•Sociocultural and economic valuation of ecosystem services from Alpine agroecosystems.•Agricultural landscape, biodiversity, water quality and quality products valued across scenarios.•Water quality ...constitutes a key ecosystem services showing a linear pattern across scenarios.•People are willing to compromise on number of quality products, but not on other ecosystem services.•Intensification/abandonment trends are clearly rejected by the public.
The aim of the study was to analyse, using the ecosystem services framework, the sociocultural and economic value of a number of positive functions of Alpine agroecosystems (in north-eastern Italy) in a context of simultaneous processes of intensification and abandonment. Firstly, we used qualitative methods (interviews with farmers and other local stakeholders) to explore the relationships between the dairy livestock systems and the environment. Secondly, we used a choice model to rank and value the most important functions of the current agroecosystems (dairy livestock systems and permanent crops) according to the views of local (residents of the study area) and general (residents of the six neighbouring provinces) populations in three policy scenarios. We found that all the local stakeholders had a positive opinion of the outcomes of the mountain dairy livestock system. Within the current agroecosystems, regulation services (water quality) were found to be the most valuable for the well-being of society. Moreover, people were willing to compromise on production (quality products) rather than cut back on environmental services in a hypothetical sustainable development scenario. The current trend of intensification of permanent crops and dairy production, with the consequent abandonment of summer pastures, was rejected by respondents. The Total Economic Value of a set of four ecosystem services of an Alpine agroecosystem was €159.30 per person per year, which clearly exceeded current expenditure on agroenvironmental programmes.
This paper aims to classify the dairy systems of an Alpine area (Trento Province, Italy) and compare them in terms of productivity, milk destination, maintenance of livestock biodiversity, land ...management, and landscape conservation. A sample of 610 dairy farms was surveyed, and data on their structural and management features were collected. Four different farming systems were identified through a non-hierarchical cluster approach: “Original Traditional” (lactating cows that are moved to highland pastures during summer), “Traditional without summer pastures”, “Traditional with silages”, and “Modern”. “Modern” farms accounted for about one fifth of the total and were characterized by the presence of recent buildings with free animals and milking parlors, large herd sizes and high levels of milk production. The feeding strategy on modern farms consisted of total mixed rations based on silage, and Holstein Friesian was the main breed, whereas local and dual-purpose breeds were rare. “Original Traditional” farms were characterized by the presence of old buildings containing tied animals. These farms were small to medium and consisted of Brown Swiss and local breeds such as Rendena and Alpine Grey, which used mainly local forages and summer Alpine pastures. The GIS analyses of the utilized agricultural areas of each farm also showed that only traditional, low-input systems are able to maintain the steepest meadows and highland pastures. These systems guarantee a high sustainability in terms of livestock biodiversity, environmental impact (stocking and manure densities), and landscape protection (contrasting re-afforestation and managing Alpine pasture). The main concerns for economic and technical sustainability of traditional dairy farms are low productivity, land fragmentation and agricultural mechanization. The data analyzed also showed the strong link between these systems and the production of high value, Protected Designation of Origin cheeses is fundamental for reducing their economic handicap when compared with intensive farming systems.
We used GPS tracking to monitor the grazing patterns of Brown Swiss and Alpine grey lactating cows on an alpine summer pasture (2038 m a.s.l.; SD = 146) in the Dolomites. The pasture (171 ha) was ...managed with a continuous grazing system (0.52 LU/ha) with morning and evening milking in the barn, guided grazing during the ‘day’, and free grazing at ‘night’. GPS positions were collected from 8 Brown Swiss multiparous and 9 Alpine Grey (4 primiparous and 5 multiparous) cows every two minutes. We inferred behaviours (grazing, resting, walking) from movement metrics, activity sensors and direct behavioural observations. After excluding milking periods, the cows grazed for 8 h/d, rested 10–11 h/d, and walked for 1.5/d. Grazing extended into late evening after milking, and resting prevailed throughout the ‘night’ until the morning milking. When grazing and resting, cows mainly used grasslands as the preferred habitat, but forest and sparse shrub were also used remarkably without consistent negative or positive selection. The pasture use was highly heterogeneous, with higher animal loads close to the barn, especially at night, and in areas with gentler slopes. Alpine Grey primiparous cows were less limited by slope and distance from the barn in their movement but were more selective in habitat use than multiparous cows. Differences between multiparous cows of the two breeds were less marked. Further studies should help understand the internal and external drivers of cattle grazing patterns to devise management practices combining animals’ productivity and welfare with the conservation of the grassland ecosystem services.
