ABSTRACT
Semi-natural grasslands are one of the most species-rich habitats in Europe, hosting a significant flora and fauna of invertebrates, birds and mammals (Pykälä 2000; Lindborg et al. 2008). These grasslands are characterised by unsown vegetation; they have not been substantially modified by intensive fertilisation, drainage or herbicide use; and are maintained by livestock grazing. They also promote ecological functions that are of great importance for agriculture, for example, pollination and biological pest control (Beilin et al. 2014; Jonsson et al. 2014). In addition, in Sweden, the beauty and floral splendour of these habitats is a central part of the cultural heritage, since the biological and cultural qualities are the outcome of human interaction with non-human beings and processes. For a long time, pastures were a major feature in the agricultural landscape, but due to a rapid decrease in size as well as number, following structural changes in Swedish agriculture, they have been recognised as preservation sites since the 1980s (Swedish EPA 2012). The requested management of the grasslands, as pronounced in various schemes, entails a number of issues closely associated with time, such as land use history, provenance and restoration. The need for continuous human interactions demands reflection on how physical and biological features and processes originating from functions and contexts that no longer exist or have been marginalised (compare Lowenthal 1985; Rotherham 2013) link to contemporary cultural and societal contexts and processes. Temporal aspects are, however, often unarticulated in policies and management strategies. In this chapter we explore the issue of temporality in semi-natural grassland management and reflect on the implications of a heightened recognition of time for nature conservation strategies. Since time is an inherently fundamental question that has received relatively little attention in previous research on landscape management and nature conservation, we take a rather eclectic approach in order to stimulate further discussions.
