(Agri)cultural landscapeStrategies for the cultural landscape of the future

Since thousands of years the cultural landscape in mountain regions has been formed by human land use. An intact landscape not only has an aesthetic value, it also increases the quality of life for the local population and the attractiveness as a holiday destination. Furthermore, it provides essential ecosystem services for the society like soil protection, preservation of biodiversity and allocation of clean water.

?Which historical processes had an effect on the

landscape? – How can we influence the future

appearance of a landscape?

Which kind of landscape do different parts of the

society require?How can individual farming strategies be harmonized

with the expectations of the society?

ObjectivesLandscape is subject to a dynamic process of permanent change. Basically, it can be seen as a product of nature and the result of human activities. As the socio-economic parameters of human life have changed dramatically within the last 150 years we assume a major change of land use as well. Most responsible for land use and landscape and at the same time undergoing the most dramatic economic change is the agricultural sector. The opening of markets for agricultural commodities led to an intensification of favourable agricultural land and to an extensification and abandonment of unfavourable areas. Due to slowly proceeding succession processes in the cultural landscape the extent of the consequences will, however, be observable after many decades at the earliest. Therefore, the project aims at answering the following questions:

Research issuesIntegrated studies are being conducted by a multidisciplinary team at transnational level. Landscape desired by the society • Survey with comparison of historical, recent and potential future

landscape images; target groups: local population and tourists in project area

• Focus groups with farmers in order to identify strategies for future farm management

Dynamics of the cultural landscape• Analysis of landscape development within selected project areas

during the last 150 years• Additional analysis of agro-structural development for all

municipalities in project area• Evaluation of consequences for ecosystem servicesDevelopment scenarios and basis for decision-making• 15-20 expert interviews• Derivation of future trends → development of future scenarios• Result presentation and discussion in local workshops • Development of methods for achievement of desired landscape

Expected results• Basis of decision-making for government and administration• Transnational didactics tool for secondary schools: “Tyrolean

cultural landscape in space and time”• “Day of the landscape development” incl. travelling exhibition and

discussion of results in project areas• Open-source documentation comprising images, texts and maps

Project areas

Landscape changes in the Stubaital (Tyrol)

For more information: http://kulawi.eurac.edu/

Lead partner: Accademia Europea Bolzano; Istituto per l'Ambiente Alpino / Europäische Akademie Bozen; Institut für Alpine UmweltAmt der Tiroler Landesregierung; Gruppe AgrarProvincia Autonoma di Bolzano-Alto Adige; Ripartizione Agricoltura, Ripartizione Foreste, Archivio Provinciale di Bolzano / Autonome Provinz Bozen-Südtirol; Abteilung Landwirtschaft, Abteilung Forstwirtschaft, Südtiroler Landesarchiv (SLA)Ländliches Fortbildungsinstitut Tirol (LFI)Istituto Pedagogico per il gruppo linguistico tedesco / Pädagogisches Institut für die deutsche SprachgruppeTiroler Landesmuseen-Betriebsgesellschaft m.b.H.Universität Innsbruck, Institut für Ökologie, Institut für Soziologie, Institut für Geschichtswissenschaften und Europäische Ethnologie

Kaplenig, R., Meixner, W., Pecher, C., Schermer, M., Siegl, G., Tappeiner, U., Tasser, E., Teutsch, A.

Project partners

Study sites

contact: gerhard.siegl@uibk.ac.at