The incidence of oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC) has increased in the period from the 1970s to 2004, due to increase of infection with human papilloma virus (HPV). This study aimed to ...examine the role of histogram analysis of the ADC in treatment response and survival prediction of patients with oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma and known human papillomavirus status.
This was a retrospective single-center study. Following inclusion and exclusion criteria, data for 59 patients affected by T2-T4 (according to the 8th edition of the
) oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma were retrieved. Twenty-eight had human papillomavirus-positive oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma, while 31 had human papillomavirus-negative oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma. All patients underwent a pretreatment MR imaging. Histogram analysis of ADC maps obtained by DWI (
= 0-1000 mm/s
) was performed on the central section of all of tumors. The minimum follow-up period was 2 years. Histogram ADC parameters were associated with progression-free survival and overall survival. Univariable and multivariable Cox models were applied to the data;
values were corrected using the Benjamini-Hochberg method.
At univariable analysis, both human papillomavirus status and mean ADC were associated with progression-free survival (hazard ratio = 0.267,
< .05, and hazard ratio = 1.0028,
≤ .05, respectively), while only human papillomavirus status was associated with overall survival (hazard ratio = 0.213,
≤ .05) before correction. At multivariable analysis, no parameter was included (in fact, human papillomavirus status lost significance after correction). If we separated the patients into 2 subgroups according to human papillomavirus status, ADC entropy was associated with overall survival in the human papillomavirus-negative group (hazard ratio = 4.846,
= .01).
ADC and human papillomavirus status are related to progression-free survival in patients treated with chemoradiation for advanced oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma; however, this association seems to result from the strong association between ADC and human papillomavirus status.
Summer transhumance of dairy cows to high Alpine pastures is still practiced in many mountainous areas. It is important for many permanent dairy farms because the use of highland pastures increases ...milk production and high-priced typical local dairy products often boost farm income. As traditional cheese- and ricotta-making procedures in Alpine pastures are central to this dairy system, the objective of this study was to characterize the quality and efficiency of products and their relationships with the quality and availability of grass during the grazing season. The milk from 148 cows from 12 permanent farms reared on a temporary farm located in Alpine pastures was processed every 2wk during the summer (7 cheesemakings from late June to early September). During each processing, 11 dairy products (4 types of milk, 2 by-products, 3 fresh products, and 2 ripened cheeses) were sampled and analyzed. In addition, 8 samples of fresh forage from the pasture used by the cows were collected and analyzed. At the beginning of the pasture season the cows were at 233±90d in milk, 2.4±1.7 parities, and produced 23.6±5.7kg/d of milk. The milk yield decreased with the move from permanent to temporary farms and during the entire summer transhumance, but partly recovered after the cows returned to the permanent farms. Similar trends were observed for the daily yields of fat, protein, casein, lactose, and energy, as we found no large variations in the quality of the milk, with the exception of the first period of Alpine pasture. The somatic cell counts of milk increased during transhumance, but this resulted from a concentration of cells in a lower quantity of milk rather than an increase in the total number of cells ejected daily from the udder. We noted a quadratic trend in availability of forage (fresh and dry matter weight per hectare), with a maximum in late July. The quality of forage also varied during the summer with a worsening of chemical composition. The evening milk (before and after natural creaming), the whole morning milk, and the mixed vat milk had different chemical compositions, traditional coagulation properties, and curd-firming modeling parameters. These variations over the pasture season were similar to the residual variations with respect to chemical composition, and much lower with respect to coagulation and curd-firming traits. Much larger variations were noted in cream, cheese, and ricotta yields, as well as in nutrient recoveries in curd during the pasture season. The protein content of forage was correlated with some of the coagulation and curd-firming traits, the ether extract of forage was positively correlated with milk fat content and cheese yields, and fiber fractions of forage were unfavorably correlated with some of the chemical and technological traits. Traditional cheese- and ricotta-making procedures showed average cream, cheese, and ricotta yields of 6.3, 14.2, and 4.9%, respectively, and an overall recovery of almost 100% of milk fat, 88% of milk protein, and 60% of total milk solids.
