Corine Land Cover 2000 - Meadows and Pastures

This category includes the meadow and pastures of the lower and middle locations, the high pastures fall into the category of alpine mats. An exception is the Seiser Alm in South Tyrol that is located above valley level at an altitude of 1600 - 2200 m. This mountain meadow belongs to the category of meadows and pastures which is in keeping with its true use as a mostly intensive hay meadows.

From an area point of view, pasture farming is the most important use of agricultural land in the area covered by the Tirol Atlas. Large areas of the big and small valleys - often also the slopes - are used as hay meadows or as grazing pastures. Nevertheless, they make up less than 9% of the entire area of Tyrol. In neighbouring Bavaria this percentage is much higher.

Valley pastures guarantee a certain "food supply" for animals, whether as a hay meadow, supplying hay for the winter (or nowadays mostly green silage) or as grazing pastures in spring and autumn. In summer the majority of cattle and sheep are driven up onto the higher mountain pastures.

The meadows and pastures are characteristic of the alpine region, particularly in the north and central alpine regions. The valleys used to be used for arable farming (at least after the regulation of the rivers). With the decline of arable farming after the 1960s, there has been a shift to pastures. Particularly the meadows in the upper locations, designated for hay making, were abandoned in favour of the flatter areas in the valleys which can be more easily worked with lighter machinery, while grazing pastures, also above the tree line, have remained in use.