Abstract
Silvopastoral farming practices as an answer to land and forest abandonment in disadvantaged areas have been suggested by forestry and agricultural development and research bodies, but such practices only occur on a limited area at present. To assess the feasibility of such silvopastoral techniques in a family farm context, a survey was conducted on current silvopastoral systems in spontaneous Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) woods in the Lozère Departement in France. A sampling procedure and questionnaire was designed to characterise determinants of silvopastoral practices. In all 150 farms were visited. A typology of silvopastoral plot management was extracted from the survey. Inputs and outputs were characterised. Typologies of farms and households were also developed, characterised by land, labour, livestock, consumption and inheritance patterns. The uses of land plots are similar, but the importance of woodlands in the family farm system differ. Woodlands are considered as a reserve of land, forage or liquidity for the long term, but the uses of woodlands are limited by the different livestock farmers' short-term technical and economic constraints. To induce a development of silvicultural patterns both their short- and long-term effects must be carefully considered in relation to farmers'differing objectives.