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•Grasslands exhibit distinct taxonomic and functional profiles across regions.•Grasslands show consistent taxonomic and functional profiles despite management type.•Regions have a ...core microbiome of Firmicutes, Proteobacteria, and Actinobacteriota.•Soil pH influences microbial variability in taxonomic and functional profiles.•Nitrogen cycling potentials are influenced by region, soil pH, and organic carbon.
Grasslands represent key functional ecosystems due to their global contribution to macronutrients cycling and their role as reservoirs of microbial diversity. The strategic importance of these habitats rests on their involvement in carbon and nitrogen fluxes from the atmosphere to the soil, while at the same time offering extensive sites for livestock rearing. In this study the management type, differentiated in pasture or meadow, was investigated as a variable for its possible effects on overall bacterial diversity and specific genes related to functional guilds. Its contribution was compared to that of other variables such as region, soil pH, and soil organic carbon, to rank their respective hierarchies in shaping microbial community structure. A latitudinal gradient across the European continent was studied, with three sampling groups located in Norway, France, and Northern Italy. The applied methods involved 16S DNA metabarcoding for taxonomic classification and determination of the relative abundance of the bacterial component, and quantitative PCR for the genetic determinants of bacterial and archaeal nitrification, intermediate or terminal denitrification, and nitrogen fixation. Results indicated that soil pH exerted the dominant role, affecting high taxonomy ranks and functions, along with organic carbon and region, with whom it partly covaried. In contrast, management type had no significant influence on microbial community structure and quantitative counts of functional genes. This suggests an ecological equivalence between the impacts of pasture and meadow practices, which are both perturbations that share the aspect of vegetation withdrawal by browsing or cutting, respectively.
This paper explores the social capital of an emergent beef quality brand in two valleys (Ansó and Hecho) in the Spanish Pyrenees through a combination of participatory approaches (focus groups) and ...Social Network Analysis. We organised three focus groups with stakeholders from the administration, tourism and commerce, and farming sectors to evaluate the interest for the initiative. In the Social Network Analysis, we surveyed 32 local stakeholders to construct an advisory network, including the surveyed actors and non-surveyed actors that they mentioned, and a trust network, including only the surveyed actors and their trust level in each other. The trust network was analysed using the Louvain’s algorithm to identify potential internal communities and the exponential random graph model (ERGM) to infer the shaping effects of actors’ attributes on the network’s structure. Our results revealed a general interest of the stakeholders in the beef quality brand and a sparse network characterised by a propensity to mutual and open interactions with four clusters based on employment sectors/educational levels and connected by two prominent actors. Therefore, the social capital of the initiative showed both risks because a loss of these few prominent actors could inhibit the network, and opportunities, because their presence, along with the mutual and open interactions, would ensure efficient information exchange. The investigation revealed also two possible limiting factors: the absence of a coordinator and the actors’ unwillingness to assume this role. The results confirmed the efficacy of the methodology used to investigate the social capital of emergent initiatives, but further research should be carried out including stakeholders’ concerns on its economic implications.HIGHLIGHTS Focus groups and Social Network Analysis allowed to explore the social capital of a beef production quality brand initiative. A sparse network with mutual interactions but few central actors emerged. The absence of a coordinator and unwillingness to cover the role are possible limiting factors.
In this study we analyse the correlation between the spatial positions of Capra ibex (mountain goat) on an hourly basis and the information obtained from vegetation indices extracted from Landsat 8 ...datasets. Eight individuals were tagged with a collar with a GNSS receiver and their position was recorded every hour since the beginning of 2013 till 2014 (still ongoing); a total of 16 Landsat 8 cloud-free datasets overlapped that area during that time period. All images were brought to a reference radiometric level and NDVI was calculated. To assess behaviour of animal movement, NDVI values were extracted at each position (i.e. every hour). A daily "area of influence" was calculated by spatially creating a convex hull perimeter around the 24 points relative to each day, and then applying a 120 m buffer (figure 4). In each buffer a set of 24 points was randomly chosen and NDVI values again extracted. Statistical analysis and significance testing supported the hypothesis of the pseudo-random NDVI values to be have, in average, lower values than the real NDVI values, with a p value of 0.129 for not paired t test and p value of < 0.001 for pairwise t test. This is still a first study which will go more in depth in near future by testing models to see if the animal movements in different periods of the year follow in some way the phenological stage of vegetation. Different aspects have to be accounted for, such as the behaviour of animals when not feeding (e.g. resting) and the statistical significance of daily distributions, which might be improved by analysing broader gaps of time.
