Monitoring mountain summer farming

landscapes in Norway: Temporal and

regional patterns of continued farming,

leisure use, and abandonment

Sebastian Eiter, Norwegian Forest and Landscape Institute

”Global Change and the World’s Mountains” Conference , Perth, 27-30 September 2010

Questions

> What is the ’state of the nation’ in terms of the

agricultural landscape?

> How has landscape changed, how is it changing?

> Why does it change (”driving forces”)?

> How do recent policies work?

> Which new policies might be needed or desirable?

Material available

> Agricultural statistics

> Case studies: numerous, fine-scale, from different

disciplines: archaeology, biology, ethnology, geography,

history, etc.

> National landscape monitoring programme (since 2009)

Recent statistics

> Approx.1200 mountain

summer farms receiving

subsidies for dairy

production in 2008

Farm unit

Single

Cooperative

(Rekdal 2009, Illustration: M. Angeloff)

/

Historical statistics and estimates

?

> Decline of mountain

summer farms with dairy

production

(Rekdal 2009)

Case studies:

Regional differences and changes over time

(Eiter & Potthoff 2007)

Different farmsteads and types of

buildings in west and east

(1960s/70s and 2009/10)

(Fylkeskonservatoren i Hordaland 1979) (Christensen 1981 [1969])

Development I (1960s-2010):

Continued/modernised farming use

?

(Christensen 1981 [1969]) (Christensen 1981 [1969])

Development II (1970s-2009):

Transition towards leisure use

Public tourist cabin Restoration for private use

(Fylkeskonservatoren i Hordaland 1979) (Fylkeskonservatoren i Hordaland 1979)

Development III (1970s-2009):

Abandonment and decay

(Fylkeskonservatoren i Hordaland 1979) (Fylkeskonservatoren i Hordaland 1979)

Database of landscape monitoring

> 5 x 5 km2 nationally

standardised grid net:

c.20,000 cells

> Random selection among grid

cells with buildings for

seasonal farming purpose,

according to the national

register of real estate

Registration criteria

> Farm unit > Organisation

> Infrastructure

> Access: e.g., walking time needed

> Recent use

> Fence

> Curtilage: woodland regrowth

> View

> Photos

> Buildings > Type: people, livestock, milk,

miscellaneous

> Walls: construction, coating, color

> Roof: coating

> Condition

> Visibility

> Photos Photo: Tor Erik Alræk

Results of 2009

Visited:

>41(+2) grid cells

Registered:

>327 seasonally inhabited farm units

>1596 buildings

W E

M

Ca. % E W M

Grid cells 56 28 16

Farm units 50 25 25

Buildings 59 26 15

Regional distribution

/

Regional differences I: Farm units

Accessibility

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

0 min. 1-15 min. 16-30 min. 31-60 min. >60 min.

Walking time from nearest road

% o

f fa

rm u

nit

s

Western Norway

Eastern Norway

Mid-Norway

Woodland regrowth

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

0-5% 5-25% 25-50% 50-75% 75-100%

Share of curtilage regrown

% o

f fa

rm u

nit

sWestern Norway

Eastern Norway

Mid-Norway

Recent use of farm units

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

None

Leisur

e

Milk

ing

Gra

zing

/Mow

ing

Gas

trono

my

Lodg

ing

Mus

eum

Oth

er/unsu

re

% o

f fa

rm u

nit

s

Western Norway

Eastern Norway

Mid-Norway

Regional differences II: Buildings Condition of buildings in Mid-Norway

In good repair

Initial decay

Decay

Ruin

Foundation w alls only

Registered building disappeared

Registered building replaced

Condition of buildings in Western Norway

In good repair

Initial decay

Decay

Ruin

Foundation walls only

Registered building

disappeared

Registered building replaced

Condition of buildings in Eastern Norway

In good repair

Initial decay

Decay

Ruin

Foundation walls only

Registered building

disappeared

Registered building replaced

Conclusion and Outlook

Preliminary conclusion for policy makers

> Regional differences in policies seem adequate

Future work

> Extend database

> Deal with challenges/uncertainties under registration, e.g., in

terms of change in use of buildings

> Analyse data in more detail

> Integrate qualitatively different data fruitfully

> Develop monitoring data into research projects