Traditional Free-Ranging Livestock Farming as a Management Strategy for Biological and Cultural Landscape Diversity: A Case from the Southern Apennines

Claudia Troiano, Maria Buglione, Simona Petrelli, Sofia Belardinelli, Antonino De Natale, Jens-Christian Svenning and Domenico Fulgione
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Claudia Troiano: Department of Humanities, University of Naples Federico II, Via Porta di Massa 1, 80133 Naples, Italy
Maria Buglione: Department of Biology, University of Naples Federico II, Via Cupa Nuova Cinthia 26, 80126 Naples, Italy
Simona Petrelli: Department of Biology, University of Naples Federico II, Via Cupa Nuova Cinthia 26, 80126 Naples, Italy
Sofia Belardinelli: Department of Humanities, University of Naples Federico II, Via Porta di Massa 1, 80133 Naples, Italy
Antonino De Natale: Department of Biology, University of Naples Federico II, Via Cupa Nuova Cinthia 26, 80126 Naples, Italy
Jens-Christian Svenning: Section for Ecoinformatics & Biodiversity, Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade 114, 8000 Aarhus, Denmark
Domenico Fulgione: Department of Biology, University of Naples Federico II, Via Cupa Nuova Cinthia 26, 80126 Naples, Italy

Land, 2021, vol. 10, issue 9, 1-16

Abstract: Mediterranean mountain landscapes are undergoing a widespread phenomenon of abandonment. This brings, as a consequence, the loss of traditional land use practices, such as transhumant pastoralism, as well as shrub and wood encroachment, with repercussions on the biodiversity associated with semi-open, human-managed landscapes. In this study, we focus on a mountain pasture from the Southern Apennines (Italy), where free-ranging transhumant grazing is still carried out, to quantify the effects of grazing presence and exclusion on arthropod diversity, and to qualitatively characterize the plant communities of grazed and ungrazed areas. Using field sampling, remote sensing, and semi-structured interviews, we assessed the validity of traditional cattle farming as a landscape management tool. Indeed, high diversity grasslands excluded from grazing were characterized by significantly less even and more dominated arthropod communities, as well as fewer plant species and families. Moreover, in areas that have been consistently grazed over the years, we found no forest encroachment from 1955 to 2019. However, rural communities are experiencing difficulties in keeping local traditions alive, even with current agri-environmental schemes. Thus, traditional livestock grazing can be a valuable management tool to maintain high biological and cultural diversity, even if stronger cooperation and attention to local needs is necessary.

Keywords: transhumance; traditional pastoralism; free-ranging livestock; rural abandonment; land use change; Southern Apennines; Monti Picentini Park (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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