Highlights 23 extensive grazing by cattle, sheep and pigs has decreased since the 1940s 24  the number of habitat types used by cattle and pigs decreased significantly 25  use of non-pasture grassland habitats decreased, especially the use of stubbles 26 agricultural and conservation policies should cover all grazeable habitat types 27  sustainable extensive grazing need cooperation between various knowledge systems 28 *Manuscript Click here to view linked References  Abstract 29Many habitats in Europe have been managed by grazing for thousands of years. However, 30 extensive grazing systems are becoming increasingly rare in the region, and there is a lack of 31 understanding of the functioning of these systems. 32We carried out 147 structured interviews in 38 landscapes throughout the Carpathian Basin, with 3-33 5 informants/landscape. The number of actively grazing cattle, sheep and pigs, their year-round habitat 34 use and the proportion of herds actively tended were documented for four characteristic historical 35 periods (before, during and after socialist co-operatives and after EU Accession). We conclude that agricultural policies should take into account the full spectrum of habitat types 49 necessary for the effective operation of extensive grazing systems. We argue that conservation-50 oriented extensive grazing should use the traditional wisdom of herders but adapted to the present 51 situations. 52 53

BackgroundThere is scarce information about European folk knowledge of wild invertebrate fauna. We have documented such folk knowledge in three regions, in Romania, Slovakia and Croatia. We provide a list of folk taxa, and discuss folk biological classification and nomenclature, salient features, uses, related proverbs and sayings, and conservation.MethodsWe collected data among Hungarian-speaking people practising small-scale, traditional agriculture. We studied “all” invertebrate species (species groups) potentially occurring in the vicinity of the settlements. We used photos, held semi-structured interviews, and conducted picture sorting.ResultsWe documented 208 invertebrate folk taxa. Many species were known which have, to our knowledge, no economic significance. 36 % of the species were known to at least half of the informants. Knowledge reliability was high, although informants were sometimes prone to exaggeration. 93 % of folk taxa had their own individual names, and 90 % of the taxa were embedded in the folk taxonomy.Twenty four species were of direct use to humans (4 medicinal, 5 consumed, 11 as bait, 2 as playthings). Completely new was the discovery that the honey stomachs of black-coloured carpenter bees (Xylocopa violacea, X. valga) were consumed. 30 taxa were associated with a proverb or used for weather forecasting, or predicting harvests. Conscious ideas about conserving invertebrates only occurred with a few taxa, but informants would generally refrain from harming firebugs (Pyrrhocoris apterus), field crickets (Gryllus campestris) and most butterflies. We did not find any mythical creatures among invertebrate folk taxa. Almost every invertebrate species was regarded as basically harmful. Where possible, they were destroyed or at least regarded as worth eradicating. However, we could find no evidence to suggest any invertebrate species had suffered population loss as a result of conscious destruction. Sometimes knowledge pertaining to the taxa could have more general relevance, and be regarded as folk wisdom concerning the functioning of nature as a whole.ConclusionsThe high number of known invertebrate folk taxa suggests that it would be worth conducting further investigations in other areas of Europe.

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