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Insights
This section displays an updated and static cartography of the Gran Paradiso National Park and Parc Des Ecrins pasture vegetation, according to 13 grassland types, inventoried by integrating field surveys (carried out in 2019-2020-2021) and remotely sensed data. The interactive one can be navigated onto the WEBGIS section.
The pasture mapping activity involved the PNE and PNGP territories differently: in the PNE, some pasture maps produced under the “Alpages Sentinelles” programme were already available. The field work allowed to add six more pasture maps and to resurvey for a total of 2563 ha mapped. In the Gran Paradiso National Park, on the other hand, the surveys and mapping activities were done ex novo. All mountain pastures of Gran Paradiso National Park and closest surroundings, for a total of about 7500 ha, were involved.
The inventory followed a common and shared methodology between the two areas, likely to easily replicable to the whole western Alps, namely:
The harmonization of classifications to define 13 common pasture categories from the Aosta Valley typology is reported in the figure.
A brief description of pastoral typologies is hereby, while the pasture type correspondences between the three vegetation typologies of the study area is reported in Table 1:
Table 1. Pasture type correspondences between the three vegetation typologies of the study area.
| PASTURE CATEGORY | AOSTA VALLEY – VANOISE TYPES | PIEDMONT TYPES | FRENCH SOUTHERN ALPS TYPES |
| Productive | S3 | 8, 56, 57, 59 | |
| Subalpine intermediate | S2 | 52, 53, 54, 60, 64, | PI3 |
| Nardus swards | S1, A8 | 29, 30, 32, 41, 47, 48, 49, 61 | PI2, PI4 |
| Grassy thermophile | A3, S4 | 11, 40 | PT1 |
| P. paniculata swards | S6 | 26 | PI6, PI7 |
| B. pinnatum swards | S5 | 3, 25 | PT2, PI5 |
| Bare thermophile | SA1, SA2, SA3, A1, A2 | 13, 17, 19, 24, 46, 50 | PT3, PT4, PI1 |
| Alpine intermediate | A4, A5, A6, A7 | 21, 22, 33, 35, 36, 37 | PT5 |
| Nival | A9, A10 | 72, 74, 75, 76, 77, 79 | PN1, PN2, PN3, PN4 |
| Heaths | L1, L2, L3 | 90, 91, 92 | F1, F2, F3, F4 |
| Nitrophilous vegetation | 67, 69 | RA1, RA2 | |
| Screes | E | 70 | E1, E2 |
| Wetlands | ZH | 81, 86 | ZH1, ZH2 |
For further details, please refer to Deliverable C.6 (due in January 2022).
This section includes real-time data from a series of phenocams and NDVI sensors positioned both in the Gran Paradiso National Park and in the Parc National Des Ecrins in oreder to monitor the pasture phenology.
A network of phenocam and NDVI sensors allows to track the seasonal evolution of canopy structural and functional properties and their interactions with climate and grazing; observation sites are located along a management gradient: a low elevation (~1500 m asl) intensively grazed pasture (Epinel), an extensively grazed grassland at 2000 m asl (Lauson) an high elevation grassland (Levionaz) with bouquet in grazing. Collected data are used to understand the feedbacks between taxonomical and functional diversity with site conditions, climate and grazing intensity, frequency and timing. They also represent field observations that can be used to evaluate remotely sensed products and to inform grassland productivity models.
Several sensors have been installed, with the aim to monitor pasture’s meadows phenology at different altitudes (e.g. agro-climatic conditions) and pastoral management. Two sites are situated in a pasture (name: Crouzet) of L’Argentière-la-Bessée. One site is located at 1940 m a.s.l. in a subalpine meadow, and the other one is situated in the alpine zone at 2350 m a.s.l., in an alpine meadow. Both sites are equipped with NDVI sensors and cameras for landscape monitoring. The NDVI sensors and the camera installed on the lower site can transmit real-time data, while the camera installed on the higher site does not. Another site is at Lautaret, currently transmitting real time data of air temperature and humidity, wind speed, NDVI values and snow cover.
