Giampaolo Cocca

Livestock systems and farming styles in Eastern Italian Alps: an on-farm survey

Abstract This research aimed to study the relationships between livestock systems, landscape maintenance and farming styles in the Belluno Province, a mountainous area of the Eastern Italian Alps. A total of 65 farms were sampled on the basis of livestock category farmed and herd size. Farms were visited to collect information on technical and productive aspects, on landscape features of land managed, which was identified by aerial photographs and digitised in a GIS environment, and on the farmers’ background, attitudes and approach to farming. Six different livestock systems were identified: intensive beef cattle (2 farms); extensive beef cattle (12 farms); large sheep/goat farms (9 farms); small sheep/goat farms (6 farms); intensive dairy cattle (14 farms) and extensive dairy cattle (22 farms). The intensive systems had larger herds, modern structures and equipment, and were strongly production oriented, whereas the extensive systems had smaller herds and productivity, with often traditional or obsolete structures and equipment, but showed a tendency to diversify production by means of on-farm cheese making and/or mixed farming of different livestock categories. The ability to maintain meadows and pastures was greater for the extensive systems, especially in steep areas, while the annual nitrogen output, estimated as kg N/ha, was lower. Data on the farmers’ background and attitudes were analysed with a non-hierarchical cluster procedure that clustered the farmers into 4 farming styles widely different in motivations to farming, innovative capability, and ability to diversify income sources and ensure farm economic viability. The farming styles were distributed across all livestock systems, indicating the lack of a linkage between the assignment of a farm to a livestock system and the way the farm is managed. This study demonstrates that in mountain areas variability of livestock systems may be high, and that they differ not only in production practices but also in the ability to maintain landscape, which is generally higher in the extensive or even marginal systems. Within a given livestock system, farms may be managed with different styles, which implies that informative knowledge to address policy decisions needs to integrate the definition of livestock systems with the assessment of farming styles.

Wild boar (Sus scrofa) damages to mountain grassland. A case study in the Belluno province, eastern Italian Alps

Abstract Five alpine pastures (34±14ha) of the Belluno province, patchily damaged by wild boar, were chosen to investigate on main environmental parameters that might influence the rooting sites selection. Eighty damage sites were examined. For each damage surrounding type of grassland and distance from woodland were recorded and mapped using a G.I.S. software. Proportional availability (% of total pasture surface) of grassland types (rough grass, rich grass, degraded, shrubs and trees) and classes of distance from woodland (<30m, 30-60m, 60-120m, >120m), and the respective use (% of total damage events) were estimated and compared with Chi-square test. A selection index was calculated as use/availability and Bonferroni confidence intervals (95%) were used to test significance. Degraded pastures and areas closer to woodland blocks were preferred. A vegetational analysis inside and outside the damaged areas showed a reduction in frequency of species producing bulbs and rhizomes, and in Poaceae as respect to other families of lower forage value. Future studies should investigate the role of different root forms, and invertebrate richness, on rooting site selection. Longer term studies are also needed to better define the evolution of pasture botanical composition of damaged areas.

An analysis of roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) traffic collisions in the Belluno province, eastern Italian Alps

Abstract Data of roe deer traffic collisions from 1989 to 2004 in the Belluno province were analyzed to describe patterns of road kills by zone, season and sex and to compare resulting annual trends and sex ratios with those estimated for roe deer population. The province was divided in 2 districts on the base of differences in climate, landscape and roe deer population status. Pearson’s simple correlation was used to investigate the associations, in the two districts, among road kills data, year, population density, traffic index, and snow depth. Bonferroni’s confidential intervals to 95% of significance were used to compare the monthly distributions of collisions between sexes and between districts. In conclusion, the analysis of car accidents may not reflect population trends and sex ratios when traffic rates change and when different ecological factors, others from deer density, influence the probability of deer to incur in a car accident. In addition, differences of accident probability between sexes and months can be found in areas with different landscapes, climates and population structures. These factors should be evaluated in order to manage accident risk and to understand the potential of car accidents records as a tool for monitoring population status.

