Best Practice Knowledge Base
2.6 Grazing for maintaining open spaces
Open grasslands in mountain forest landscape. Switzerland © Hernán Serrano-León
In many cases, grazing may be used to manage vegetation, especially for maintaining open spaces. By selectively feeding on grasses, shrubs or tree seedlings, grazing animals help control the growth of plant species, thereby preserving open areas within forested landscapes. This practice supports forest heterogeneity by creating a mosaic of habitat conditions that accommodate a higher variety of forest-dwelling species. Implementing grazing in forest restoration requires choosing the adequate livestock species, density and grazing duration, while ensuring that the ecological targets are achieved without causing soil compaction or overgrazing.
I. Guidelines
| Nº | Title | Author | Year | Focus Region | Language | Summary | Link |
| 1 | Domestic Stock Grazing to Enhance Woodland Biodiversity | Brenda Mayle - Forestry Comission | 1999 | Europe | English | Information and guidelines on the use of domestic stock on woodland habitats and the vegetation. | https://ehq-production-europe.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/98adb93d27e9936cc60f627775bb57a3475908c6/original/1626951105/87699f342b6b342d0a420c8b9c329224_Domestic_Stock_Grazing_to_Enhance_Woodland_Biodiversity_-_Forestry_Commission.pdf?X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Credential=AKIA4KKNQAKICO37GBEP%2F20241221%2Feu-west-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Date=20241221T203011Z&X-Amz-Expires=300&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&X-Amz-Signature=fe390ed38f692da05613baba18074264832beffd4de1a9fbe01ec3ef21669189 |
II. Books or book chapters
| Nº | Title | Author | Chapter | Chapter author | Year | Focus region | Language | Summary | Link |
| 1 | Grazing with trees – A silvopastoral approach to managing and restoring trees. | FAO | - | - | 2022 | Drylands | English | Grazing use in restoration of forested areas in dryland regions, looking at several benefits including maintaining open landscapes. | https://doi.org/10.4060/cc2280en |
| 2 | Grazing with trees – A silvopastoral approach to managing and restoring trees. | FAO | - | - | 2022 | Drylands | English | Grazing use in restoration of forested areas in dryland regions, looking at several benefits including maintaining open landscapes. | https://doi.org/10.4060/cc2280en |
III. Scientific articles
| Nº | Title | Author | Year | Focus region | Language | Type | Summary | Link |
| 1 | Beyond the obvious impact of domestic livestock grazing on temperate forest vegetation – A global review | Öllerer et al. | 2019 | World | English | Narrative review | Review on managed, targeted livestock grazing in forest and biodiversity management | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2019.07.007 |
| 2 | Resumed forest grazing restored a population of Euphydryas aurinia (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) in SE Finland | Saarinen et al. | 2005 | Finland | English | Observational study | Study of the effect of grazing for pasture maintenance on a butterfly species | https://www.eje.cz/pdfs/eje/2005/04/17.pdf |
| 3 | Do large herbivores maintain open habitats in temperate forests? | Kowalczyk et al. | 2021 | Poland | English | Experiment | Study on the impact of European bison and other ungulates on tree encroachment in open habitats in Poland | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2021.119310 |