Please click on one of the buttons below to see the real-time data for the relevant park.
Please notice that the webcams are switched on and operational only during the summertime in order to monitor the phenology.
Insights
Two climate change scenarios were considered among those provided by the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, i.e. the main international body for the assessment of climate change). RCP 4.5, a more optimistic scenario, with average emissions, and some mitigation strategies in place; and RCP 8.5, a pessimistic scenario, with high emissions and no mitigation strategies in place. Note: RCP (Rapresentative Concentration Patways) is the trend of greenhouse gas concentration in the atmosphere.
| RCP4.5 | RCP8.5 |
|---|---|
| Reforestation programs | No GHG mitigation policies |
| Reduction in animal farms | CO2 3-4 times higher than today (280ppm) |
| Climate policies adoption | CH4 emissions increase |
| CO2 increase until 2040, then stabilisation | Population increase (12 billions in 2100) |
| Use of fossil fuels |
As regards climate trends:
| Variable | PNE | PNGP |
|---|---|---|
| Tmin increase > than Tmax (1-2°C vs 2-3°C) | Tmin > Tmax | Tmin > Tmax |
| Increase of precipitation monthly means | precipitation | precipitation |
| Rainfall more concentrated in intense events | RCP45 and RCP85 | RCP45 e RCP85 |
The analysis of the dataset for RCP 4.5 and 8.5, evidenced that monthly rainfall increases, with respect to the baseline, in both scenarios with a slight asymmetry towards the Park des Écrins, where the increases were generally higher with respect to Parco Gran Paradiso in both FP1 and FP2 time slices. In both regions, some decrease of monthly rainfall is generally recorded in summer period but a clear trend cannot be evidenced. Not a clear pattern is evident when analysing the differences amongst time slices to the extent that there is not a trend in increasing/decreasing monthly rainfall from FP1 to FP2. The same applied the effect of the scenario. Despite of the increases in precipitation pattern, extreme events are likely to be projected (i.e. floods, intensive rainfalls, etc.) as dry spell (number of consecutive days without rainfall) showed increases in summer season in both areas in the near and next future.
The simulation for Tmin and Tmax evidenced a general increase of temperatures with a slight seasonal trend for both Tmax and Tmin, where the highest increases were recorded in summer while the lowest in autumn-winter. Tmin and Tmax generally increased from FP1 to FP2 in both RCP 4.5 and 8.5, where RCP 8.5 recorded the highest temperature increases. It is evident an asymmetry in temperature increase for Tmin and Tmax, where Tmin recorded higher increases along the year, irrespective of scenarios and FPs, with respect to Tmax. The average annual increases of both Tmin and Tmax were similar for both parks.
Insights
List of feasible adaptation measures: this section displays interactively a list of adaptation measures identified to address climate change adaptation for the two case study areas. These measures encompass both technical measures and policies considering their applicability, impact on biodiversity, success factors, technical difficulties by means of on-field testing, stakeholders consultations, modelling output. These measures are promoted for the Western Alpine pastoral contexts to address and cope with climate change and extreme climate events (e.g. droughts). A detailed description of these measures is included in Deliverable C.6 (Feasible adaptation measures) and will set the basis to develop the climate change action plan in alpine pastoral contexts (Action C.8) advocating adaption for pastures of the entire Alpine chain.
