-
Article
Evaluating forest transition based on a multi-scale approach: forest area dynamics in Switzerland 1850–2000
A trend of forest area expansion after decades of decline is taking place in many countries around the globe. In Switzerland, forest cover has been expanding since at least the mid-nineteenth century. However,...
-
Article
Open AccessLegacy Effects of Human Land Use: Ecosystems as Time-Lagged Systems
Today, most ecosystems show some degree of human modification, ranging from subtle influences to complete remodeling and resha** into anthropogenic ecosystems. In the first issue of the journal Ecosystems, t...
-
Article
Analyzing dynamics and values of cultural landscapes
-
Article
Priority questions for the science, policy and practice of cultural landscapes in Europe
The design of effective responses to safeguard cultural landscape values in Europe needs collaborative action among the stakeholders involved. Despite considerable progress triggered by the European Landscape ...
-
Article
Land-use regime shift triggered the recent degradation of alpine pastures in Nyanpo Yutse of the eastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau
The eastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau is a cultural landscape where traditional pastoralism substantially shaped the present mosaic structure of the alpine grasslands. During the past two decades, however, sever...
-
Article
Open AccessProcesses and driving forces in changing cultural landscapes across Europe
Cultural landscapes evolve over time. However, the rate and direction of change might not be in line with societal needs and more information on the forces driving these changes are therefore needed.
-
Article
Long-term change in drivers of forest cover expansion: an analysis for Switzerland (1850-2000)
The spatial distribution of forests in Europe represents the legacy of centuries of human land use decisions. Due to the limited availability of historical data, most studies on forest cover change focus only ...
-
Article
Persistence in cultural landscapes: a pan-European analysis
Persistence in landscapes is determined by land cover types that remain unchanged over a certain period of time. Map** and analyzing landscape persistence brings a new view to landscape-ecological research. ...
-
Article
Change and persistence: exploring the driving forces of long-term forest cover dynamics in the Swiss lowlands
By the end of the twentieth century, the forest cover over most of Europe had stabilized or was increasing after many decades of decline. Persistence and change in forest cover are driven by complex human–envi...
-
Article
A farmland biodiversity strategy is needed for China
Nationwide citizen science data show the importance of farmland outside protected areas for China’s avifauna. We urge the government of China to develop a national strategy for policy and research to protect b...
-
Article
Open AccessRestoring steppe landscapes: patterns, drivers and implications in Russia’s steppes
Agricultural land abandonment across the steppe belt of Eurasia has provided an opportunity for the restoration of steppe landscapes in recent decades. However, global food demands are about to revert this tra...
-
Article
Open AccessLandscape ecology reaching out
-
Article
Open AccessUsing a landscape ecological perspective to analyze regime shifts in social–ecological systems: a case study on grassland degradation of the Tibetan Plateau
Landscape ecology thinking and social–ecological system (SES) thinking investigate human–environment relationships from the perspective of ‘space’ and ‘system’, respectively. To date, empirical landscape ecolo...
-
Article
Open AccessHow to consider history in landscape ecology: patterns, processes, and pathways
Landscape ecology early on developed the awareness that central objects of investigation are not stable over time and therefore the historical dimension must be included, or at least considered.
-
Article
Exploring the common ground of landscape ecology and landscape archaeology through a case study from eastern Anatolia, Turkey
Landscape archaeology has a lot to offer to landscape ecology, being an interdisciplinary approach that emphasizes the study of long-term human–environment dynamics.
-
Article
Open AccessAn approach for comparing agricultural development to societal visions
There is broad agreement that agriculture has to become more sustainable in order to provide enough affordable, healthy food at minimal environmental and social costs. But what is “more sustainable”? More ofte...
-
Article
Open AccessFarmer surveys in Europe suggest that specialized, intensive farms were more likely to perceive negative impacts from COVID-19
It has been shown that the COVID-19 pandemic affected some agricultural systems more than others, and even within geographic regions, not all farms were affected to the same extent. To build resilience of agri...
-
Article
Open AccessWhy has farming in Europe changed? A farmers’ perspective on the development since the 1960s
Farming in Europe has been the scene of several important socio-economic and environmental developments and crises throughout the last century. Therefore, an understanding of the historical driving forces of f...
-
Article
Open AccessAgricultural technology as a driver of sustainable intensification: insights from the diffusion and focus of patents
Sustainable intensification (SI) responds to the concurrent challenges of increasing food production while reducing the environmental impacts of agriculture. As an early disclosure of innovation, patents are a...
-
Article
Open AccessChanges in grassland cover in Europe from 1990 to 2018: trajectories and spatial patterns
Grasslands are one of the most widespread terrestrial biomes. In Europe, the majority of grasslands depends on human management, and as a result, grassland areas are facing different dynamics and transitions t...