Abstract
In many mountain regions, there have been dramatic changes in agricultural land use in recent decades. In some cases, these are related to changes in technology, such as the increased use of machine harvesting of hay or a switch from one breed of grazing animals to another. In other cases, the trend has been to abandon agriculture on less productive and least accessible land (Lambin et al. 1999). In the European Alps, for example, 16% of all farm holdings were abandoned within ten years (1980–1990). In addition, almost 70% of the farms that are still in operation today are run only as a secondary source of income. With regard to the land use issue, this means that an average of about 20% of the agricultural land of the Alps has been abandoned, and in some areas as much as 70% (Tappeiner et al. in press). In contrast, farming in the better agricultural locations is being intensified. Hence, land-use changes are considered to be a major driving force behind changes in landscape patterns, ecosystem function and dynamics in Europe (MacDonald et al. 2000).
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Becker, A., and Bugmann, H. (2001). Global change and mountain regions. The Mountain Research Initiative. IGBP Report 49.
Cernusca, A., Bahn, M., Bayfield, N., Chemini, C, Fillat, F., Graber, W., Rosset, M., Siegwolf, R., Tappeiner, U., and Tenhunen, J. (1999a). “ECOMONT: Ecological effects of land-use changes on terrestrial mountain ecosystems.” Unpublished Final report. University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck.
Cernusca, A., Tappeiner, U., and Bayfield, N. (1999b). “Land-use changes in European mountain ecosystems (ECOMONT): Concept and results.” Blackwell, Berlin.
Gamper, S., and Tasser, E. (2002). Soil development depending on land use and vegetation changes in sub-alpine areas. In “Interdisciplinary mountain research.” (R. Bottarin, and U. Tappeiner, Eds.), pp. 180–191. Blackwell, Berlin.
Guido, M., and Gianelle, D. (2001). Distribution patterns of four Orthoptera species in relation to microhabitat heterogeneity in an ecotonal area. Acta Oecologica 22, 175–185.
Lambin, E. F., Baulies, X., Bockstael, N., Fischer, G., Krug, T., Leemans, R., Moran, E. F., Rindfuss, R. R., Sato, Y., Skole, D., Turner, B. L., and Vogel, C. (1999). Land-use and land-cover change (LUCC): Implementation strategy. A core project of the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme and the International Human Dimensions Programme on Global Environmental Change. IGBP Report 48.
MacDonald, D., Crabtree, J. R., Wiesinger, G., Dax, T., Stamou, N., Fleury, P., Gutierrez Lazpita, J., and Gibon, A. (2000). Agricultural abandonment in mountain areas of Europe: Environmental consequences and policy response. Journal of Environmental Management 59, 47–69.
Newesely, Ch., Tasser, E., Spadinger, P., and Cernusca, A. (2000). Effects of land-use changes on snow gliding processes in alpine ecosystems. Basic and Applied Ecology 1, 61–67.
Olff, H., Berendse, F., and De Visser, W. (1994). Changes in mineralization, tissue nutrient concentrations and biomass compartmentation after cessation of fertilizer application to mown grassland. Journal of Ecology 82, 611–620.
Olsson, E. G. A., Austrheim, G., and Grenne, S. N. (2000). Landscape change patterns in mountains, land use and environmental diversity, Mid-Norway 1960–1993. Landscape Ecology 15, 155–170.
Tappeiner, U., and Cernusca, A. (1998). Effects of land-use changes in the Alps on exchange processes (CO2, H2O) in grassland ecosystems. In “Hydrology, water resources and ecology in headwaters.” (K. Kovar, U. Tappeiner, N. E. Peters, and R. G. Craig, Eds.), pp. 131–138. IAHSPublication 248.
Tappeiner, U., Tasser, E., and Tappeiner, G. (1998). Modelling vegetation pattern using natural and anthropogenic influence factors: Preliminary experience with a GIS based model applied to an Alpine area. Ecological Modelling 113, 225–237.
Tappeiner, U., and Bayfield, N. (2003). Management of mountainous areas. In “UNESCO Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS).” (in press).
Tappeiner, U., Tappeiner, G., Hubert, A., and Mattanovich, E. (2003). “SUSTALP. Evaluation of EU-Instruments: Their contribution to a sustainable agriculture and environment in the Alps.” Blackwell, Berlin (in press).
Tasser, E., Tappeiner, U., and Cernusca, A. (2001). “Südtirols Almen im Wandel.” Europäische Akademie Bozen 28, Bozen.
Tasser, E., and Tappeiner, U. (2002). Impact of land use changes on mountain vegetation. Applied Vegetation Science 5, 173–184.
Tasser, E., Mader, M, and Tappeiner, U. (2003). Effects of land use in alpine grasslands on the probability of landslides. Basic and Applied Ecology 4, 271–280.
Zeller, V., Bahn, M., Aichner, M., and Tappeiner, U. (2000). Impact of land-use changes on nitrogen mineralization in subalpine grasslands in the Southern Alps. Biology and Fertility of Soils 31, 441–448.
Zeller, V, Bardgett, R. D., and Tappeiner, U. (2001). Site management effects on soil microbial properties of subalpine meadows: A study of land abandonment along a north-south gradient in the European Alps. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 33, 639–649.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2005 Springer
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Tasser, E., Tappeiner, U., Cernusca, A. (2005). Ecological Effects of Land-use Changes in the European Alps. In: Huber, U.M., Bugmann, H.K.M., Reasoner, M.A. (eds) Global Change and Mountain Regions. Advances in Global Change Research, vol 23. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-3508-X_41
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-3508-X_41
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-1-4020-3507-4
Online ISBN: 978-1-4020-3508-1
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)