Agricultural Use Is Destroying Alpine Meadows
Our ancestors kept far fewer animals on the alpine pastures, which were partly cultivated with vegetables and grain. Today’s alpine farming operations run at massive deficits and would have been shut down long ago without the enormous, biodiversity-damaging subsidies from Bern.
A study has shown that agricultural use in Switzerland’s alpine meadows is leading to increasing destruction.
More and more valuable alpine meadows that are home to a wide variety of species are suffering from soil erosion. Researchers at the University of Basel have found that both agricultural use and climate change are responsible for this trend.
The researchers used aerial photographs from Swisstopo covering the years 2000 to 2016 to map soil erosion in the Urseren Valley in the canton of Uri. Using a machine learning algorithm, various types of erosion — such as landslides, surface runoff, and animal trails — were identified. This allowed the researchers to document, for the first time, the temporal development of erosion and damage caused by livestock.
The results show that soil loss is increasing at a rapid pace. Over the 16 years observed, the eroded area grew by more than 150 percent. Livestock farming in particular is causing increased damage, especially at elevations up to around 1,800 meters. Study leader Christine Alewell explains that significantly more cattle are now driven onto valley meadows today, regardless of weather conditions. This means that the soil is less stable, especially in wet weather. In addition, animals are heavier today than they were in the 1970s.
However, the researchers also emphasize the influence of climate change, particularly above the utilized areas. More frequent and intense heavy rainfall events are increasing the risk of widespread erosion and landslides. Snow also plays a role: when it thaws and refreezes multiple times during winter, it continuously strips away topsoil material. This loss diminishes soil fertility year after year.
The study's findings highlight the need to take measures to preserve alpine meadows and their valuable biodiversity.
What helps nature most by far is the natural alpine flora and fauna as found in national parks. The shift from pasture for cows and sheep to deer grazing led to a completely new species composition of the vegetation and a doubling of biodiversity!
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