Geographia Polonica Vol. 90 No. 4 (2017)

24 cm

Meadows are characteristic features of the forested mountain landscape in the northern temperate zone. In terms of origin, they can be classified as natural, semi-natural and improved. Mountain meadows have great ecological value due to vast biodiversity and the ecosystem services they provide. However, over the past few decades, a significant decrease in their area has been observed in many places across the world. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the scale and the main drivers of forest encroachment on temperate mountain meadows as well as to describe current research directions and methods. The observed decline in meadow area may be driven by natural factors related generally to climate change or may result from changes in land use. This process is investigated on a variety of spatial scales ranging from experimental plots to entire geographic regions. Studies on forest encroachment on mountain meadows are now carried out by researchers from many different countries. Nevertheless, there still does not exist a complex, multidisciplinary approach and comparative studies for different mountain ranges are not found in the literature.