title: Reviving wood-pastures for biodiversity and people: A case study from western Estonia.
abstract: Wood-pastures are associated with high cultural and biodiversity values in Europe. However, due to their relatively low productivity, large areas of wood-pastures have been lost over the last century. In some areas, incentive schemes have been developed to revive wood-pastures. We investigated the effects of one such scheme in western Estonia. We compared the structure of grazed wood-pastures (old and restored) to those of abandoned wood-pastures and ungrazed forest stands to explore the effects of management, and conducted interviews with 24 farmers to investigate their motivations to carry out the management. We found a positive influence of active management on the semi-open structure of wood-pastures. Financial support was vital for management, but personal values related to tradition also played an important role. The interviewees differed widely in their range of motivations, suggesting that other strategies in addition to financial incentives would further improve the management of wood-pastures in the region.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Sustainability, Institute of Ecology, Leuphana University Lueneburg, Rotenbleicher Weg 67, RW017, 21335, Lueneburg, Germany. roellig@leuphana.de.
authors.forename: Marlene
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Roellig
authors.affiliation: Plant Ecology and Ecosystem Research, Georg-August University Göttingen, Untere Karspüle 2, 37073, Göttingen, Germany. sutcliffe.laura@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Laura M E
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Sutcliffe
authors.affiliation: Chair of Natural Resources, Department of Zoology, Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, Tartu University, Vanemuise 46, 51014, Tartu, Estonia. marek.sammul@ut.ee.
authors.forename: Marek
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sammul
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Sustainability, Institute of Ecology, Leuphana University Lueneburg, Rotenbleicher Weg 67, RW017, 21335, Lueneburg, Germany. Henrik.von_Wehrden@leuphana.de.|Center for Methods, Leuphana University Lueneburg, Scharnhorststr. 1, C04.003a, 21335, Lueneburg, Germany. Henrik.von_Wehrden@leuphana.de.|Research Institute of Wildlife Ecology, Savoyen Strasse 1, 1160, Vienna, Austria. Henrik.von_Wehrden@leuphana.de.
authors.forename: Henrik
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: von Wehrden
authors.affiliation: Research Group Governance, Participation and Sustainability, Faculty of Sustainability, Leuphana University Lueneburg, Scharnhorststr. 1, C11.105, 21335, Lueneburg, Germany. jens.newig@leuphana.de.
authors.forename: Jens
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Newig
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Sustainability, Institute of Ecology, Leuphana University Lueneburg, Rotenbleicher Weg 67, RW017, 21335, Lueneburg, Germany. Joern.fischer@leuphana.de.
authors.forename: Joern
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fischer
mesh_terms: D000383:Agriculture; D044822:Biodiversity; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources / Q000379:methods*; D004957:Estonia; D065928:Forests; D065948:Grassland
keywords: Agri-environment schemes; Agroforestry; Farmer motivations; Restoration; Semi-natural habitats; Silvopastoral systems; Social–ecological systems