systems in Europe, one from the mountains of Central France and one from the
lowlands in the Northwest of Europe (Germany and The Netherlands).
2 Traditional Land Use at the Hautes Chaumes in Low
Mountain Ranges of Central France
Heathlands and grasslands still form a characteristic component of the subalpine
landscape in European low mountain ranges, although the switch from traditional
management practices put these systems nowadays under great pressure. For centuries, the highest parts of these mountain ranges (called hautes chaumes in France)
were used for cattle grazing and the pastured land was held in common. During
summer, the farmers lived in modest farmhouses, called jasseries. At springtime, the
cattle was moved to grazing grounds at higher altitudes and moved back to lower
elevations in fall (transhumance). At the beginning of the twentieth century, however, this system collapsed. The strong decline of the population density caused a
strong decrease in grazing. Almost all jasseries became abandoned and fell into
decay. In some parts of the subalpine zone, grazing stopped completely. In other
parts, the way of grazing changed: the flock did not roam freely over the hautes
chaumes anymore, but was kept in movable fences. Besides, farmers switched to
sheep instead of cattle (Schaminée and Meertens 1992; Schaminée 1993).
This traditional system of pastural (cattle-lease, bail à commande) and mountain
meadow land use developed during the late Middle Ages. It was a win-win situation
for urban people and local farmers of the Massif Central. Urban capital was invested
in cattle and the owners received agricultural products. The farmers produced meat,
leather and other agricultural products, in particular cheese (fourme), and had little
risk caused by unfavorable weather conditions. Like in other mountain regions used
as summer pasture, the period of grazing lasted a couple of months until August. The
number of domestic animals and the period of grazing was limited by strong
regulations. Pastures were used on common ground, farmhouses and meadows
were private property (Damon 1972; Schaminée 1993). Such grazing regimes
supported high landscape heterogeneity in space and stabilized rich regional species
pools.
Figure 3 shows a plan of the small farmhouses, called jasseries (Schaminée 1993,
after Damon 1972). The largest part was composed by small stables for animals, the
smaller part served as living room and place for cheese production. The concerted
use, interplay and irrigation of water, dung as fertilizer for hay meadows and hay as
fodder is described in Schaminée (1993). This agricultural system proved to be
sustainable for many hundreds of years.
The importance of a constant management was already stressed by Josias BraunBlanquet in 1926 in a study on mountain heathlands in the Monts du Cantal. The
large-scale changes in land use during the twentieth century have strongly influenced
the original diversity and vegetation pattern. An overall extensive grazing regime has
The Future of Agricultural Land
411
lowlands in the Northwest of Europe (Germany and The Netherlands).
2 Traditional Land Use at the Hautes Chaumes in Low
Mountain Ranges of Central France
Heathlands and grasslands still form a characteristic component of the subalpine
landscape in European low mountain ranges, although the switch from traditional
management practices put these systems nowadays under great pressure. For centuries, the highest parts of these mountain ranges (called hautes chaumes in France)
were used for cattle grazing and the pastured land was held in common. During
summer, the farmers lived in modest farmhouses, called jasseries. At springtime, the
cattle was moved to grazing grounds at higher altitudes and moved back to lower
elevations in fall (transhumance). At the beginning of the twentieth century, however, this system collapsed. The strong decline of the population density caused a
strong decrease in grazing. Almost all jasseries became abandoned and fell into
decay. In some parts of the subalpine zone, grazing stopped completely. In other
parts, the way of grazing changed: the flock did not roam freely over the hautes
chaumes anymore, but was kept in movable fences. Besides, farmers switched to
sheep instead of cattle (Schaminée and Meertens 1992; Schaminée 1993).
This traditional system of pastural (cattle-lease, bail à commande) and mountain
meadow land use developed during the late Middle Ages. It was a win-win situation
for urban people and local farmers of the Massif Central. Urban capital was invested
in cattle and the owners received agricultural products. The farmers produced meat,
leather and other agricultural products, in particular cheese (fourme), and had little
risk caused by unfavorable weather conditions. Like in other mountain regions used
as summer pasture, the period of grazing lasted a couple of months until August. The
number of domestic animals and the period of grazing was limited by strong
regulations. Pastures were used on common ground, farmhouses and meadows
were private property (Damon 1972; Schaminée 1993). Such grazing regimes
supported high landscape heterogeneity in space and stabilized rich regional species
pools.
Figure 3 shows a plan of the small farmhouses, called jasseries (Schaminée 1993,
after Damon 1972). The largest part was composed by small stables for animals, the
smaller part served as living room and place for cheese production. The concerted
use, interplay and irrigation of water, dung as fertilizer for hay meadows and hay as
fodder is described in Schaminée (1993). This agricultural system proved to be
sustainable for many hundreds of years.
The importance of a constant management was already stressed by Josias BraunBlanquet in 1926 in a study on mountain heathlands in the Monts du Cantal. The
large-scale changes in land use during the twentieth century have strongly influenced
the original diversity and vegetation pattern. An overall extensive grazing regime has
The Future of Agricultural Land
411