Transition from traditional to modern forest management shaped the spatial extent of cattle pasturing in Białowieża Primeval Forest in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries

• Published in: Ambio Vol. 45; no. 8; pp. 904 - 918
• Main Authors: Samojlik, Tomasz, Fedotova, Anastasia, Kuijper, Dries P. J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer 01.12.2016; Springer Netherlands
• Subjects: Animal Husbandry - history; Animal Husbandry - organization & administration; Animal Husbandry - trends; Animals; Atmospheric Sciences; Biodiversity; Cattle; Conservation of Natural Resources - history; Conservation of Natural Resources - methods; Conservation of Natural Resources - trends; Domestication; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecology; Environment; Environmental Engineering/Biotechnology; Environmental Management; Forestry - history; Forestry - organization & administration; Forestry - trends; Forests; Herbivory; History, 19th Century; History, 20th Century; Physical Geography; Poland; Republic of Belarus; Trees - classification; Trees - growth & development; Livestock impact; Forest management; Historical ecology; Forest regeneration; Environmental history; Wood pasture
• ISSN: 0044-7447; 1654-7209
• DOI: 10.1007/s13280-016-0795-4

Pasturing of livestock in forests has had profound consequences for Europe's landscapes. In Białowieża Primeval Forest (BPF), cattle pasturing was a part of traditional forest use that ceased only in the second half of the twentieth century. We collected information on the institutional changes governing forest cattle pasturing and the changes in spatial extent of cattle presence in BPF in last two centuries and information on cattle numbers and their impact on forest regeneration. The spatial extent of cattle pasturing was highly variable, with the distribution of grazing areas frequently changing. Forest near villages (constituting less than 10 % of the area) was most often used for cattle grazing during continued longer time periods. Historical data showed that cattle have had a clear impact on forest regeneration. However, the frequent changes that occurred in the extent of cattle grazing indicate that their impact occurred locally, was smaller in other less intensively used areas, and in the forest as a whole.