Effects of organic and conventional farming practice on non-agrarian land use in Austria's mountainous grasslands


	Effects of organic and conventional farming practice on non-agrarian land use in Austria's mountainous grasslands Julia Neuwirth,Hans-Karl Wytrzens,Josef Hambrusch [History] Paper presented at the European Society for Rural Sociology, 20th Biennial Conference, Sligo, Ireland, 19-22 August 2003 January 2004 [PDF (1323.3kb)] Whereas in the past Austria's mountainous grassland was used predominantly by agriculture for primary production, nowadays it fulfils society's demands for additional functions, such as conservation and protection of nature, landscape, water resources as well as of hunters' or tourists' interests. Is organic or conventional farming the more suitable way to satisfy these multifarious social claims? - this is the main point the paper deals with. The study is based on interviews with 250 livestock-farmers from three Austrian federal states in 1998, 2000 and 2001. These surveys provided data on management practises of 919 pastures and meadows. Complementary information on non-agricultural uses was derived from land use plans. Statistical methods were used to examine influences of management practices on non-agrarian land use. To avoid interfering effects, both topography and the degree of development (lot infrastructure and shape) were excluded. Organic and conventional farmed grasslands differ in fertilizer and pesticide application. Minor inputs of mineral fertilizers and total renunciation of pesticides on organically farmed grasslands correlate positively with spatial-structural secondary uses, nature conservation and touristic concerns as well as with danger zones and safety areas. Non-agrarian uses increase with decreasing intensity of grassland management. But conventionally managed feedlots and hayfields also contribute to multifunctionality: they correlate with hunting interests and their reduced use of organic fertilizers aids nature conservation. Thus grassland management measures are important for non-agricultural uses. But also natural conditions, such as shape, altitude etc., affect both intensity of management and non-agricultural uses. This is why conventional farming is also able to perform multifunctional services. Therefore we concluded that the way of managing is only one of many determining factors for multifunctionality of mountainous grasslands in Austria.


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