Session

Nutrient-poor meadows (NPM) are a characteristic element of the Trudner Horn Nature Park (South Tyrol, Italy). In general, they are not fertilised and are mown only once a year. The aim of our study was to investigate the visual perception of these meadows by different population groups visually in comparison to other, more intensively managed meadows (IMG). To this end, an online questionnaire was used to survey grassland farmers, apple and wine growers and the general public not working in the agricultural sector. Respondents were asked to rate the aesthetic value of landscape images of NPM and of more intensively managed meadows at three different phenological vegetation stages: at the begin of the growing season (SGS), during the growing season before the flowering stage was attained (GBF) and at flowering (FLO). The highest appreciation was expressed for grassland at the FLO stage. As expected, the lowest values were given for grassland at the SGS stage, whilst the scores of GBF were intermediate. At the FLO vegetation stage, higher scores for NPM than for IMG were provided by all groups, but grassland farmers rated IMG lower than the other groups. They also rated IMG higher than the other groups in the SGS stage, suggesting that they have a higher aesthetic appreciation for grassland when flowers are absent and grassland biomass is low.