6533b7ddfe1ef96bd1274a61

RESEARCH PRODUCT

Fitting the Stocking Rate with Pastoral Resources to Manage and Preserve Mediterranean Forestlands: A Case Study

Piermaria CoronaG. GiardinaT. La MantiaI. BuscemiE. BianchettoSalvatore Pasta

subject

Settore AGR/05 - Assestamento Forestale E Selvicolturagrazing; forest clearings; pasture types; forestry; biodiversity; secondary successionGeography Planning and Developmentlcsh:TJ807-830lcsh:Renewable energy sourcesWoodlandManagement Monitoring Policy and LawGrazing pressureShrublandjel:QForest ecologyGrazingforest clearingsgrazingConservation grazinglcsh:Environmental sciencesbiodiversitylcsh:GE1-350geographygeography.geographical_feature_categoryLand useRenewable Energy Sustainability and the EnvironmentAgroforestrylcsh:Environmental effects of industries and plantsforestryjel:Q0secondary successionjel:Q2jel:Q3Pasture typejel:Q5lcsh:TD194-195jel:O13Forest clearingpasture typesjel:Q56Protected area

description

Pasture practices have affected Mediterranean forest ecosystems for millennia, and they are still quite widespread in mountainous areas. Nevertheless, in the last decades, the stability of forest ecosystems has been jeopardized due to the abandonment of traditional agro-pastoral practices, so that the gradual reduction of open areas due to progressive succession processes has caused a high increase of grazing pressure by livestock and wild ungulates feeding on forest areas. This paper aims at showing a methodological approach for evaluating the effect of applying measures in order to improve the grazing value of grasslands and ecotonal patches and lower the grazing impact on native woodlands. A protected area in Sicily (Italy) is considered as a representative case study. The analysis of remotely sensed imagery and several field surveys enabled to identify and map six different land use units subject to grazing, i.e., (1) forests

yearjournalcountryeditionlanguage
2015-06-04Sustainability
http://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/7/6/7232/