations were seen to be bringing grassland management in-house. Primary reasons for farmer turnover and difficulty of recruitment included a lack of candidate farmers in the local landscape, and the marginal and fluctuating economics of grassland management. Farmers' motivations to participate in conservation management of such systems may continue to weaken and abandonment may therefore become a significant risk to the successful conservation of such systems. Conservation stakeholders need to foster good relations with their farmer-manager partners and not further depress their limited motivations to participate, as well as consider carefully whether farmer stakeholders are being adequately compensated for their efforts. Highlights Abandonment is a key risk to the management of some socio-ecological landscapes  Risks result from the difficulty in recruiting and retaining managing farmers  Farmers' motivations to participate are limited by marginal economic benefits  Trend towards increased financial incentivisation of farmers to improve retention

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%

The threat of abandonment in socio-ecological landscapes: Farmers’ motivations and perspectives on high nature value grassland conservation

McGinlay

Gowing

Budds

2017

Environmental Science & Policy

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“…Due to socioeconomic factors, a cessation of grassland management is taking place, especially on grassland with marginal agricultural value (Bohner et al 2012;Hinojosa et al 2016) such as extensively managed meadows in mountain regions. Changes in agriculture either by intensification or abandonment have resulted in a reduction of semi-natural grasslands in Europe (Baur et al 2006a;Graf et al 2014). After land-use abandonment, succession starts immediately (Tasser and Tappeiner 2002), leading to shrub encroachment and establishment of woody species in open grassland (Komac et al 2013;Wiezik et al 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Diversity of bumblebees, heteropteran bugs and grasshoppers maintained by both: abandonment and extensive management of mountain meadows in three regions across the Austrian and Swiss Alps

et al. 2017

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Context Abandonment of extensively managed meadows is an ongoing global challenge in recent decades, particularly in mountain regions, and directly affects plant diversity. However, the extent to which plant diversity further affects associated insect pollinators or herbivores is little investigated. Objectives We focused on the effects of abandonment of mountain meadows on species richness and assemblages of bumblebees, bugs and grasshoppers. Specifically, we investigated the influence of vegetation cover, flower cover, plant richness and surrounding landscape on the three insect groups.Methods Species richness, abundance and species assemblages of bumblebees, bugs and grasshoppers were surveyed in one Swiss and two Austrian regions: three meadows which had been abandoned for 15-60 years, and three extensively managed meadows (mown once a year, no use of fertilizers). We surveyed bumblebees and bugs by sweep net, and grasshoppers using the time-effective soundscape approach. Results Bumblebee species richness and abundance were significantly higher in managed meadows, whereas bug and grasshopper richness and abundance showed no differences between both management types. Managed and abandoned meadows harboured significantly different species assemblages of bugs and grasshoppers, but not of bumblebees. Increasing flower cover and plant richness increased bumblebee 123Landscape Ecol (2017) 32:1937-1951 DOI 10.1007 richness, but correlated negatively with richness of bugs. Surrounding open landscape positively affected bugs. Caelifera positively correlated with surrounding forest cover and negatively with vegetation cover. Vegetation cover positively affected Ensifera. Conclusions Abandoned and extensively managed meadows are important habitat types for the conservation of the three insect groups, thus suggesting the maintenance of both habitat types within mountain landscapes.

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“…These projects involve reparcelling of the land to gain larger management units, the construction of new roads for improved access to the land, and drainage and irrigation for optimal growing conditions (Graf et al 2014a;Bürgi et al 2015). In a recent study, Graf et al (2014b) looked at the effects of modern irrigation, often justified to minimize drought stress in dry years, on species composition of alpine meadows. The authors document a decrease in species rich extensively managed meadows as a consequence of newly erected sprinkler installations.…”

Section: Biodiversity Consequences Of Changes In Land Use Intensity Imentioning

confidence: 97%

Exploring links between culture and biodiversity: studying land use intensity from the plot to the landscape level

Bürgi

Kizos

2015

Biodivers Conserv

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In recent years, the term biocultural diversity has been promoted to raise awareness for the interrelationship between culture and biodiversity. Whereas the term is hard to conceptualize in general, specific links between culture and biodiversity can be explored. In this paper, we focus on land use, which is on one hand culturally coined, and has on the other hand far-reaching impacts on biodiversity. The specific effects of land use on biodiversity depend on its intensity, which can be parameterized in different way, not the least depending on the scale of observation. Based on a short review of different approaches on how to assess land use intensity (LUI), we propose a new conceptual framework reflecting the scaled nature of the linkages between land management and biodiversity. From the plot to the landscape level, different aspects of LUI are becoming relevant, some of which we illustrate with case studies from China, Greece and Switzerland. We conclude on how the framework proposed can further our understanding on the interconnectedness of humans and their environment.

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20% loss of unimproved farmland in 22 years in the Engadin, Swiss Alps

Cited by 28 publications

References 36 publications

The threat of abandonment in socio-ecological landscapes: Farmers’ motivations and perspectives on high nature value grassland conservation

The threat of abandonment in socio-ecological landscapes: Farmers’ motivations and perspectives on high nature value grassland conservation

Diversity of bumblebees, heteropteran bugs and grasshoppers maintained by both: abandonment and extensive management of mountain meadows in three regions across the Austrian and Swiss Alps

Exploring links between culture and biodiversity: studying land use intensity from the plot to the landscape level

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