ABSTRACT
The Alps are the playing ground for Europe, the summer water reservoir for major European river systems such as the Danube, Rhine and Rhone, an important barrier for air-mass exchange, a unique unmanaged as well as managed ecosystem mosaic, and the largest European mountain range. As in the case of other mountainous areas, they display the strong influence of precipitation and temperature on vegetation type over short distances. Human settlements date back to the Stone Age and quite unique land-use patterns, for instance the semi-nomadic ‘Almwirtschaft’, have been relatively stable for hundreds of years, that is, they were sustainable.
