The use of a landscape perspective to assess the nature value of a traditionally managed landscape : an assessment of indicators to estimate the high nature value of transhumance summer grazing practices in Sweden

Abstract: Loss of biodiversity related with diminishing traditional land use practice has raised global concern. Since, traditional land use practices is socio-economically unviable, many incentive based conservation approaches have emerged in order to encourage practitioners to continue with their practices. High nature value farmland is one of the newly emerged conservation approaches which aim at identifying causalities between farming type and biodiversity, and for providing support to the farming types which contribute to maintenance of biodiversity. Determination of the basis for the support is the major challenge, specifically the indicators used and the spatial extents taken into consideration. In this study I have explored the possibility of using semi-natural grassland biotope as a potential indicator for assessing the high nature value of transhumance summer grazing practices in Sweden. Participatory Geographic Information System, questionnaire survey and key informant interviews were carried out to explore the existing management practices of Swedish transhumance summer grazing practices. Potential high nature value indicators included TUVA identified grassland and in addition seven others areas of conservation importance were analyzed for their proportional presence inside the summer grazed land. The results showed that transhumance summer grazing practices of Sweden is complex in terms of land coverage types and associated biological and cultural values. The area covered in TUVA identified semi-natural meadows and pastures are not sufficient to estimate the overall nature value of summer grazing landscape. Existing transhumance summer grazing practices are not limited to TUVA identified grassland biotopes and the importance of other associated landscape elements under the same grazing regime should not be underestimated. Each land coverage type has its own importance and cannot be separated from the overall value of the different land coverage types. Subsequently I argue that environmental incentives framed under the HNV concept should be able to address the complexity of rural land use dynamics instead of focussing on a limited type of land use practice.