A Glossary is also displayed at the bottom.
| Climate risks | Consequences on the environment (soil, vegetation and water) or animals | Potential consequences for the pastoral system | Adaptation measures | Issues to consider (management and biodiversity) | Technical issues | Factors for failure or success |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| • Lack of snow, very dry winter (frost exposure) or • Early snowmelt followed by spring frost or • Late spring or cold spring | ||||||
| Early spring | ||||||
| Spring drought and very little snow cover | ||||||
| Very marked drought in early summer | ||||||
| Heatwaves and wind at the beginning of summer | ||||||
| Very hot and dry summer, heatwave and drought | ||||||
| Rainy summer | ||||||
| Heavy rainfall | ||||||
| Very mild autumn |
| GLOSSARY OF TECHNICAL MEASURES | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Term in French | Term in Italian | English translation | ENG |
| Alpage | Alpeggio | Summer mountain pastures | It indicates both the mountain pastures used by herds and flocks in the summer season, and the structures present on these pastures (houses, stables, milk processing rooms, etc.). The alpage consists of a variable number of remue or tramuto at higher and higher altitudes. The average period of stay in alpage is about 100 days. The alpine pasture is a high-altitude pastoral unit used in summer by herds and flocks belonging to one or several farmers. Usually the alpine pasture consists of a variable number of pasture areas and huts, where the herd and its shepherds stop for the time necessary to consume the surrounding pastures. Stops in the trams, located at different altitudes, take place both uphill and downhill during the season, depending on the availability of fodder. |
| Quartiers d’août | Tramuto superiore | High altitude pastoral paddock | Pastures at higher altitudes, usually grazed in August. |
| Amontagnage | Monticazione | Climbing | Seasonal, vertical transhumance that takes place in the period of late spring/early summer when cattle and flocks are transferred from the lowlands to the summer mountain pastures |
| Démontagnage | Demonticazione | Downclimbing | Descent of cattle and flocks from the alpage to the lowlands at the end of summer or in automn. |
| Pâture intégrale | Pascolamento integrale | 24 hours grazing time | Night and day grazing with no return to the barn |
| Végétation grossière | Vegetazione grossolana | Coarse vegetation | Graminoid vegetation that is poorly consumed by animals (Patzkea paniculata, Brachypodium gr. pinnatum, Helictotrichon spp., Deschampsia caespitosa, Calamagrostis spp., etc) |
| Bois adaptés à une utilisation sylvo-pastorale | Boschi vocati per un utilizzo silvo-pastorale | Forests suitable for sylvo-pastoral use | Forests suitable for sylvo-pastoral use: these are generally even-aged woods characterized by a herbaceous understory, likely rich in grasses and/or legumes and/or a shrub layer having a mid pastoral value. The main tree species larch forests, secondary broadleaf forests (birch, poplar, invasive maple and ash forests, etc.), Scots pine and oak forests rich in grasses and legumes, sometimes fir woods. This category doesn’t entail forests directly protected, stands under regeneration or transformation processes as well as uneven-aged stands at any stage of growth. Beech forests, fir forests, oak-hornbeam forests do not have a particular forestry vocation. In suitable stands, the conditions of the sward, light on the ground and availabiklity for grazing can be improved by thinning, also through the transformation of irregular stands, without any particular management and without any other particular vocations. |
| Petite faune |
Fauna minore | Minor species | Wild minor species – complex of small size species (“minor” doesn’t have a biological or systematic meaning) like: amphibians, reptiles, small mammals, fish and insects. Some “minor species” are listed in The Bird (2009/147/EC) and Habitat Directive (92/43/CEE). Directives define the protection level. |
| Mayen | Mayen | Mayen | Mid-mountain pasture, used on the way up or down from the mountain pasture, thus at the beginning and end of the grazing period. |
Insights
In order to assess the vulnerability of pastoral systems in the two study areas and to quantify the impacts of future climate change as a function of some of the hypothesised adaptation strategies, two modelling tools (PaSim, DayCent), suitably calibrated and validated for the Alpine region, were used. This approach allowed to identify the best technical adaptation measures with the aim of ensuring the continuity of fodder production while storing carbon in the soil, improving manure spreading and promoting biodiversity.
