Open Access

Katalin Lepšík

• In summary, it can be said that scrub encroachment plays a central role in the development of alpine pastures in the Berchtesgaden National Park. Due to the specific methodology of the surveys, the full extent of scrub encroachment could not be fully recorded, but the results nevertheless provide valuable insights. Future projects can build on this and further optimize the methods to enable comprehensive analyses. The results show how scrub encroachment is defined and that there are significant differences between individual alpine pastures. In particular, environmental factors such as altitude or exposure influence the degree of scrub encroachment on the alpine pastures. In addition, it can be noted that almost all of the alpine pastures studied have forest pasture areas, which underlines the historical interlocking of forest and pasture in the region. This form of use not only influences the vegetation structure, but also the dynamics of woody growth, as succession processes in former forest pasture areas take place differently than in classic open pastures (Dornheim, 2005). In addition, it has been shown that turning promotes plant growth in the short term and that the cane root system plays a central role with regard to woody plant growth. As a result, this study presented various alternatives to turning to regulate woody plant growth. In particular, combined grazing with goats and sheep and the concept of the “magic triangle of alpine pasture management” proved to be a sustainable form of management. The latter is based on three central measures: adjusting the number of grazing animals, an earlier upland grazing period and targeted grazing management to ensure that the alpine pastures remain open in the long term. The aim of this work, to develop a scientific basis for practical recommendations on alpine pasture management, was achieved. On this basis, the other sub-projects of the overall research project should contribute to adapting the legal framework to the current challenges of alpine pasture management.