Impact of land use changes on ecosystem services provision in grasslands: a case study from Slovakia.
Špulerová J, Melicher J, David S
Native Plants
The wildflower meadows and pastures that once bordered mountain villages across Central Europe are quietly disappearing, taking with them the pollinators, biodiversity, and scenic landscapes that make those regions worth visiting—and the same pressures are reshaping rural land near you.
Researchers tracked how land use changed across a river valley in northern Slovakia over 20 years and measured how well the landscape supported things like wildlife habitat, pollination, and scenic beauty. They found that old-fashioned, low-intensity farming—cutting hay and light grazing—kept grasslands doing the most good for nature and people. But when farming stopped or land got built over, those benefits quietly faded away.
Key Findings
Grassland cover declined from 25.8% to 23.5% of the study area between 2001 and 2022, driven mainly by land abandonment, settlement expansion, and recreational development.
Extensively managed hay meadows, mesophilic pastures, and Nardus grasslands scored highest on multifunctional value, supporting biomass production, biodiversity, pollination, and cultural/recreational services simultaneously.
The largest land-cover gains were in shrubland and built-up areas, indicating progressive rural restructuring that fragments habitat and weakens long-term ecosystem service capacity.
chevron_right Technical Summary
A study of a Slovak river basin found that traditional extensively managed grasslands—like hay meadows and species-rich pastures—deliver far more ecological value than abandoned or developed land, but these grasslands shrank by about 2% over two decades as land was abandoned or built upon.
Abstract Preview
Grasslands play a key role in biomass production and provide multiple ecosystem services. This study examines how land-use changes between 2001 and 2022 have affected the provision of ecosystem ser...
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Nardus is a genus of plants belonging to the grass family, containing the single species Nardus stricta, known as matgrass. It is placed in its own tribe Nardeae within the subfamily Pooideae. The name derives from ancient Greek nardos from the earlier Akkadian lardu. It is not to be confused wit...