tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2475052634354383423.post4801895262051944207..comments2024-03-27T11:23:59.903+01:00Comments on Society for Conservation Biology Europe Section: European wood-pastures: closing words for the thematic seriesBege Jonssonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05285161907669574201noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2475052634354383423.post-81771386817300372182013-07-31T07:23:20.317+02:002013-07-31T07:23:20.317+02:00Thanks Nina Sajna for your observation. Those too,...Thanks Nina Sajna for your observation. Those too, indeed, seem to be wood-pastures although not always 'pastured'. There are many interesting attempts to name wood-pastures. Wood-pastures, wooded-pastures, pasture woodlands, sylvopastoral systems. Beyond the details, one thing seem to be sure: they all reflect a multifunctional landscape type, where humans use the grassland and the tree components symultaneously. The tragedy of many modern wood-pastures in Europe is that people renounce to the services / goods provided by at least one (often both) of these components. Hartel Tiborhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06482490443581875158noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2475052634354383423.post-65290563630608250642012-10-04T18:08:58.425+02:002012-10-04T18:08:58.425+02:00Hi, great posts about wooded pastures! Concerning ...Hi, great posts about wooded pastures! Concerning the great variety of shown examples, I too agree that the definition is slightly loose. I never considered meadow orchards and macchia to be wooded pastures. But hey, precise definition is still to be set so I'm glad to report that we have wooded meadows in Slovenia! They are developed on alluvial floodplains in riparian forest and sometimes they are grazed but mostly they are mown for fodder or litter. So it's more a human-maintained grassland in the woods. Regards, Nina Sajna<br />Nina Sajnanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2475052634354383423.post-36214513812545513752012-08-24T14:20:42.954+02:002012-08-24T14:20:42.954+02:00Dear Peter - many thanks for this comment. Indeed,...Dear Peter - many thanks for this comment. Indeed, it was very nice/fascinating to see how different landscapes can be covered under the name 'wood-pasture'. In my mind wood-pasture was/is associated with scattered (preferably oak) trees with certain shape. Maybe because this is what we have - as really easy to distinguish landscape elements in Southern Transylvania + I may be influenced by what I read before. However, the pictures from Germany, Italy and Czech Republic clearly show: many other types of landscapes can be considered wood-pastures, with the condition to have a mosaic of scrub/tree/woodland and pasture. With my colleagues we smiled and asked: 'Ok, then what is not wood-pasture in Transylvania?'. So, indeed, a clear definition of what can be or not a wood-pasture is timely and also practical if we want to inventory and protect them.<br /><br />I am really grateful to all of you for these contributions. I consider this as 'ours' even is Barbi and me facilitated this process.Hartel Tiborhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06482490443581875158noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2475052634354383423.post-86933150579084174012012-08-23T10:20:36.021+02:002012-08-23T10:20:36.021+02:00Tibor, a masterly summary of the papers and issues...Tibor, a masterly summary of the papers and issues. I agree that further inventory is necessary to quantify what we have in Europe. But attention must be paid to definitions since there are many different types of wood and scrub pasture, also with many and distinct origins and causes. Wood pastures are generally not a stable community, and management is a delicate balance between overgrazing causing gradual loss of the trees, utilisation of the trees themselves, and undergrazing leading to scrub then forest. The Czech author refers to the romantic idea of wood pastures with scattered veteran trees in pasture. This habitat which has great aesthetic value and also 'old growth' attributes, constitutes only a fraction of the total wooded pasture resource. Clear thinking and well targeted research, along with the discipline of inventory, is needed to understand the biology and history of wood pastures better. Many thanks again for organising this blog, which is surely a landmark action for the wood pasture habitat, Peter QuelchPeter Quelchnoreply@blogger.com