Grassland conservation across European landscapes protecting biodiversity and ecosystem services with ecological networks

Permanent grasslands are an important land cover type in European protected area networks. They are valued for their biodiversity and ecosystem services (ES) and have often been formed by traditional agricultural land-use. They are increasingly challenged by changes in farm management and land-use through both intensification and abandonment. Aligning biodiversity and ES conservation agendas with sustainable agricultural land-use is an important societal priority. Integrating social-ecological knowledge on grassland use in protected areas provides an important basis for developing and maintaining protected landscapes and for optimizing the use of scarce public resources. GreeNet will develop transition pathways for sustainable management of European grasslands under a combined land sparing and land sharing paradigm prototyping novel ways to develop and maintain protected landscapes. The project analyses case studies in Austria, Estonia, Germany, Ireland, Norway, and Switzerland with Valdres being the case study area in Norway. The project is led by the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU) in Austria with Ruralis and NINA as partners from Norway. It brings together scholars from multiple disciplines and stakeholders across multiple scales. Methodologies include machine-learning techniques, ecological tools across landscape intensity gradients informed by satellite remote sensing, the modelling of farmers' attitudes and preferences regarding individual and collaborative conservation management options, the analysis of conservation incentive schemes in different governance systems, and the development of governance strategies towards long-term protection of grassland landscapes. Participatory processes with stakeholders are organised at three spatial levels: farms, regions, and international. The project had its kick-off meeting at the Austrian case study area ‘Neusiedler See’ outside Vienna in May 2023.

Permanent grasslands are an important land cover type in European protected area networks, valued for their biodiversity and ecosystem services (ES). Aligning the biodiversity and ES conservation agendas whilst sustaining agricultural land-use on a landscape scale is an important societal priority. Integrating social-ecological knowledge on grassland use in protected areas would provide an important basis for developing and maintaining protected landscapes and for optimizing the use of scarce public resources. GreeNet’s major objective is to develop transition pathways for sustainable management of European grasslands under a combined land sparing and land sharing paradigm prototyping novel ways to develop and maintain protected landscapes. We will analyse grassland case studies in Austria, Estonia, Germany, Ireland, Norway, and Switzerland considering a gradient of protection status from currently unprotected but highly valuable landscapes, to Natura 2000 areas, biosphere reserves, nature parks, and national parks. GreeNet brings together scholars from multiple disciplines and stakeholders across multiple scales. Methodologies include the design of integrated conservation management options with machine-learning techniques, ecological tools across landscape intensity gradients, the modelling of farmers' attitudes and preferences regarding individual and collaborative conservation management options, the analysis of conservation incentive schemes in different governance systems, and the development of governance strategies towards long-term protection of grassland landscapes. Participatory processes are organised at three levels (farms, regions, international). The project allows to identify barriers and enabling factors that make landscape protection effective and acceptable by farmers and the public. GreeNet will address local landscape scale design challenges and Pan-European policy goals such as the national biodiversity strategies, the Aichitargets, and SDGs.