Johannes Kamp
@kampjohannes.bsky.social
Landscape Ecologist and Conservation Scientist. Department of Conservation Biology, University of Göttingen: @consbiogoe.bsky.social
http://www.uni-goettingen.de/conservation
http://www.uni-goettingen.de/conservation
(All images from Astental, Großglockner Area, Carinthia, Austria, taken in 2024 and during last week - but situation similar in other parts of the Alps.)
July 20, 2025 at 9:48 PM
(All images from Astental, Großglockner Area, Carinthia, Austria, taken in 2024 and during last week - but situation similar in other parts of the Alps.)
The future of the hay meadows will depend on the willingness of the coming generations to continue to hard work - and on sufficient funding to make the systems economically viable for the land users. I am impressed by the young families keeping up the mowing here, but it's not easy.
July 20, 2025 at 9:48 PM
The future of the hay meadows will depend on the willingness of the coming generations to continue to hard work - and on sufficient funding to make the systems economically viable for the land users. I am impressed by the young families keeping up the mowing here, but it's not easy.
Alternatively, former hay meadows are now grazed, and stocking densities are often so high that few flowering plants are seen.
July 20, 2025 at 9:48 PM
Alternatively, former hay meadows are now grazed, and stocking densities are often so high that few flowering plants are seen.
At the same time, where possible (and we are speaking of altitudes around 2000 m a.s.l. already), more and more livestock owners apply slurry as fertilizer (greener areas - mown earlier). This leads to the disappearance of many plant and butterfly species.
July 20, 2025 at 9:48 PM
At the same time, where possible (and we are speaking of altitudes around 2000 m a.s.l. already), more and more livestock owners apply slurry as fertilizer (greener areas - mown earlier). This leads to the disappearance of many plant and butterfly species.
Of course, a few species also benefit, such as this Lilium martagon, but mainly in early stages of abandonment.
July 20, 2025 at 9:48 PM
Of course, a few species also benefit, such as this Lilium martagon, but mainly in early stages of abandonment.
At my current location in a pretty remote valley in Austria, abandonment, but also intensification, have kicked in again since ca. 2017. Abandoned hay meadows quickly lose they herb-rich appearance, and grasses soon dominate (often described in the literature). And yes, these slopes are steep!
July 20, 2025 at 9:48 PM
At my current location in a pretty remote valley in Austria, abandonment, but also intensification, have kicked in again since ca. 2017. Abandoned hay meadows quickly lose they herb-rich appearance, and grasses soon dominate (often described in the literature). And yes, these slopes are steep!
I had assumed that some of these extremely biodiverse hay meadows ("Bergmähder") would persist in the long run. But speaking to the people who do the hard work, this seems less and less guaranteed.
July 20, 2025 at 9:48 PM
I had assumed that some of these extremely biodiverse hay meadows ("Bergmähder") would persist in the long run. But speaking to the people who do the hard work, this seems less and less guaranteed.
These meadows had been maintained for centuries as #social-ecological systems, but were #abandoned and #intensified over large areas in the 1950s-1980s. However, due to tradition and conservation funding, unfertilized areas managed at low intensity still exist - biodiversity hotspots.
July 20, 2025 at 9:48 PM
These meadows had been maintained for centuries as #social-ecological systems, but were #abandoned and #intensified over large areas in the 1950s-1980s. However, due to tradition and conservation funding, unfertilized areas managed at low intensity still exist - biodiversity hotspots.
They also host a very high insect diversity and abundance, due to their high plant species richness and floral resources.
July 20, 2025 at 9:48 PM
They also host a very high insect diversity and abundance, due to their high plant species richness and floral resources.
Mountain hay meadows of the Alps are impressive.
July 20, 2025 at 9:48 PM
Mountain hay meadows of the Alps are impressive.
necessarily transferable.
July 11, 2025 at 12:36 PM
necessarily transferable.
plus: a lot of cattle dung is collected anyway by the villagers for heating and cooking, so is busted permanently into the atmosphere. I think it's very difficult to speculate here about livestock and carbon sequestration without any data at hand, and insight from other grassland systems is not....