Factors Influencing Summer Farms Management in the Alps

We investigated the recent evolution and the present status of summer farms in the Veneto region, northeastern Italian Alps. This study area has experienced the abandonment and intensification in livestock farming that has been typical in the European mountains. An on-farm survey was conducted at 484 active units. Data were collected concerning farm structure and technology, herd composition and management, and the environmental and managerial practices. A clustering approach, based on structural and technical features, divided the summer farms into two clusters. One cluster included 189 units that were mostly owned by municipalities and other public institutions. These units contained renovated structures and modern equipment. The other cluster included 295 summer farms that were mostly privately owned and often contained obsolete structures and equipment. Herd composition and management practices were more intensive in the public cluster, while the environmental and management features of the pastures differed only marginally. Socio-economic viability, as estimated with a multicriteria approach, was higher for public summer farms. Our results indicate that the type of ownership is the main factor in the recent evolution and the present status of summer farm. The traditional, strict link between the management of summer farms and the optimal conservation of their pastures has been disrupted. These findings must be considered to devise effective agricultural and environmental policies in mountainous areas.

Relationships between livestock production systems and landscape changes in the Belluno province

Riassunto Relazioni tra sistemi zootecnici e cambiamenti del paesaggio nella provincia di Belluno. Sono stati studiati i cambiamenti del paesaggio in tre zone della provincia di Belluno: Ampezzano, Comelico e Valbelluna, per un totale di 32 comuni. La variazione delle aree aperte (coltivi, prati e pascoli) e di quelle boschive è stata ricavata cartograficamente da database del 1980 e del 2000. Per ogni comune interessato dall’indagine sono stati inoltre ottenuti da censimenti i dati relativi a variabili sulla popolazione, la numerosità e le caratteristiche delle aziende agricole e zootecniche. I dati sono stati elaborati con analisi di regressione stepwise. La diminuzione delle aree aperte risulta rallentata dalla presenza di allevamenti bovini da latte, che stanno però perdendo tale ruolo per la tendenza all’intensivizzazione, e dall’aumento delle seconde case, parametri che limitano anche l’aumento del bosco. La tutela delle aziende zootecniche tradizionali e la promozione della vocazione turistica di queste aree sono quindi fattori in grado di limitare l’avanzata dei boschi nelle montagne bellunesi.

Relationships between stocking rate, livestock production systems and Alpine grasslands management

Abstract This study was conducted in order to identify the relationships between stocking rate, management system, topographic conditions and weed encroachment of summer pastures in “Lessinia”, a pre-Alpine area in the Veneto region (North-Eastern Italy). Using the data from a field survey on 46 summer pastures (30 with dairy cows and 16 with other bovine categories), various ANOVA/ANCOVA models were used to test the effects on stocking rate of livestock category, supplementary concentrate feeding, and pasture weed encroachment, slope and elevation. Stocking rate was higher in summer pastures with dairy cows than in those with other bovine categories, and in pastures with moderate slopes than in those with higher ones, but was unaffected by supplementary concentrate feeding, altitude and weed encroachment. This indicates that in the considered areas stocking rate is not constrained by pasture productivity and is kept at sub-optimal levels. Future research is needed to make more clear the effects that the present management status may have on the evolution of pastures productivity and biodiversity value.

The alpine summer pastures in the Veneto Region: management systems

Abstract The aim of this study was to identify the management systems of the alpine summer pastures of the Veneto region and their geographical distribution, by means of detailed questionnaires on 417 holdings. A non-hierarchical cluster analysis identified 5 different management systems: 1: milk and cheese production, 2: milk and cheese with agritourism, 3: milk without cheese, 4: disadvantaged holdings with prevalence of sheep and goats; 5: holdings with dry and replacement cows. The different groups showed also a clear tendency to concentrate spatially in different portions of the study area. Regional policies should consider this variability to better sustain the alpine summer pasture management systems.