Abstract
Transhumance and alpine farming, one of the oldest traditional agricultural practices, play a crucial role in shaping mountain ecosystems. This research focuses on two distinct regions, Val Senales in Italy and the Vercenik Valley in the Western Pontic Mountains of Turkey, where shepherds continue to practice their traditional pasture management. This study integrates ecological and ethnographic approaches to examine grazing patterns, plant species composition, and the role of traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) in pasture management. An ethnographic perspective is the main basis for reaching the ecological knowledge of the shepherds. The research incorporates the ‘Patchy Anthropocene’ framework to explore how shepherds’ lived experiences and ecological knowledge interact with landscape dynamics. The primary objective is to learn from shepherds by using ethnographic fieldwork and analyzing species consumed by flocks during their summer grazing routes in June, and to assess the cover values and phytomass ratios of dominant plant species using NDVI analysis derived from drone orthophotos taken at an altitude of 35 m. Through extended fieldwork with shepherds, the study maps monthly and daily grazing routes, documenting the dominant plant species along the transhumance pathways from barns to high-altitude pastures. The herbarium technique was employed to collect and identify grazed plant species, further supporting the ecological analysis. Despite similarities in the alpine climate, the two regions exhibit distinct cultural traditions and pasture management strategies, shaped by historical and environmental factors. By bridging ethnographic insights with ecological data, this study highlights the coherence between traditional ecological knowledge and scientific methodologies in transhumance and alpine farming systems. Understanding shepherds’ knowledge systems not only contributes to ecological studies but also holds significant implications for policy development, emphasizing the need for sustainable pasture management practices that protect alpine landscapes, transhumance routes, and the livelihoods of shepherding communities.