PaSim – a grassland and pasture-specific model – and DayCent – a generic crop model – are both biogeochemical models that simulate the daily fluxes of carbon and nitrogen at the atmosphere-vegetation-soil interface and their variation when climatic and management conditions change. Using a mechanistic (ecosystem-based) view of grasslands, the models allow the estimation of crop and animal production, greenhouse gas emissions and changes in carbon storage, as well as their evolution under future climate projections and alternative management options.
To reduce the uncertainties associated with the observations and simulations, an in-depth analysis of the available data has been applied to assess the sensitivity of alpine pastures to environmental factors and to identify, through satellite vegetation indices, groups of low-, medium- and high-altitude pastures in the French and Italian Alps. However, the results obtained from our simulation models show an uncertainty resulting from different sources such as model structure, parameterisation, input data. It is therefore difficult to determine how this uncertainty (affect the model estimates??) manifests itself in the model estimates. Therefore, the results obtained must be interpreted with the help of experts, who are able to reduce the uncertainty. Furthermore, it is important to highlight the difference in the reliability of the models applied in the two national parks . Whereas for the Gran Paradiso National Park the low, medium and high altitude areas were modelled by combining data collected in the field with predictors derived from satellite data, in the Parc National des Ecrins the definition of these areas was based only on remote sensing data. Here, it is reported an extract of the data obtained from the DayCent model for the Gran Paradiso National Park and the Parc National des Écrins: the figures below illustrate phenological phases, forage production in the peak season and Net Ecosystem Exchange values for the present, the near future (2011-2040) and the far away future (2041-2070) based on pastures located in different altitude zones: low altitude (1800-2100 m), medium altitude (2100-2200 m) and high altitude (2200-2400 m).
Recommendations on the key project deliverables for decision-makers and politicians at every level – local, regional, national, and transnational – based upon identified adaptation strategies have been developed with the objective of promoting alpine pasture socio-ecological systems that are more resilient and fully implementable.
The objective of the political recommendations is to develop and improve the adaptation of the pastoral system to climate change, including the different segments composing the system: summer mountain pasture management; water management; biodiversity preservation; multifunctionality and pastoralism/tourism coexistence; cooperation and training.
In a scenario of climate change and more frequent extreme weather events, the objective is to promote sustainable grazing management that preserves the quality and quantity of the fodder resource, taking into account its biodiversity.
Supporting or not blocking specific adaptations that do not damage the environment and guarantee the feeding of the herds, such as:
Encourage the implementation of result-oriented agri-environmental and climatic-environmental measures rather than restrictions and predetermined tasks, such as the number of animals, that make the system too rigid.
Provide management tools – such as pasture management plans – that take into account the specificities of each summer mountain pasture. Promote measures based on the summer mountain pasture management unit and not only based on the surface criteria.
Include the mountain summer pastures in the wider strategies of land management. Encourage collective approaches (pastoral groups, land improvement consortia, collective ownership, associations, etc.) with a wider impact on the territory, promoting the creation of networks and supporting the owners in the mountain summer pastures management. Create a regulatory body for summer mountain pastures and regulatory tools to prevent and face the distorting effects on the market for summer mountain pasture leases.
Provide summer mountain pastures with equipment (e.g. construction and renovation of buildings, drinking facilities for the animals) to better distribute the number of animals on the mountain pastures. Give technical assistance to owners and/or lessees to improve buildings, infrastructures, and equipment. Improve access to summer mountain pastures and grazing land to be assessed on a case-by-case basis (renovation and/or construction of driveways, footpaths, helicopters, gondolas, monorails, etc.).
Have procedures and tools to deal with land parceling (plots with multiple or unknown users, unused plots). Promote the use of buffer zones and the recovery of pastoral areas covered by shrubs and trees.
Apply an integrated silvopastoral management to promote pasture in suitable forests, through the implementation of laws and plans of forest management. Create an obligation of consultation for the elaboration of the pans of forest management that take into account that pastoral activity.
