Abstract
With well-preserved nature and a geographical location at the border of the West Carpathian and the East Carpathian biogeographical regions, the Poloniny National Park (NP) ranks among the most valuable areas for biodiversity in Slovakia. The territory is a typical region with mountain agriculture (12% of the study area), where grasslands dominate in an agricultural landscape. Grasslands became the basis of traditional farming many years ago, when extensive agriculture was mainly focused on hay production and grazing, representing the lifestyle of the local people. This kind of sensitive human management contributed to the maintenance of valuable grassland communities and their rich biodiversity. In particular, the mountain poloniny meadows are characterized by large numbers of rare and threatened East Carpathian species. Intensification of agriculture from the 1970s and its decline after the massive political and socioeconomic changes of 1989 have caused substantial damage to species-rich grasslands in the region. Implementation of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is now providing greater financial support to restart agricultural activities in the Poloniny National Park. Nonetheless, there is still concern about maintenance of the biodiversity of mountain grassland communities, where access is limited, and which require specific extensive management. This paper aims to identify the driving forces of agrobiodiversity change and the implications for habitats and species, and to predict possible future trends in the region. Emerging from the assessment of these trends, several recommendations are made regarding appropriate management measures for the maintenance of agrobiodiversity together with sustainable development in Poloniny National Park.
Highlights
The mountain regions of Europe have a high proportion of natural or seminatural areas, in which extensive agricultural landscapes are significant
The present paper reports results of recent interdisciplinary projects dealing with changes in agricultural biodiversity in Slovakia, and especially the Fifth European Union Framework Programme (EU FP5) BioScene project, which investigated agriculture as a main driver of change in Europe’s mountain areas and evaluated its past, current, and future status and impacts on biodiversity (Mitchley 2005; Mitchley et al 2006)
There have been radical changes in society and landscape in the mountain area of Poloniny National Park (NP), which are reflected in the development of agricultural land
Summary
The mountain regions of Europe have a high proportion of natural or seminatural areas, in which extensive agricultural landscapes are significant. Socioeconomic development and, in particular, recent changes in traditional land use, such as abandonment of extensive farming and livestock grazing, are significantly influencing agrobiodiversity (variety and variability of animals, plants, and microorganisms that are important to food and agriculture, which result from the interaction among the environment, genetic resources, and the management systems and practices used by people; FAO 1999). The consequent effects are seen in changes in land-use patterns and decreased landscape diversity, in particular, due to spontaneous forest regeneration of formerly open-land habitats and transformation of seminatural grasslands into woodlands. Extensive grasslands belong to the most threatened habitat types in Slovakia, especially as a result of abandonment; many habitats of European importance are seriously threatened (habitat types listed in the Habitat Directive Annex I). Only 300,000 ha of 845,600 ha of grasslands in Slovakia are considered to be of nature conservation value (EEA 2004)
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