Pastoralism and agro-ecosystems: a year of hour-by-hour sheep transhumance monitoring

Transhumance is a mobile form of pastoralism consisting of the constant movement of flocks to find access to forage. This practice is linked to both provisioning and non-provisioning ecosystem services, particularly cultural ones. For this reason, since 2023, transhumance has been recognised by UNESCO as ‘Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity’. Today, this practice is threatened by increased urbanisation and the abandonment of mountain areas. In this study, we monitored two transhumance sheep flocks for one year during their movements across North-Eastern Italy using a GPS tracking technology. Using metrics such as Net Square Distance (NSD) and Net Square Altitude Gradient (NSAG), we identified the different macro phases of movement (‘Wintering’, ‘Spring Transhumance’, ‘Summering’ and ‘Autumn Transhumance’). We then performed a Resource Selection Function (RSF) to understand how the flocks select the night stationing areas at pastures during the summer. An integrated Step Selection Function (iSSF) was carried out to investigate how the flocks selected different agro-ecosystems during their movement between the plain and the mountain areas. Both NSD and NSAG strongly contributed to discretise the different macro phases. During ‘Summering’, flocks selected areas with different slope gradients for night stationing. Regarding the iSSF, significant differences emerged between the flocks even if, in general, permanent grasslands were the most selected agro-ecosystem respect to crops and forest. This study highlights two transhumance behaviours, despite similar selections, due to different resource uses, related to two different geographical contexts. The information obtained monitoring flocks management could support the evaluation of transhumance multifunctionality, including ecosystem services. Macro phases of transhumance were mainly distinguished by Net Square Distance (NSD) and Net Square Altitude Gradient (NSAG).Summering night stationing area selection revealed the flock adaptation to the geomorphological conditions of the different alpine grazing agro-ecosystems.Permanent grasslands were the most selected agro-ecosystem during Wintering, Spring, and Autumn transhumance.GPS tracking highlighted the use and maintenance of diverse agro-ecosystems by transhumant flocks. Macro phases of transhumance were mainly distinguished by Net Square Distance (NSD) and Net Square Altitude Gradient (NSAG). Summering night stationing area selection revealed the flock adaptation to the geomorphological conditions of the different alpine grazing agro-ecosystems. Permanent grasslands were the most selected agro-ecosystem during Wintering, Spring, and Autumn transhumance. GPS tracking highlighted the use and maintenance of diverse agro-ecosystems by transhumant flocks.