Parallels of environmentally friendly pastoralism to land cover changes and high nature value farmland.

The study area is part of the Biosphere Reserve (BR), which, along with adjacent caves in the Aggtelek Karst in Hungary, was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1995. This article focuses on the assessment of temporal changes in land cover and high nature value farmland. Changes over the past three decades were assessed in the operational areas of transtermitant farms on karst plains and in three BR zones. The results help to identify factors responsible for the progressive succession of woody plants on pastures. Karst microreliefs were excluded from pastoral activities because of the inherent nature of transtermitance, conservation measures, natural conditions, and type of farmed animal. The future preservation of valuable habitats, visually attractive karst landscape characteristics, and clean underground water in a cross-border cave system hinges on adequate grazing conditions being agreed upon by farmers and the Slovenský kras BR administration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]