A European Environment Agency briefing explains how extensive grazing supports many protected habitats and can also help reduce wildfire risk.
The European Environment Agency has highlighted the importance of extensive grazing for Europe’s nature. Its briefing explains that grazing by cattle, sheep and goats plays a critical role in managing many protected habitats and can help reduce wildfire risk by limiting the build-up of dry vegetation.
This is a more nuanced story than simply removing animals from landscapes. In many European habitats, low-intensity grazing has been part of the ecological pattern for centuries. Meadows, open wood pasture and some scrubby landscapes can lose biodiversity if they are abandoned completely.
The briefing estimates that a significant share of EU cattle, sheep and goats is needed to manage habitats of European interest by grazing, with large differences between countries. That makes extensive farming part of conservation in places where it is carried out carefully.
The good news is practical because it connects food systems, rural livelihoods and nature management. Well-managed grazing can keep habitats open, support plants and insects, and lower fire risk without treating people and nature as separate worlds.
Source: European Environment Agency