Distribution of Wood Pastures in Slovakia—Constraints and Potentials for Restoration of Multifunctional Traditional Land Use Form
Wood pastures represent specific ecosystems across Europe with diverse ecological, agricultural, and socioeconomic roles. Land-use changes and the cessation of traditional management in conjunction with socioeconomic changes led to shifts in their spatiotemporal distribution. Despite a recent increa...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-12-01
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| Series: | Forests |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/14/1/68 |
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| author | Tomáš Lepeška Michal Wiezik Igor Gallay Veronika Paulíková Branislav Olah María Rosa Mosquera Losada Michal Pástor Adela Wieziková |
| author_facet | Tomáš Lepeška Michal Wiezik Igor Gallay Veronika Paulíková Branislav Olah María Rosa Mosquera Losada Michal Pástor Adela Wieziková |
| author_sort | Tomáš Lepeška |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Wood pastures represent specific ecosystems across Europe with diverse ecological, agricultural, and socioeconomic roles. Land-use changes and the cessation of traditional management in conjunction with socioeconomic changes led to shifts in their spatiotemporal distribution. Despite a recent increase in scientific interest, data on historical patterns of wood pastures in many European locations remain insufficient. This study presents wood-pasture habitat continuity and analyzes changes in their distribution over space and time in selected parts of Slovakia. Simultaneously, we analyzed the relation of wood pastures to selected environmental and landscape features. To achieve this, we examined the historical distribution of wood pastures using aerial imagery from the 1950s. We thoroughly examined an area of 16,209 km<sup>2</sup> to identify preserved wood pastures. To identify the present conditions and the spatial distribution of wood-pasture habitats, we compared the historical data with recent ortophotomaps. Based on landscape–ecological analyses of historical distribution, we determined prevailing environmental conditions of wood-pasture locations. The findings reveal that over 90% of wood pastures from the first half of the 20th century have now been lost or encroached and preserved in the form of a closed-canopy forest. In most of the encroached sites, we identified the presence of vital core veteran trees. For the identification of wood pastures and further analyses of the environmental variables, the ArcGIS 10.3 program was used; the R software was used for all statistical evaluations. The results show that the studied wood pastures were not established randomly, but were rather set within a certain landscape context, characterized by elevation, soil quality, and distance from settlements. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T12:42:01Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-919e79ed983a40c3b3de06a2f2403d60 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1999-4907 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T12:42:01Z |
| publishDate | 2022-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Forests |
| spelling | doaj.art-919e79ed983a40c3b3de06a2f2403d602023-11-30T22:16:55ZengMDPI AGForests1999-49072022-12-011416810.3390/f14010068Distribution of Wood Pastures in Slovakia—Constraints and Potentials for Restoration of Multifunctional Traditional Land Use FormTomáš Lepeška0Michal Wiezik1Igor Gallay2Veronika Paulíková3Branislav Olah4María Rosa Mosquera Losada5Michal Pástor6Adela Wieziková7Department of Applied Ecology, Faculty of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Technical University in Zvolen, T.G. Masaryka 24, SK-960 01 Zvolen, SlovakiaDepartment of Applied Ecology, Faculty of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Technical University in Zvolen, T.G. Masaryka 24, SK-960 01 Zvolen, SlovakiaDepartment of Applied Ecology, Faculty of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Technical University in Zvolen, T.G. Masaryka 24, SK-960 01 Zvolen, SlovakiaDepartment of Applied Ecology, Faculty of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Technical University in Zvolen, T.G. Masaryka 24, SK-960 01 Zvolen, SlovakiaDepartment of Applied Ecology, Faculty of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Technical University in Zvolen, T.G. Masaryka 24, SK-960 01 Zvolen, SlovakiaCrop Production and Project Engineering Department, University of Santiago de Compostela, 27002 Lugo, SpainDepartment of Applied Ecology, Faculty of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Technical University in Zvolen, T.G. Masaryka 24, SK-960 01 Zvolen, SlovakiaDepartment of Biology and General Ecology, Faculty of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Technical University in Zvolen, T.G. Masaryka 24, SK-960 01 Zvolen, SlovakiaWood pastures represent specific ecosystems across Europe with diverse ecological, agricultural, and socioeconomic roles. Land-use changes and the cessation of traditional management in conjunction with socioeconomic changes led to shifts in their spatiotemporal distribution. Despite a recent increase in scientific interest, data on historical patterns of wood pastures in many European locations remain insufficient. This study presents wood-pasture habitat continuity and analyzes changes in their distribution over space and time in selected parts of Slovakia. Simultaneously, we analyzed the relation of wood pastures to selected environmental and landscape features. To achieve this, we examined the historical distribution of wood pastures using aerial imagery from the 1950s. We thoroughly examined an area of 16,209 km<sup>2</sup> to identify preserved wood pastures. To identify the present conditions and the spatial distribution of wood-pasture habitats, we compared the historical data with recent ortophotomaps. Based on landscape–ecological analyses of historical distribution, we determined prevailing environmental conditions of wood-pasture locations. The findings reveal that over 90% of wood pastures from the first half of the 20th century have now been lost or encroached and preserved in the form of a closed-canopy forest. In most of the encroached sites, we identified the presence of vital core veteran trees. For the identification of wood pastures and further analyses of the environmental variables, the ArcGIS 10.3 program was used; the R software was used for all statistical evaluations. The results show that the studied wood pastures were not established randomly, but were rather set within a certain landscape context, characterized by elevation, soil quality, and distance from settlements.https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/14/1/68agroforestrycessationencroachmentbiodiversity strategycarbon sequestration |
| spellingShingle | Tomáš Lepeška Michal Wiezik Igor Gallay Veronika Paulíková Branislav Olah María Rosa Mosquera Losada Michal Pástor Adela Wieziková Distribution of Wood Pastures in Slovakia—Constraints and Potentials for Restoration of Multifunctional Traditional Land Use Form Forests agroforestry cessation encroachment biodiversity strategy carbon sequestration |
| title | Distribution of Wood Pastures in Slovakia—Constraints and Potentials for Restoration of Multifunctional Traditional Land Use Form |
| title_full | Distribution of Wood Pastures in Slovakia—Constraints and Potentials for Restoration of Multifunctional Traditional Land Use Form |
| title_fullStr | Distribution of Wood Pastures in Slovakia—Constraints and Potentials for Restoration of Multifunctional Traditional Land Use Form |
| title_full_unstemmed | Distribution of Wood Pastures in Slovakia—Constraints and Potentials for Restoration of Multifunctional Traditional Land Use Form |
| title_short | Distribution of Wood Pastures in Slovakia—Constraints and Potentials for Restoration of Multifunctional Traditional Land Use Form |
| title_sort | distribution of wood pastures in slovakia constraints and potentials for restoration of multifunctional traditional land use form |
| topic | agroforestry cessation encroachment biodiversity strategy carbon sequestration |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/14/1/68 |
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