Develop and improve the tool analyzing climatic vulnerability in the summer mountain pastures. Have technical tools and human resources to support breeders (e.g. training, consultancy) in order to consider for them the recommendations on habitat management and conservation of the species. Encourage information transfer and creation of work groups (visits at the end of the season) between herders and other stakeholders of the territory. Facilitate the creation and the realization of projects through organized assistance. Strengthen technical support structures for pastoralism (research centers, associations).
POINTS OF ATTENTION AND PECULIARITIES OF THE PILOT SITES
[PNE - PNGP] The territories are characterized by significant land parceling and frequent co-ownership of plots, which make the management of contracts difficult.
[PNGP VdA] The dissociation between mountain pastures ownership and management negatively affects the investments on mountain pastures structures.
[PNGP] The mechanisms of attribution of financial measures linked to the areas create distortive effects on the market of mountain pastures rentals.
STAKEHOLDERS PERSPECTIVE
Managing Authority of the Regional Complement of Rural Development of the CAP Strategic Plan 23/27 for Aosta Valley
Our action to implement the CAP in Valle d’Aosta between 2023-2027 is in line with the direction traced by these recommendations. Thanks to the participation and the discussion established with the PASTORALP project since 2019, we are planning to implement different tools shifting us from a transversal application of agro-climate-environmental measures to “tailor-made” solutions, designed to consider context specificities and promote goal-oriented reasoning. Specifically, we are working to introduce two tools for proper pasture management: the territorial Plan and the grazing Plans.
The first, thanks to a preliminary deliberation, will be the planning tool for meadow-pastures in the whole Region, will define the general framework, notwithstanding the national regulations, starting from the clear and unambiguous definition of “meadow” and “pasture”, thus establishing the concepts of grazing turns, grazing period, type of animals, with the definition of the potential stocking rate by pastoral categories and the provision of guidelines for drafting the grazing Plans. Based upon this “macro” territorial planning framework, the grazing Plans will include at the “micro” level aspects such as: grazing areas actually used by the herds; tramuti half-way pastures (i.e. farmhouses and pastures used for a short period of time before going up to the actual pasture) and grazing areas; eligible areas; areas of interest that are not immediately usable; improvements to be implemented; species and categories of grazed livestock; optimal theoretical stocking rate resulting from the analysis of the potential productivity of the different areas; simulations and evolutionary scenarios, also adaptable to extreme weather events and ongoing climate changes.
This new approach is the result of the capitalization of the methodology for the main types of mountain pastures classification and mapping tested by the PASTORALP project in the Gran Paradiso National Park pilot area.
The extension of this methodology over the entire regional area, thanks to a dedicated agreement with ARPA VdA, is leading to the definition of the pasture Register, which provides data, with reference to altitude, slope, vegetation cover indexes, dry matter productivity, average annual stocking rate expressed in Uba, in a territorial grid of 20 meters by 20 meters. This is a fundamental tool that, made available to everyone, constitutes the starting point for the definition of plans, reducing their complexity and processing costs. For us as a regional administration, this is an important milestone because it allows us to regain possession of our territorial reading and classifying tools, after years in which this classification was carried out and updated at a national level, with tools and methods which we could shape only marginally.
We are aware that this is a radical change: from area subsidies calculated automatically with transversal algorithms, we are moving towards measures planned on a case-by-case basis, aimed at preserving, recovering or improving production potential while respecting biodiversity and landscape and allowing a flexibility and adaptation that are today essential in the wake of increasingly extreme weather events and rapidly changing climate scenarios.
In order to make this transition effective, we are aware that we must provide adequate support, in terms of training (of farmers and experts) and back up; we are working in this direction with the new knowledge and innovation system in agriculture “AKIS - Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation System”, promoted by the CAP for 2023 - 2027.
This challenge must be tackled together, in a continuous exchange between administration, farmers’ representatives, field experts and scientific research.
This section makes available all interactive maps produced during the project under a webgis environment, thus requiring a skilled user in Geographical Information Systems (GIS) software. The maps available are the following:
climate |
suitability |
macrotypes |
