In many mountain regions, there have been dramatic changes in agricultural land use in
recent decades. In some cases, these are related to changes in technology, such as the …

As a contribution to the Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Initiative (TERI) within Framework IV
of the EU, ECOMONT aims at investigating ecological effects of land-use changes in …

During the last 20 years (1980-2000) 41.4% of farms have been abandoned in the
European Alps. This development varies greatly between different Alpine regions. We …

Landscape change is driven by various actors and forces which trigger a specific rate of
change. Today, many landscapes change in a direction and with a rate considered …

Landscape appearance is controlled by a range of different environmental and human-
induced factors, although there is still a lack of knowledge about the significance of …

Due to the particular ecological sensitivity of mountain areas, conflicts between
environmental, developmental and societal changes have occurred increasingly in …

Land-use and land-cover changes affect ecological landscape functions and processes.
Hence, landscape ecologists have a central interest in a comprehensive understanding of …

European countries have been addressing the problems of mountain areas through specific
sectoral policy programmes for several decades. Since the 1970s, the implementation of …

Land-use changes are considered to be the major driving forces of changes in ecosystem
function and dynamics, and in landscape pattern, and may exert a major impact on global …

Agricultural intensification has reached mountain areas with retardation. This development
is worrying as it targets some of the last remaining strongholds of traditionally farmed land in …