We recently reported on the results of amphibian monitoring in the Danube floodplains in 2019 and 2020 and the impact of simulated floods on their populations. Nowadays, we hold in our hands a report from the observations from 2021, which were carried out by zoologist Peter Mikulíček before and after the flood in the target area.
The area of the Danube floodplains between Dobrohošť and Sap is a part of the Danube Inland Delta. It is a unique and rare anabranching river pattern with a system of branches. In the past these branches and side arms meandered freely and the material of the Danube gravels and sands that the flow brought into the landscape was able to capture large amounts of groundwater.
The current project Restoration and management of Danube floodplain habitats is not the first on which BROZ cooperates with the Hungarian partner National park Danube-Ipel. In the past, we have joined together an international network of protected areas on the Danube called Danubeparks and in the frame of this partnership we already participate in the fourth project.
The area of the so called Danube Inland Delta between Bratislava and Sap used to be full of life. The unique system of river branches, periodic floods and healthy floodplain habitats offered an optimal environment for the reproduction of fish and amphibians.
Also in 2021, we used our live mowers to maintain habitats in the cadastral area Bratislava Ružinov. We are providing you with some beautiful shots.
At the site of the maountain Apollo, one of our rarest butterflies, we cleared approximately 1 hectare of debris from invasive trees. Since this light-loving species of butterfly requires sufficient space with nutritious and nectar-producing plants. We believe that this intervention will greatly help the maintenance of this species in the territory and, among other things, will also support other species of rare plants and insects.
On 23 October 2021, an enthusiastic team of current and former DINPD staff members and their relatives devoted their Saturday morning to hands-on nature conservation at the Szársomlyó site of the LIFE endemic PANALP project. They cut down overgrown bushes and smaller trees on the most Southern habitat of the rare and vulnerable Vincetoxicum pannonicum.
This year’s autumn monitoring has yielded gratifying results. We found that the number of voles in the locality near the village of Čiližská Radvaň increased compared to previous years.
Intensive farming on large areas literally erased life from the country. This is largely due to a poorly designed agricultural policy that encourages intensive farming, which creates a huge burden on the environment. Variety disappears from the rural landscape and with it also birdsong, butterflies and pollinators. If we lose the natural diversity of the landscape, we will also lose its health and resilience.
The international project LIFE PANALP is focusing on the return of grazing as a tool for nature protection. Together with its Hungarian partners, the Regional Association for Nature Conservation and Sustainable Development (BROZ) will focus on the protection of several species of endemic plants and rare animals.