Forschungsbericht FZKA-BWPLUS Waldzunahme versus Offenhaltung der Landschaft in Baden-Württemberg Abschlussbericht von Claudia Bieling, Franz Höchtl, Werner Konold Institut für Landespflege Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg i. Br. Förderkennzeichen: BWR 24015 Band 2: Materialband Die Arbeiten des Programms Lebensgrundlage Umwelt und ihre Sicherung werden mit Mitteln des Landes Baden-Württemberg gefördert November 2008 Materialband - Übersicht Veröffentlichungen Eingereichte Veröffentlichungen, Veröffentlichungen in Druck Im Rahmen des Projekts erstellte separate Berichte und Studien Landnutzungskarten der Untersuchungsgemeinden im Vergleich der Jahre 1965 und 2005 Fragebogen und Auswertung der standardisierten Befragung Fallbeispiele zu organisatorisch-administrativen Problemen im Zusammenhang mit der Offenhaltung Datenblätter zur Einschätzung der künftigen Wald-Offenland-Entwicklung in den Naturräumen Veröffentlichungen Bieling, C. & Höchtl, F. (2006): Politische Ökologie: ein theoretisch-konzeptioneller Rahmen für Forschungsarbeiten im Bereich der Landespflege und Regionalentwicklung. Natur und Landschaft 81 (11): 542-546. Bieling, C. & Höchtl, F. (2007): Waldzunahme versus Offenhaltung der Landschaft in Baden- Württemberg: Raum-Zeit-Prozesse, ökologische Auswirkungen, politische Lösungsansätze. In: Burkart, B. & Konold, W. (Hrsg.): Raum-Zeit-Probleme in der Kulturlandschaft. Culterra 51, Schriftenreihe des Instituts für Landespflege der Albert- Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg. Freiburg: 39-47. Bieling, C. (2007a): Behindert die Förderung der Erstaufforstung die Offenhaltung der Landschaft? Das Beispiel Baden-Württemberg. Naturschutz und Landschaftsplanung 39 (9): 273-280. Bieling, C. (2007b): Was einem mit einer schönen Wiese so alles blühen kann: Vertragsnaturschutz in der Praxis - eine Posse in vier Akten. Naturschutz und Landschaftsplanung 39 (6): 190-191. Höchtl, F., Rusdea, E., Schaich, H., Wattendorf, P., Bieling, C., Reeg, T. & Konold, W. (2007): Building bridges, crossing borders: integrative approaches to rural landscape management in Europe. Norsk Geografisk Tidsskrift - Norwegian Journal of Geography 61 (4): 157-169. Brandt, E., Heck, A. & Bieling, C. (2008): Rechtliche Handlungsmöglichkeiten zur Offenhaltung der Landschaft, Teil A: Rechtliche Handlungsmöglichkeiten. Natur und Recht 30 (10): 673-679. Bieling, C., Konold, W., Heck, A. & Höchtl, F. (2008): Rechtliche Handlungsmöglichkeiten zur Offenhaltung der Landschaft, Teil B: Praxisleitfaden für die Beurteilung einer „erheblichen Beeinträchtigung des Landschaftsbilds“ durch Erstaufforstungen. Natur und Recht 30 (10): 679-684. Eingereichte Veröffentlichungen, Veröffentlichungen in Druck Bieling, C., Allgaier, M. & Höchtl, F. (2007): Beyond agricultural production: Forest expansion and the preservation of open landscapes in marginal areas. A case study from the Black Forest, Germany. Eingereicht bei Outlook on Agriculture. Bieling, C. (2008): Landschaftserhaltung durch Tourismus - Chance oder Utopie? Eingereicht bei Natur und Landschaft, mit Überarbeitungen akzeptiert. Beyond agricultural production: Forest expansion and the preservation of open landscapes in marginal areas A case study from the Black Forest, Germany Dr. Claudia Bieling Michaela Allgaier Dr. Franz Höchtl All authors are researchers at the Institute of Landscape Management of the Albert-Ludwigs- University of Freiburg, Germany. Claudia Bieling and Franz Höchtl hold a postdoc position, Michaela Allgaier did her diplom thesis with the institute. Claudia Bieling is corresponding author and can be contacted as follows: Institute of Landscape Management Albert-Ludwigs-University Tennenbacher Str. 4 D - 79106 Freiburg Germany Tel.: ++49/(0)761/203-3818 Fax: ++49/(0)761/203-3638 E-Mail: [email protected] Beyond agricultural production: Forest expansion and the preservation of open landscapes in marginal areas Beyond agricultural production: Forest expansion and the preservation of open landscapes in marginal areas A case study from the Black Forest, Germany Abstract In marginal areas throughout Europe, forests are expanding at the expense of agricultural land. Various incentives in the respective regions try to foster agriculture mainly for their effects on scenery and nature conservation, resulting in the aim to maintain an open landscape. This article presents insights from a case study in southwest Germany, containing an analysis of the current use of grassland as well as the circumstances, preferences and opinions of landowners in the region, in order to explore possible strategies for the promotion of open landscapes. The results highlighted the need for an interdisciplinary approach, focusing on decision making by land users and its corresponding spatial