Sheep grazing has a long-term tradition in Spiš, and for its restoration in the meadows of Spišské Podhradie, several entities sterted to cooperate – the conservation association BROZ, the Administration of the Slovak Raj National Park, the city of Spišské Podhradie, and the Bishopric of Spišské with its seat in Spišské Podhradie at the Spišská Kapitula.
On Monday, sheep of our original breed – valaška – traveled to Spiš to get to know the new barn and meet the shepherd. As early as next week, we are going to release them at a beautiful location, on a meadow near Spišské Podhradie with a view of UNESCO location Spišský hrad.
In September 2022, the first Microtus II study tour, previously postponed due to the pandemic was finally organized. Together with our stakeholders, we explored the wetlands of Balaton-felvidéki National Park in Hungary. Around Lake Balaton
In Beckovské skalice we have started grazing goats and sheep on rocky and less accessible sites in cooperation with Salaš Beckov. Beckov Farm, on the other hand, grazes cows on flat ground. This will create different grazing areas with different plants, which in turn are preferred by different insects.
The project team (BROZ and PRIF UK) headed to explore the Netherlands in September 2022. The reason is that a relative of the pannonian root vole lives here. Another endemic subspecies – Microtus oeconomus arenicola has found a refuge there after the ice age.
In the past, foresters in our country reforested many rocky hills, mainly with stands of black pine. In addition, they have stopped pastures which have become overgrown with shrubs. This is how the Apollo butterfly (Parnassius apollo) lost its habitat in most of its locations of occurrence in Slovakia, thus recording more than 90% decline! in abundance.
We’ve made arrangements for clearing and grazing at the site of European importance Holubyho Kopanice. However, we will not begin until autumn, as we are searching, marking and planning at this time. The Corydalis plants that grow here are host plants for the caterpillars of the clouded Apollo butterflies (Parnassius mnemosyne).
Butterflies are fragile animals by nature, and they need stable natural conditions for their survival. Stability vs. fragility need to complement each other in the butterfly world. They need a very specific combination of habitats for their survival. Therefore, in order for caterpillars and therefore butterflies to survive, their so-called host plants are important.
Solitary standing trees are an important eco-stabilising element in the landscape. The preservation and restoration of old fruit trees serves the function of saving and conserving our native gene pool, but they also provide suitable habitats for a range of invertebrates, cavity nesters and dormice in their cavities.
This is also the reality of a cliamte change. Ground squirrels wake up every year in the middle to the end of March, which is about a month from now. This year, several localities report us that they have woken up and have already moved through their burrows, which means they have been awake for about a week.