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Title:
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Is multifunctionality the future of mountain pastoralism? Lessons from the management of semi-natural grasslands in the Pyrenees
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Author:
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López-i-Gelats, Feliu; Rivera-Ferre, Marta G.; Madruga-Andreu, Cristina; Bartolomé Filella, Jordi
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Other authors:
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Universitat de Vic - Universitat Central de Catalunya. Facultat de Ciències i Tecnologia |
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Notes:
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Land abandonment is pervasive in mountainous Europe. In the present situation of price-cost squeeze on pastoral households
and general shift in the role of farming, the development of farming abandonment risk regions is generally associated with adoption
of new multifunctional rural development strategies, such as farm tourism, which in the end entail less time being devoted to farming
practices. We explored the effects of such developmental scheme on the preservation of semi-natural grasslands, in particular,
and on the sustainability of mountain pastoralism, in general. While the effects on the preservation of semi-natural grasslands of
full abandonment have been extensively explored, this is not the case of partial abandonment. Results showed that the adoption of
simplified and low-cost management regimes, associated with partial abandonment and the increased adoption of part-time farming,
immerses semi-natural grasslands in processes of secondary succession that undermine both their conservation and pastoral functions.
This points the need for caution when endorsing multifunctional developmental schemes in farming abandonment risk regions,
particularly when those imply less labor being devoted to pastoral practices. In conclusion, we stress that in farming abandonment
risk regions it is possible to guarantee both viable pastoralism and diversified rural economy. However, it is necessary to implement
developmental strategies that are centered on stimulating synergies between pastoralism and other economic activities, rather than
promoting activities that depend on additional farmers’ polyvalence. |
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Subject(s):
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-Desenvolupament rural
-Pastures -- Explotació
-Abandonament de l'agricultura |
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Rights:
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Aquest document està subjecte a aquesta llicència Creative Commons
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/es/
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Document type:
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Article
info:eu-repo/publishedVersion |
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Published by:
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Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA)
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