effects. Keywords Abandonment of agriculture, afforestation, natural succession, land use change, sustainable regional development, interdisciplinarity 1 Beyond agricultural production: Forest expansion and the preservation of open landscapes in marginal areas Agricultural abandonment and the trend towards forest expansion Europe’s marginal areas have been subject to massive land use change over the last number of decades. Whilst agricultural land and grassland are diminishing, forest is on the increase, partly due to natural succession, and partly as a result of active afforestation. Examples of this process have been documented all across Europe (e.g. Piussi, 2000; Kozak, 2003; Bender et al, 2005; Roura-Pascual et al; 2005; Tasser et al, 2007). Forest expansion is mainly an effect of the abandonment of agriculture (Baldock et al, 1996; MacDonald et al, 2000). The abandonment of entire farms, and a cessation of full-time farming in favour of part-time, has brought about a concentration on the use of profit-yielding areas which can be handled by machine. Abandonment has been most pronounced in areas where the terrain is steep. Labour-intensive practices such as manual haymaking and small- scale dairy farming are also in decline. In addition to the changes observed in the agriculture sector in the past few years, a greater interest in forest products (including for the purposes of energy production) is evident. While forest expansion may be perceived as simply the logical and necessary adjustment to agri-structural and economic processes, it must also be recognised that it often poses numerous problems particularly for marginal areas (Watkins, 1993; Tyrväinen and Tahvanainen, 2000; Höchtl et al, 2005). From the point of view of nature conservation, the loss of semi-open and open landscapes is lamentable, as the land abandoned is typically especially valuable, species-rich land, predominantly on slopes and marginal sites. The expanding forest often grows over old elements of the cultural landscape such as stone walls, diminishing their function as archives of cultural heritage. Changes to the mosaic of forest and open land can result in a loss of the landscape character deemed typical of the region by both local residents and visitors. The recreational value of the landscape is negatively affected 2 Beyond agricultural production: Forest expansion and the preservation of open landscapes in marginal areas by the loss of scenic views. Afforestation can also change the local climate, for example, by altering airflows. In many regions of southern Europe forests are rare and afforestation is often beneficial. In rural central and northern Europe, however, most of the marginal areas are dominated by forests already, and the effects of further forest expansion are predominantly negative. This is supported by MacDonald et al (2000) who stated on the basis of an analysis of 24 case studies from all over Europe that the negative ecological consequences of land abandonment are especially pronounced in those areas where the proportion of agricultural land is relatively low. The issue forest expansion, and the maintenance of an open landscape by fostering agriculture for reasons of scenery and nature conservation, is embedded in the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) of the European Union. Two different policy lines converge in the CAP and, due to the lack of a clear spatial distinction, from a local point of view often conflict. While on the one hand there are grants to promote afforestation, for example, to diversify incomes from agriculture, at the same time and for the same regions policy for Less Favoured Areas (LFA) and agri-environmental schemes address the continued agricultural use of marginal sites (Bieling, 2007). This article documents a case study from the Black Forest in southwest Germany (Allgaier, 2006), where ongoing forest expansion is deemed a central problem impacting on many aspects of sustainable regional development. It contains an analysis of the current use of grassland as well as the circumstances, preferences and opinions of landowners in the region, in order to explore possible strategies for the promotion of open landscapes. The results of the study are finally discussed in the context of methodological aspects, taking into account the underlying hypothesis that forest expansion has to be analysed as a complex phenomenon 3 Beyond agricultural production: Forest expansion and the preservation of open landscapes in marginal areas stemming both form natural and socio-economic as well as psychological characteristics and processes.1 Simonswald – location of the case study in the Black Forest (Germany) The community of Simonswald (48° 6′ N, 8° 3′ E) is located in a steep valley in the centre of the Black Forest.