‘Innovation from the Past.’ Silvopastoral Systems in Hungary in the Light of Hungarian Ethnographic Literature

Abstract

Silvopastoral systems are a crucial part of the European cultural landscape and biocultural heritage. In Hungary, due to the intensification of agriculture and forestry management, silvopastoral practices were nearly totally abandoned during the last decades. In this paper, I review Hungarian ethnographic literature to discover the traditional silvopastoral management of Hungary. The papers were published in Hungarian, mainly in different ethnographic journals and in several books. In Hungary, until the passage of the Forest and Pastureland Separation Act (1853), forest grazing was a free right along with other silvopastoral methods, except pannage. Woodlands were natural shelters and sources of diverse fodder. Collecting leaf-fodder, leaf-litter, wild fruit and acorn were integral and common parts of traditional extensive livestock husbandry. The importance of silvopastoral systems increased during extreme weather conditions. All of them were controlled to avoid overuse and forest damage. Today, wood pasture management and illegal forest grazing is still alive, but the new forest law once again gives permission for regulated forest grazing in some cases. The openness towards silvopastoral managements is influenced by the new agroforestry innovations movement.