Although it has been demonstrated that European roe deer (
Capreolus capreolus
(L. 1758)) may migrate seasonally in areas with snow gradients, this behaviour remains scarcely understood. From 1999 to ...2002, radio-tracking techniques in an Italian alpine area showed that 40% of the 32 monitored roe deer migrated (12.0 ± 6.2 km, mean ± SD) from the high-elevation summer ranges to the low-elevation winter ranges. Proportions of migratory deer were similar for fawns and adults and for males and females. We documented a mixed migration strategy, with most deer migrating once to the winter range in years of heavy snowfalls, but many deer migrating inconsistently or only for a short period to the winter range in one year with very scarce snowfalls. Seasonal home-range sizes were similar for migratory and stationary deer, except in a winter with very shallow snow when migrators used unusually large home ranges. In all seasons, migrators showed a lower within home range site fidelity than did stationary deer. Our results indicate that seasonal migrations may be a common strategy exhibited by roe deer living in mountain areas to avoid deep snow, and that variability in climatic conditions might be responsible for the development of variable spatial strategies.
In the European Alps traditional, low-input dairy farming systems still coexist with modern high-input intensive systems. This study aimed at evaluating the effect of different Alpine farming systems ...on the environmental footprint, production efficiency (gross energy conversion ratio, ECR) and competition between feed and food (potentially human-edible gross energy conversion ratio, HeECR). Data originated from 37 dairy farms located in the Trento province (eastern Italian Alps), from which four dairy systems were derived by performing non-hierarchical cluster analysis based on farm facilities and management features (traditional, either with tie or loose stalls, and intensive, either with or without use of silages, systems). Environmental footprint was computed using a cradle-to-farm gate Life Cycle Assessment model. One kg fat- and protein-corrected Milk (FPCM) and 1 m2 of agricultural land were used as functional units. Global warming (GWP), acidification (AP) and eutrophication (EP) potentials, cumulative energy demand (CED) and land occupation (LO) were included as impact categories. System boundaries included herd and manure management, on-farm feedstuffs production and purchased feedstuffs and materials. Mean impact values per 1 kg FPCM were 1.0 ± 0.3 kg CO2-eq (GWP), 21.1 ± 4.3 g SO2-eq. (AP), 6.3 ± 1.2 g PO4-eq. (EP), 5.0 ± 2.0 MJ (CED), 1.4 ± 0.5 m2/y (LO), whereas per 1 m2 were 0.8 ± 0.3 kg CO2-eq (GWP), 16.3 ± 4.2 g SO2-eq. (AP), 4.9 ± 1.3 g PO4-eq. (EP), 3.8 ± 1.8 MJ (CED). Mean ECR was 5.17 ± 0.89 MJ/MJ, with 88% of gross energy provided by non-human edible feedstuffs. A large variability was found both between and within dairy systems, in terms of environmental footprint and production efficiency. Impact values were slightly greater per unit of product and lower per unit of area in traditional than in intensive farms, although generally without significant differences. Production efficiency of traditional farms was 17% lower in terms of ECR but 59% greater in terms of HeECR, due to a lower proportion of purchased concentrates in animal rations, with a positive contribution to food balance and diet self-sufficiency. These results indicate that the transition from traditional towards intensive systems improved only slightly the environmental footprint of dairy farming, but increased markedly its dependence on external concentrate feeds and the feed-food competition. In perspective, different aspects of mountain dairy systems, such as the conversion into food of human non edible feeds, the low impacts at the local scale, the ability to conserve grasslands under a land-sharing perspective, and in general the associated ecosystem services, should be considered when aiming to improve their environmental sustainability.
•Environmental impact of different mountain dairy systems was studied•Cradle-to-farm gate LCA method with milk- and area-based functional units•Large variability in productive traits and impacts between and within dairy systems•Small differences in environmental impact values among dairy systems•Grassland based farming systems are efficient in avoiding feed-food competition
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