Management of mountainous meadows associated with biodiversity attributes, perceived health benefits and cultural ecosystem services

Abstract

Associations between biodiversity, human health and well-being have never been discussed with reference to agriculturally managed, species-rich mountainous meadows. We evaluated these associations between extensively managed (one mowing a year, no fertilization) and abandoned (no mowing since more than 80 years, no fertilization) semi-dry meadows located in the Austrian and Swiss Alps. We quantified the richness and abundance of plants, grasshoppers, true bugs, bumblebees, syrphids and landscape characteristics in the surroundings of the meadows. Associations between these biodiversity attributes and short-term psychological and physiological human health effects were assessed with 22 participants (10 males, 12 females; mean age 27 years). Participants´ pulse rate, systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) were not affected during visits to managed or abandoned meadows. However, perceived health benefits (e.g., stress reduction, attention restoration) were higher during their stays in managed than in abandoned meadows. Also, the attractiveness of the surrounding landscape and the recreation suitability were rated higher when visiting managed meadows. Perceived naturalness was positively correlated with plant richness and flower cover. A positive correlation was found between SBP and forest cover, but SBP was negatively correlated with the open landscape. A negative association was found between grasshoppers and recreational and landscape perceptions. We suggest to discuss biodiversity attributes not only in connection with agricultural management but also with cultural ecosystem services and health benefits to raise more awareness for multifaceted interrelationships between ecosystems and humans.

Traditional Free-Ranging Livestock Farming as a Management Strategy for Biological and Cultural Landscape Diversity: A Case from the Southern Apennines

“…In the general climate of abandonment that rural and mountainous areas have been undergoing in the past decades, not limited to the Apennines, but well-documented especially in Eastern Europe [88][89][90], it is thus imperative to look to these traditions and to involve the people who are custodians of ecological knowledge in order to safeguard both biological and cultural diversity. Well-preserved landscapes would also have a positive effect on tourism in these areas, as it has been shown that managed grasslands are more attractive and have better visibility than abandoned landscapes [61,91]. This type of pastoralism is kept alive by the cultural traditions tied to it, more so than by some type of economic benefit, even though areas with more widespread agrienvironmental schemes are less likely to be abandoned [90].…”

“…Furthermore, in the last decades, widespread rural depopulation has induced the loss of different human activities tied to agriculture, traditions, festivals, and pastoralism [23,57,58], as well as loss of cultural identity [59,60] and of desirability of abandoned and unmanaged landscapes, which are perceived to be "less natural" [61]. Thus, the phenomenon of rural abandonment is doubly impactful, on both the natural as well as the cultural diversity of mountainous regions.…”

Assessment of Changes in a Viewshed in the Western Carpathians Landscape as a Result of Reforestation

“…As a result, secondary succession is hindered. These methods are commonly used as a way to protect landscape and biodiversity in mountainous areas where traditional grazing was typical [73,74]. These activities have been conducted in Radziechowska glade for a few years.…”

Anchor of cultural forest services in the national forest policies of Central European countries

“…managed forest, forest bathing, forest walking, etc., have been implemented in some of the studied countries, and positively affected the psychological and physiological status of participants and visitors (Bielinis et al 2018;Bielinis et al 2019aBielinis et al , 2020Hussain et al 2019;Janeczko et al 2020;Rathmann et al 2020). The positive effect of spending leisure time in the forest and by outdoor activities was observed in different age groups, from young age (Kimic & Kundziewicz 2020) and young adults (Bielinis et al 2018;Bielinis et al 2019a;Hussain et al 2019;Janeczko et al 2020An overview of the findings shows the contribution of the forests to the human physical and mental health. Development of infrastructures and policy harmonization that enable the forests to perform their services optimally are encouraged in countries where such forest recreation and education still do not exist.…”