Exploring viewpoints on Mountain Hay Meadow conservation: A Q-methodology investigation from Austria

Janisch, J., Gugerell, K., Thaler, T. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3869-3722, & Fiala, V. (2026). Exploring viewpoints on Mountain Hay Meadow conservation: A Q-methodology investigation from Austria. Biological Conservation 321 e112006. 10.1016/j.biocon.2026.112006.

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Abstract

Mountain Hay Meadows (MHM) are semi-natural, biodiversity rich habitats, protected under the European Union's Habitats Directive. Despite national and international conservation efforts, the ecological state of MHM is poor across Europe and is expected to decline further in the future due to intensification or abandonment. The core question is which social, cultural, economic, and political development aspects might counteract these negative trends. Previous studies have focused primarily on individual, homogenous stakeholder groups or on isolated aspects that could be significant for the future of MHM. To gain a better understanding of how these aspects interact, we use q-methodology, which extracts amalgamated perspectives of a multi-stakeholder group in Austria. To gain a deeper understanding of diverse perspectives, Q-methodology was applied to systematically explore the views of multiple stakeholders in Austria. The results revealed three distinct viewpoints: (i) one emphasizes the pivotal role of economic viability and mirrors an anthropocentric position; (ii) one values MHM for their intrinsic qualities and adopts an ecocentric position; and (iii) one represents a more moderate stance between the other viewpoints, emphasizing the importance of local communities and traditional values. Hence, our findings show that for effective conservation, one-size-fits-all approaches, that are strongly economically oriented are insufficient as they might work only for a limited group. Hence more pluralistic, flexible conservation management approaches are required in which MHM are understood as both, biodiversity hotspots and as enacted agricultural landscapes.

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