Mountain wood-pastures and forest cover loss in Romania

Currently, land cover changes occur in wood-pastures all over Europe driven by abandonment of traditional farming, as well as by management and policy changes. Based on reviewing of official documents, semi-structured interviews and one case study we examined how policies and governance settings for mountain wood-pastures have led to forest cover loss in Romania. In general, wood-pastures are formal agricultural land-use areas subjected to both agriculture and forest policies. A dense tree cover and less strict forestry rules than those for formal forests contributed to the increased vulnerability of mountain wood-pastures towards tree cover loss. Additionally, under the European agricultural regulations, areas covered by trees and shrubs are not subsidized, likely leading to tree cover loss resulting from the clearing of these areas. This paper contributes to the larger discussion about widespread post-communist land cover changes in Europe, by emphasizing the magnitude of this phenomenon in mountain wood-pastures in Romania.

当前，欧洲全境的疏林牧场（wood-pastures）正经历土地覆被变化，其驱动因素包括传统农业的撂荒，以及管理与政策变革。本研究通过梳理官方文献、开展半结构化访谈及选取单个案例，探究了罗马尼亚山地疏林牧场的政策与治理框架如何引发森林覆被流失。总体而言，疏林牧场是兼具农业与林业政策约束的法定农业用地类型。相较于正规林地，疏林牧场拥有更茂密的林木覆被，且林业管理规则更为宽松，这加剧了山地疏林牧场发生林木覆被流失的风险。此外，根据欧盟农业法规，林木与灌木覆盖区域无法获得补贴，这可能促使相关主体清理此类区域，进而引发林木覆被流失。本研究通过强调罗马尼亚山地疏林牧场中该现象的严重程度，为欧洲范围内后共产主义时期普遍存在的土地覆被变化相关的广泛学术讨论提供了补充视角。