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Jennifer Lüdtke
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Jennifer Lüdtke2026-03-08 14:56:142026-04-07 23:17:05Behind the Lens and Beyond the Microphone: Studying Wildlife with AINo, I have not gone mad. And I am not telling a bedtime story either. Because the question is anything but simple, even if it is posed in a childlike way.
Pastures, lamb, goat immediately evoke a vision that is often bucolic and sweetened. Nothing wrong with that; lambs also inspire sympathy and tenderness in me. After all, they are small, soft, harmless and rather clumsy—how could one not grow fond of them?
Here, however, the question leads us straight into a very specific ecological and geographical context: pasture. But are we sure that the lamb derives from the pasture, and not the other way around?
This is precisely the point: the lamb is part of an ecological context as complex as the pasture itself, and these two entities cannot be easily separated.
The pasture exists through the action of the lamb (here intended as a grazing animal in the broad sense), and at the same time the lamb depends on the pasture for its survival, if we understand this in the most “natural” sense of the term.
At this point, a clarification is necessary, because there is very little that is truly “natural” in anything related to pasture. Simply speaking of pasture in the singular is already a conceptual mistake. Pastures are multiple, differing in origin, structure, fertility, plant species composition, and productive and ecological value. And this academic classification is not an end in itself: it is essential for deciding how—and whether—to manage them.
Natural pastures, that is, those existing by their own dynamics without human intervention, are relatively rare and confined to extreme and very specific conditions: high elevations, extremely nutrient-poor soils, steep slopes and harsh climates. Here, herbaceous vegetation exists independently of humans, and grazing, if present, is often marginal.
The majority of Alpine and pre-Alpine pastures, by contrast, are defined as “secondary pastures”, meaning environments that originated from the transformation of forests and shrublands [1]. Without the continuous disturbance of grazing, they would slowly—but inexorably—return to forest. This fact alone should be enough to dismantle any naïve “naturalistic” narrative.

Figure 1: Goats and sheep play a key role in maintaining pastures and transition zones between grassland and forest: through selective grazing and the control of shrubby vegetation, they help keep open spaces, slow forest encroachment, and preserve the structural diversity of mountain landscapes. Malga Pàoda – Setteville (Belluno, Italy). Photo: Author. 04.08.2025
Meadows, pastures, meadow-pastures: distinctions that matter
A meadow is an environment dominated by mowing. Grazing, if present, plays a secondary role. Plant composition is relatively stable, productivity is high, and management is intensive.
A pasture is the opposite: the main disturbances are trampling and grazing. Vegetation is more heterogeneous, species are adapted to continuous stress, and production is less predictable.
The meadow-pasture lies in between and has historically been one of the most intelligent solutions developed by mountain agriculture: spring mowing, summer–autumn grazing, and flexible rotations. Where this system has been abandoned, biodiversity loss has often been faster than elsewhere.
Fertility is not an absolute value
A common mistake is to judge a pasture solely by its “richness”. In reality, fertility must always be interpreted in relation to context.
Low-fertility pastures, poor in nutrients, are often those with the highest ecological value. Orchids, rare species, and specialized plant communities thrive precisely where productivity is low and competition is limited.
By contrast, excessive fertilization—often unintended—leads to floristic simplification, species loss, and landscape homogenization. A “lush green” pasture is not automatically a good pasture.
The key role of grazing
It is not only how much grazing occurs, but how it occurs. Stocking rate (that is, the number of grazing animals per unit area), seasonality, duration, and livestock species: every choice profoundly alters the ecosystem.
Overgrazing is visible and well known: erosion, bare soil, and loss of turf.
Undergrazing is more insidious: shrub encroachment, accumulation of dead biomass, and landscape closure. In many Alpine areas today, the problem is not an excess of animals, but their absence.
Grazing is a necessary ecological disturbance. Without disturbance, many pastures simply cease to exist.
Pastures and biodiversity: a non-obvious relationship
Pasture biodiversity is not “natural” in the strict sense of the term. It is co-constructed biodiversity, emerging from the historical interaction between traditional practices and ecological processes.
When management practices change too rapidly—through intensification or abandonment—this biodiversity collapses. It does not transform; it disappears. And what replaces it is not a “purer” ecosystem, but often a poorer and more unstable one [2].
Landscape, economy, culture
Pasture is also landscape. And landscape is not merely aesthetic: it is identity, economy, attractiveness, and collective memory. Alpine huts, summer farms, and open spaces are the result of centuries of work. Expecting to conserve them without those who manage them is a contradiction.
Every abandoned pasture is an ecological loss, but also a social one. Every poorly managed pasture is a silent loss — less visible, yet no less serious.
So, little pasture, who made thee?
You are made from a complex system.
You are made from sound — or unsound — management choices.
You are made from a fragile balance between humans and mountains.
You are made from an ecosystem that is built, maintained, and defended.
And if we want to keep asking the question, we should perhaps begin asking another, more uncomfortable one: who will maintain these pastures tomorrow?
References:
[1] U. Ziliotto, O. Andrich, C. Lasen e M. Ramanzin, Tratti essenziali della tipologia veneta dei pascoli di monte e dintorni, Venezia: Regione del Veneto, Accademia Italiana di Scienze Forestali, 2004.
[2] D. MacDonald, «Agricultural abandonment in mountain areas of europe: Environmental consequences and policy response,» Journal of Environmental Management, vol. 59, n. 1, pp. 47-49, 2000.
Cover image: Curious kid goat. Malga Zolle di Dentro – Arsiero (Vicenza, Italy). Photo: Author. 04.07.2025




















