And at this time of the year the effort of the brave farmers and volunteers from the whole of Slovakia brought a reward – thanks to their help with protecting nature a rare orchid – Green winged orchid (Orchis morio) – is blooming on “Velky Kopec”.
Long time ago the open woodlands of Pannonian area had been grazed by big herbivores – humped cattle and European buffaloes. After human colonisation they were replaced by farm animals. In 50’s of 20th century the socialistic agriculture moved farm animals from landscape to stables.
The water flow is lower than agreed.
Two simulated floods of the Danube inland delta take place after a long time. After a series of negotiations and a successful petition, we managed to enforce what is approved in the Manipulation plan for the Gabčíkovo water dam. Until now, the flooding process has been depending on a complex administrative process.
In the winter, when it is the best time for tree planting, we planted more than 30,000 trees – the native tree species of the Danube floodplain forests.
In neighboring Austria, on the shores of lake Neusiedler, the work on restoration of Pannonian root vole habitat is also in progress.
One of the outputs of the Conservation of Birds in SPA Ostrovné Lúky Project was also a documentary film titled the Land of Meadows: a forgotten story.
In the summer months – July, August, as every year, we organize five tours of children’s summer camps on Velky Lel Island.
Two floods of this rare wetland will take place this year. We are looking forward to it, but we are still only halfway there.
Did you know that rivers and wetlands are considered one of the richest ecosystems in terms of diversity of life? During the last century, however, almost 90% of them have been lost due to human intervention, which is also related to the decline of frogs. In the past, therefore, “frog concerts” during the spring were a common part of the stay in nature, now it is increasingly rare to find places where we can enjoy them.
In the area of the Inland Danube Delta in the cadastre of the village of Bodíky, in 2020 we expanded the grazing of cows on floodplain meadows by approximately 8 ha. In order to support biodiversity, in addition to grazing on the site, we cut head willows.