Large-scale grazing Systems by herdsmen and their impact on landscape patterns and biodiversity in western Ukraine’s Carpathians

Abstract

The results of investigations of a 24 ha pasture in Werchnej Luschok are presented. The movements of the cattle were observed with an automatic camera set-up which took a photo of the area every twenty minutes. Changes in land use between 1896 and 1999 were also analysed. In 1999 the grassland covers a larger area, while the area under tillage has declined considerably. The spatial heterogeneity of grazing pressure is high. Higher grazing intensity leads to higher habitat diversity. With higher grazing intensity the number of grasshopper species per plot is lower. The Shannon Index for grasshoppers also declines with higher grazing intensity.