July 11, 2025 at 12:36 PM
plus: a lot of cattle dung is collected anyway by the villagers for heating and cooking, so is busted permanently into the atmosphere. I think it's very difficult to speculate here about livestock and carbon sequestration without any data at hand, and insight from other grassland systems is not....
Dung decays very slowly in this climate, and dung beetle densities are pretty low, so a lot of old dung actually burns (but again, there is little dung where it burns - for the reasons we outline in the paper).
July 11, 2025 at 12:36 PM
Dung decays very slowly in this climate, and dung beetle densities are pretty low, so a lot of old dung actually burns (but again, there is little dung where it burns - for the reasons we outline in the paper).
well, plant-originating C has always been transported belowground by the numerous small mammals, but the area of high fire intensity does hardly overlap with the distribution of black soils (rather Kastanozems and Solonets/Solonchak soils there).
July 11, 2025 at 12:36 PM
well, plant-originating C has always been transported belowground by the numerous small mammals, but the area of high fire intensity does hardly overlap with the distribution of black soils (rather Kastanozems and Solonets/Solonchak soils there).
(e.g. of Stipa bunchgrasses) is accumulated belowground and therefore difficult to extract, iii) the C balance depends on grazing intensity and grazer type (e.g. horses vs. cattle), which have been so dynamic recently. I guess this will be studied eventually, but it's not so easy.
July 11, 2025 at 6:22 AM
(e.g. of Stipa bunchgrasses) is accumulated belowground and therefore difficult to extract, iii) the C balance depends on grazing intensity and grazer type (e.g. horses vs. cattle), which have been so dynamic recently. I guess this will be studied eventually, but it's not so easy.
...combined livestock and fire effects on climate is difficult, because i) we don't know much about the fire-related C balance (how much C is emitted, how much returns to the system as "black carbon", e.g. soot, ash), ii) measuring C in steppe vegetation is difficult, because so much biomass...
July 11, 2025 at 6:22 AM
...combined livestock and fire effects on climate is difficult, because i) we don't know much about the fire-related C balance (how much C is emitted, how much returns to the system as "black carbon", e.g. soot, ash), ii) measuring C in steppe vegetation is difficult, because so much biomass...
Note that we don't say (and know) anything about the climate effects of livestock here. The main message of the paper is that livestock grazing controls fire fuel availability (but of course it's more complex, e.g. drought and precipitation have also in impact on fire patterns). Looking into....
July 11, 2025 at 6:22 AM
Note that we don't say (and know) anything about the climate effects of livestock here. The main message of the paper is that livestock grazing controls fire fuel availability (but of course it's more complex, e.g. drought and precipitation have also in impact on fire patterns). Looking into....
See also this new review of the evidence: royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/abs/10.1... - quite fascinating stuff.
Collapse and recovery of livestock systems shape fire regimes on the Eurasian steppe: a review of ecosystem and biodiversity implications | Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
Shifts in fire regimes can trigger rapid changes in ecosystem functioning and biodiversity. We synthesize evidence for patterns, causes and consequences of recent change in fire regimes across the Eurasian steppes, a neglected global fire hotspot. ...
royalsocietypublishing.org
July 9, 2025 at 7:39 PM
See also this new review of the evidence: royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/abs/10.1... - quite fascinating stuff.
What does 136:46, NFG and NFY mean?
June 22, 2025 at 10:46 AM
What does 136:46, NFG and NFY mean?
Ganz so einfach ist es nicht, es gibt viele Gründe für Landnutzungsaufgabe - und resultierende Bestandsentwicklungen von Arten sind auch lange nicht immer negativ. Hier der dem o.a. feature zugrundeliegende Artikel: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
January 6, 2025 at 6:50 PM
Ganz so einfach ist es nicht, es gibt viele Gründe für Landnutzungsaufgabe - und resultierende Bestandsentwicklungen von Arten sind auch lange nicht immer negativ. Hier der dem o.a. feature zugrundeliegende Artikel: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...