Landscape-level disgnosis of ecological consequences of land abandonment in an uplands district (Hermillon, Savoie, France)

Abstract ; Many upland villages today are faced with a rapid afforestation of former fields and pastureland. This phenomenon leads to various problems concerning biological conservation and environmental quality. This paper presents a landscape-scale method for diagnosing biological richness and above all its evolution in this context of afforestation. Three approaches are used ; a naturalist approach to determine the actual potential biological richness (in terms of both species richness and species quality), a spatial approach to describe and assess landscape dynamics, and a social approach to understand how inhabitants feel about their local landscape and the changes affecting it. This method was applied to the district of Hermillon, Savoie (France). The results show that efficient land management aimed at limiting the negative effects of afforestation should be considered in a practical way while combining biological conservation and environmental quality.Delcros Philippe, Piedallu Christian, Brun Jean-Jacques, Vanpeene Sylvie. Landscape-level disgnosis of ecological consequences of land abandonment in an uplands district (Hermillon, Savoie, France). In: Revue de géographie alpine, tome 93, n°3, 2005. Mélanges 2005. pp. 95-108