Project title: Restoration of Priority Grassland Habitats in Slovakia and Romania

Project scheme: LIFE, Nature and Biodiversity

Project acronym: LIFE Diverseed

Project code: LIFE23 NAT/SK/101148306

Duration: 01/06/2024 – 30/09/2031

Total budget: 6,579,792.09 EUR (75% funded by European Commission contribution)

Project partners: BROZ, ADEPT Transilvania Foundation, Agrostis Trávniky SK, s.r.o., Central Control and Testing Institute in Agriculture in Bratislava, and Plant Science and Biodiversity Centre of the Slovak Academy of Sciences

Project focus:

The project focuses on 10 habitats (9 priority habitats listed in Annex I of the Habitats Directive and one endangered habitat in the European Red List of Habitats) in 33 sites of European importance (30 in Slovakia and 3 in Romania). We will directly restore up to 920 ha of priority grassland habitats and another 1,200 ha indirectly through replications. Additionally, the project will significantly support future grassland restoration by developing protocols, methodologies, and guidelines for seed collection, cultivation, and re-seeding in protected grasslands. Regional seed mixtures are currently not available in Slovakia or Romania, yet the demand for them is constantly growing among conservationists and farmers. The project will involve close cooperation with farmers and farmers’ associations, environmental agencies, and national authorities who have expressed their interest.

The project will also properly map and assess the critical loss of grasslands in Romania, which are undervalued due to a lack of surveyors. The results of mapping and other activities will help improve agri-environmental schemes in Romania, which have failed to stop grassland loss. Numerous activities will be organized for volunteers, schools, and the general public, as well as meetings with authorities and extensive farmer training. Seed mixtures will be designed to enter the market for further replication after the project ends.

Main project objectives:

1. implement necessary restoration management of target priority grassland habitats on a total area of at least 920 hectares in 33 Sites of Community Importance in two EU member states
2. restore small-scale habitats (e.g., wetlands) at 85 sites
3. plant 2,500 individuals of 10 most endangered flagship species, especially orchids
4. prepare 2 species-rich seed mixtures for grassland restoration in both Slovakia and Romania
5. purchase a minimum of 10 hectares and lease also a minimum of 10 hectares of land, and pay compensation for temporary land use restrictions of at least 108 hectares (in case of seed collection, mowing and grazing must be postponed, causing losses to users)
6. obtain relevant scientific data about target habitats in Romania
7. ensure long-term habitat management in cooperation with local farmers and other landowners and land users
8. raise awareness among stakeholders and the public about target habitats, conservation measures, and their importance
9. disseminate knowledge (project know-how) in various locations, regions, and EU states through participation in conferences, workshops, and other events
10. assess habitat loss and effectiveness of current agri-environmental schemes and revise agri-environmental schemes in Romania
11. prepare and approve a set of measures for collecting, cultivating, and using seed mixtures for grassland restoration in Slovakia and Romania
12. replicate best practices in habitat restoration at least 15 times with stakeholders in non-target sites
13. prepare seed mixture distribution for the market

Target habitats:

Annex 1 of the Habitats Directive:

*1340 Inland salt meadows 

*1530 Pannonic salt steppes and salt marshes 

*6110 Rupicolous calcareous or basophilic grasslands of the Alysso-Sedion albi 

*6120 Xeric sand calcareous grasslands 

*6210 Semi-natural dry grasslands and scrubland facies on calcareous substrates (Festuco-Brometalia) with important orchid sites 

*6240 Sub-Pannonic steppic grasslands 

*6250 Pannonic loess steppic grasslands 

*6260 Pannonic sand steppes 

*40A0 Subcontinental peri-Pannonic scrub – the only non-grassland habitat, which exists in mosaic with habitat 

*6210, requiring the same grazing management and increasing heterogeneity and biodiversity in project sites

Endangered habitat from the European Red List:

E3.4a Moist or wet mesotrophic to eutrophic grassland

Project sites:

