The Role of grazing in agropastoral systems in the Mediterranean region and their environmental sustainability

Agro-pastoral systems have significantly contributed in shaping the landscapes of the Mediterranean basin. These systems vary widely according to the differing climatic, cultural and socio-economic conditions under which they developed; from the Parcours of the Maghreb steppes to the dehesas in the Iberian peninsula, and from the Mediterranean islands to inland mountain regions. Their present particularities developed both in response to internal needs within the farming systems (need to increase production while reducing costs) and external forces (competition with other activities for the use of land). In many cases recent changes evolved from increased grazing. Overgrazing represents one of the causes for desertification in many areas of the Mediterranean region. To mitigate this problem a better knowledge of agropastoral systems is first needed. Then, methods must be devised to model and assess environmental impacts, land suitability to grazing, and optimal stocking rate

The socio-ecological impacts of structural changes in the transhumance system of the mountainous area of Nepal

Traditional social-ecological systems such as pastoralism can be subject to major and rapid changes, resulting in adverse social, economic, cultural and ecological impacts. Transhumance, a type of pastoralism based on seasonal and recurring movement of livestock has been undergoing unprecedented changes. In the high Himalayas, transhumance is a threatened system due to social-economic and cultural transformations brought by globalisation, shifts from subsistence agriculture (e.g. grazing) to multi-functional land use (e.g. tourism and biodiversity conservation), conservation policies and practices, and climate change. Understanding the nature, extent and impacts of these changes will inform both policy and practice. However, knowledge of the current status of the transhumance system and its socio-economic, cultural and ecological significances is very limited. This study on the transhumance system conducted in or near three mountainous protected areas of Nepal Himalayas addresses the knowledge gap. The study integrated both social and ecological components of transhumance systems using a system thinking approach. The study was multi-disciplinary in nature and applied mixed methods using a range of tools and techniques for data collection and analysis. Socio-economic data were collected by household surveys, focus group discussion, informal interviews and key informants interviews. The ecological data were collected from the rangelands sites using horizontal transects of grazed areas to collect data on grazing intensity, species richness and other environmental variables. The study revealed that the transhumance system is a major source of household income of herders and is also embedded with culture and traditions. The results did not support the notion that transhumance grazing is necessarily detrimental to biodiversity. Though the species richness (α-diversity) was low and nitrophilous and grazing tolerant plants were abundant nearer to the goths (semi-permanent stopping and camping points), the highest species richness and occurrence of rare species at mid and further distances from goths within 800 m transects suggest that adverse impacts were confined to very limited areas near goths. In fact, the results indicate that light or medium grazing intensity promotes species richness and composition in other areas. Globalisation, particularly tourism and labour migration, state conservation policies nd practices and climate change were the major drivers of change to the transhumance system. However, the intensity of pressures from those drivers on the systems varied across sites. Tourism and labour migration created shortage of labour for transhumance systems and reduced local economic dependency on such systems. The conservation programs run by government agencies produced unintended outcomes in the transhumance system. It was found that the operational freedom and flexibility of transhumant herders were reduced by conservation policies and programs creating negative attitude and perceptions among herders towards different schemes of conservation. The trends of key climatic variables (temperature and precipitation) and perceived changes in different biophysical indicators by herders indicated that the climate change has emerged as an additional threat and has the potential to impact different components of transhumance systems (rangelands, livestock and herders). Herders perceived that fewer households were involved in the transhumance system, herd sizes had decreased, movement patterns have been changed, dependency on transhumance was reduced and the involvement of younger generations in transhumance systems has declined. These changes can decouple social and ecological subsystems that can induce adverse social-ecological impacts. The likely social impacts are decreased livelihood options, reduced agricultural production, loss of customary lifestyle and traditional knowledge and culture. The potential ecological impacts from the loss of transhumance systems can be on biodiversity, vegetation and land use, and ecosystem functions and services. Complete collapse of the transhumance system could be detrimental, however, some level of transhumance could be desirable. How herders and transhumance systems respond to multiple change pressures will depend on how future policy decisions will support transhumance and whether transhumance systems appear beneficial and attractive compared to other available livelihood options. The incentives to motivate herders by creating a lucrative environment for doing transhumance such as by introducing value addition technologies, certifying and levelling transhumance products, and integrating with alternate livelihood options can encourage some families to continue transhumance

Shieling activity in the Norse Eastern Settlement : palaeoenvironment of the 'Mountain Farm', Vatnahverfi, Greenland

Peer reviewedPostprin

Global challenges for sustainable food production

No abstract available

Effects of transhumance route on the richness and composition of bird communities in Tsimanampesotse National Park

In southwestern Madagascar, livestock (cattle) is a major source of income for the human population and is of tremendous cultural importance. In this subarid region, the farming system faces an extreme climate and has to cope with little food and water resources for several months a year. Local farmers overcome these difficulties in the form of transhumance and roaming of cattle in the forest at Tsimanampesotse National Park. The former strategy uses routes directly through the park twice per year. To assess possible effects of the transhumance and associated human activities on birds, we compared the composition and abundance of birds at one control site and two sites along the trail of transhumance in the forest of Tsimanampesotse National Park from January to May 201 2. The results showed that the abundance of birds declined near the trail of transhumance. Ten species of birds were hunted during the transhumance to meet the daily needs of the herders. We interpret the lower density of birds along the trail of transhumance as a consequence of hunting, especially for large and terrestrial birds such as Coua spp. Cattle activities (trampling, grazing) do not seem to bird communities