title: Transition from traditional to modern forest management shaped the spatial extent of cattle pasturing in Białowieża Primeval Forest in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
abstract: Pasturing of livestock in forests has had profound consequences for Europe's landscapes. In Białowieża Primeval Forest (BPF), cattle pasturing was a part of traditional forest use that ceased only in the second half of the twentieth century. We collected information on the institutional changes governing forest cattle pasturing and the changes in spatial extent of cattle presence in BPF in last two centuries and information on cattle numbers and their impact on forest regeneration. The spatial extent of cattle pasturing was highly variable, with the distribution of grazing areas frequently changing. Forest near villages (constituting less than 10 % of the area) was most often used for cattle grazing during continued longer time periods. Historical data showed that cattle have had a clear impact on forest regeneration. However, the frequent changes that occurred in the extent of cattle grazing indicate that their impact occurred locally, was smaller in other less intensively used areas, and in the forest as a whole.
authors.affiliation: Mammal Research Institute, Polish Academy of Sciences, ul. Waszkiewicza 1c, 17-230, Białowieża, Poland. samojlik@ibs.bialowieza.pl.
authors.forename: Tomasz
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Samojlik
authors.affiliation: Institute for the History of Science and Technology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Universitetskaya nab. 5, St. Petersburg, Russia, 199034.
authors.forename: Anastasia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fedotova
authors.affiliation: Mammal Research Institute, Polish Academy of Sciences, ul. Waszkiewicza 1c, 17-230, Białowieża, Poland.
authors.forename: Dries P J
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Kuijper
mesh_terms: D000822:Animal Husbandry / Q000266:history / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000639:trends; D000818:Animals; D044822:Biodiversity; D002417:Cattle; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources / Q000266:history / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends; D000071278:Domestication; D016468:Forestry / Q000266:history / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000639:trends; D065928:Forests; D060434:Herbivory; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D011044:Poland; D002094:Republic of Belarus; D014197:Trees / Q000145:classification / Q000254:growth & development
keywords: Environmental history; Forest management; Forest regeneration; Historical ecology; Livestock impact; Wood pasture