SKUEV0071 Abov

SKUEV027 Baské

SKUEV0566 Beckovské skalice

SKUEV0295 Biskupické luhy

SKUEV0135 Bočina

SKUEV2064 Bratislavské luhy

SKUEV0069 Búčske slanisko

SKUEV0103 Čachtické Karpaty

SKUEV0800 Devínska hradná skala

SKUEV0280 Devínska Kobyla

SKUEV0292 Drieňová hora

SKUEV0367, SKUEV2367 Holubyho kopanice

SKUEV0100 Chotínske piesky

SKUEV0068 Jurský Chlm

SKUEV0379 Kobela

SKUEV 0065 Marcelovské piesky

SKUEV0158, SKUEV2158 Modrý vrch

SKUEV0078 Mostová

SKUEV0098, SKUEV2098 Nesvadské piesky

SKUEV0269, SKUEV2269 Ostrovné lúčky

SKUEV0095 Panské lúky

SKUEV0091 Ploská hora

SKUEV0128 Rokoš

SKUEV0823 Sovie vinohrady

SKUEV0157 Starý vrch

SKUEV0256, SKUEV1256 Strážovské vrchy

SKUEV0096 Šurianske slaniská

SKUEV0380 Tematínske vrchy

SKUEV0567 Turecký vrch

SKUEV0137 Záhrada

ROSCI0323 Munții Ciucului

ROSCI0227 Sighisoara-Târnava Mare

ROSCI0297 Daelurile Târnavei Mici – Bicheş

Activities

Restoration of degraded grassland habitats in Natura 2000 sites in Slovakia

Traditional conservation measures will be implemented on target habitats, such as: removal of self-seeded vegetation, cutting down trees and shrubs, removal of non-native invasive species, grazing and mowing, while considering the specific needs of the habitat at each site.

On long-abandoned or previously intensively used habitats where biodiversity has significantly declined, green hay transfer will be implemented from sites with favorable habitat conditions (seeds will fall into the soil through drying and turning the hay, after which the hay will be removed from the sites). At other sites, seeds collected from suitable meadows and threshed using a threshing machine will be sown.

Typical flagship species for selected habitats are rough milk-vetch (Astragalus asper), Austrian milk-vetch (Astragalus austriacus), stemless milk-vetch (Astragalus excapus), Tartar bread plant (Crambe tataria), eastern lizard orchid (Himantoglossum caprinum), late spider-orchid (Ophrys holoserica), Holub’s bee orchid (Ophrys holubyana), early spider-orchid (Ophrys sphegodes), media sand-spurrey (Spergularia media), and autumn lady’s-tresses (Spirantes spiralis). These species are currently very rare in Slovakia and continue to decline. 250 individuals of each species will be grown and subsequently planted in carefully selected locations, mostly based on historical occurrence of the species or to strengthen existing small populations.

This activity will also include the restoration of small-scale areas where soil will be exposed and disturbed, creating suitable conditions for many plants such as flame adonis (Adonis flammea), cow cockle (Vaccaria hispanica), common corn-cockle (Agrostemma githago), or cornflower (Centaurea cyanus). Seeds of these plants will be collected and purposefully sown on disturbed soil to support their ability to colonize new sites. Soil surface disturbance is also a good tool for supporting the rejuvenation of pioneer plant species typical for salt marshes (e.g., spiny grass (Cryspsis aculeata), red goosefoot (Chenopodium chenopodioides), shore orache (Atriplex litoralis), lesser sea-spurrey (Spergularia marina), and it is good to combine these measures with an appropriate grazing regime.

This activity will also include selecting sites in less accessible small-scale protected areas from which seeds will be collected to create grass-herb seed mixtures. Two mixtures will be designed: species-enriched and regional seed mixtures. Besides collecting seeds directly from sites, seeds will also be obtained from pre-grown mother plants of about 30 species.

