Traditional silvopastoral landuse in the Apuseni mountains, Romania

Life of the people, landscape and biodiversity in the rural villages of Romania, until today is formed by traditional land use techniques. An analysis of these can contribute to the understanding of central european landscapes, their histories, and defining development stategies.

Because of the cool climate in the the Apuseni montains, the people´s life is based upon dairy farming, forestry, rural craft, and trade with timber products. Until today, most work is done by hand and horsepower, e.g., spreading manure and mowing the meadows, transport, lopping of conifers during winter, or production of cheese.

The economic base has changed during the last few years. Electricity became available since ca. 8 years, and chain- and circular saws were bought. Cutting of timber reached a new dimension and resulted in a large-scale, unsustainable depletion of the forests. It can be foreseen, that the present lifebase cannot be maintained, and economy and land use will have to change drastically.