Has the generalisation regarding conservation of trees and shrubs in Swedish agricultural landscapes gone too far?

The study aims to focus on how trees and shrubs also in future can contribute in a positive way with links to earlier traditions in small-scale agricultural landscapes. In documents presenting central directives for conservation policies it is stated that local traditions should be taken into consideration. Since local variations are very wide, but also because the initiatives have more and more been taken over by “outsiders”, this is a difficult task to handle successfully in practice. Considering how society, represented by administrators, advisors, policy-makers and researchers, may contribute in a better way many questions can be raised. In this study primarily two main questions have been explored. (1) Generalisation has been the hallmark for much research during the latest decades, but how does generalisation correspond to “reality” as it can be seen in different local situations, and within a changing perspective? (2) Certain time periods, species, and types of treatment get more attention than others in a kind of simplification, but how does this show up in practice, and how does it vary between different actors? The case study area is called “BrÃ¥bygden-Krokshult”. It is situated as an “agricultural island” consisting of 15 villages within a forest-dominated region in the south-eastern part of Sweden. It has a rich content of old remnants from different times and uses, and it is a highly recognised area for conservation interests. By interviewing farmers in the area about their trees and shrubs, about placing and management treatment, from now and back as long as they remember, large differences were found from one farm to another almost independent of natural conditions in the landscapes. In conjunction with this, regional advisors, as the other main actors, were interviewed, and the differences between the various actors are discussed as part of the article. The discrepancy between the general idea of past traditions and how uniform these have been if different farms are compared is striking and shows the importance of rethinking much of the routines of today. Moreover, the study shows that there are good reasons for rethinking how actors could interact with the administrators. Motives for a more contextual, dynamic frame planning are put forward in the discussion.