The activity aims to:

• clean at least 100 hectares of overgrown habitats
• remove invasive plants from an area of at least 30 hectares
• graze at least 250 hectares of pastures
• mow and transfer green hay on a minimum of 40 hectares of land
• restore small-scale habitats at 85 sites
• create two species-rich seed mixtures for habitat restoration purposes
• restore 15 hectares of grasslands using seed mixtures
• establish mother plant areas for seed production of approximately 30 plant species
• plant 2,500 individuals of 10 most endangered flagship species
• purchase 10 hectares and long-term lease 10 hectares of land for implementing measures
• provide one-time compensation to farmers for seed collection on 8 hectares of meadows in favorable condition

 

Restoration of degraded grassland habitats in Natura 2000 sites in Romania

Romanian partners will conduct habitat mapping in three sites of European importance: Sighisoara-Târnava Mare, Munții Ciucului, and Daelurile Târnavei Mici – Bicheş, which are currently insufficiently mapped. Traditional mapping methods (transects) will be used in combination with the latest available technology (drones, satellite images, including historical satellite records). Mapping will include historical habitat trends, presence, quality and distribution of habitats, suitability of management measures, and location of ideal seed collection sites. The obtained data will be used for planning project restoration measures and also provided to local authorities for improving overall agri-environmental measures.

Seed collection from species-rich habitats will also take place in Romania, to be used for restoring degraded sites. Collection times will be adapted to the ripening of seeds of various species to ensure the seed mixture is as diverse as possible. Collected seeds will be test-sown on smaller areas to evaluate seed viability and species composition of plants capable of establishing themselves in new areas this way. Gradually, seed mixtures will also be provided to farmers for replication of seeding.

Restoration of degraded grassland habitats will involve measures such as mowing overgrown areas and removing biomass, grazing on insufficiently grazed or abandoned pastures, or re-introducing mowing on abandoned hay meadows. An important part of this activity will be cooperation with local farmers and raising their awareness about the need for habitat restoration.

Through this activity we will create:

• maps of habitat distribution in 3 Natura 2000 sites
• maps of restoration and seed collection sites
• better analysis of grassland habitat management requirements
• 500 hectares of grasslands restored from poor to suitable condition in 3 sites of European importance
• 100 ha of restored habitats within pilot agri-environmental schemes
• better understanding of pasture management by farmers’ associations
• collected seeds for all target habitats

 

Monitoring and evaluation of project impacts

Monitoring will focus on observing the impact of restoration management on target habitats, evaluating the success of flagship species planting, and testing the regional seed mixture before its market introduction.

In Slovakia, 3 sites with different restoration management will be selected, each containing 5 monitoring plots (15 in total). Their condition will be recorded at the project start and at least four subsequent checks will be conducted to capture ongoing habitat changes. In Romania, qualitative and quantitative monitoring will be carried out in all 3 sites of European importance. If monitoring yields certain recommendations, they will be applied during the project duration.

Since the project focuses on restoring flowering habitats, pollinator species are expected to greatly benefit from project activities. Therefore, qualitative and quantitative monitoring of butterflies and hymenopterans will also be conducted at 5 selected project sites to track changes in pollinator diversity.

 

Raising public awareness and disseminating project results

This task focuses on informing about the project and its results and educating the public through regular website updates, social media communication, creation of information panels, short films and other information materials, project media coverage in TV and radio, organizing volunteer events, educational workshops, and guided tours.

 

Sustainability, replication, and utilization of project results

The project’s task is also to inform key stakeholders such as farmers, scientific community, institution staff, office workers, administration and local government, universities, non-governmental organizations, and volunteers, and support their involvement in project activities. Target groups will be familiarized with proven practices in grassland habitat restoration and management, protection measures, and possible utilization of project results.

Through cooperation with stakeholders and connecting them during organized events, we will also support discussion and collaboration with beneficiaries, as local community support ensures sustainable use of restored habitats after the project ends.