{"id":36563,"date":"2025-02-06T15:19:02","date_gmt":"2025-02-06T14:19:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/broz.sk\/?p=36563"},"modified":"2025-02-06T15:31:52","modified_gmt":"2025-02-06T14:31:52","slug":"hrehorkove-revives-thanks-to-traditional-grazing-will-the-butterfly-king-return","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/broz.sk\/en\/hrehorkove-revives-thanks-to-traditional-grazing-will-the-butterfly-king-return\/","title":{"rendered":"Hrehorkov\u00e9 revives thanks to traditional grazing. Will the butterfly king return?"},"content":{"rendered":"Hrehorkov\u00e9, a Site of Community Importance (SCI)<\/strong>, is one of the youngest protected areas in the Biele Karpaty<\/strong>. Located on the sunlit limestone slopes near the village of Miku\u0161ovce (Ilava district), it was designated as a protected area in 2018, covering 12 hectares. By then, however, the once-open landscape had become overgrown with shrubs and trees. Local landowners<\/strong>, however, remembered Hrehorkov\u00e9<\/strong> quite differently\u2014as vibrant pastures filled with medicinal herbs<\/strong>, orchids<\/strong>, and the striking Apollo butterfly<\/strong>. Wanting to restore the area to its former glory, they reached out to the Protected Landscape Area administration in 2021 to see if anything could be done. Their request soon reached the team behind our LIFE Endemic PANALP<\/strong> project, and things quickly gained momentum. We joined forces with the landowners and a young local farmer named Martin<\/strong>, set out a plan, and got to work. Today<\/strong>, Hrehorkov\u00e9 is once again coming to life<\/strong>, buzzing with insects and blooming with orchids<\/strong>. The first signs of success came surprisingly fast\u2014just one year after habitat restoration began, rare bee orchids<\/strong> reappeared, and the striking hoopoe <\/strong>returned to the area.\r\n\r\n
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Changes of Hrehorkov\u00e9: Its appearance in the mid-20th century, in 2023 before the restoration began, and in May 2024 after the removal of felled biomass.<\/p><\/div>\r\n\r\nAt the turn of 2023 and 2024<\/strong>, the sound of chainsaws<\/strong> echoed through the area. For several weeks, our team worked to clear areas with dense shrub and tree cover<\/strong>, while carefully preserving junipers<\/strong>, fruit trees<\/strong>, and solitary oaks<\/strong>. Once most of the biomass was removed, an entirely new landscape emerged. The once-dense and monotonous thicket <\/strong>gave way to an open mosaic<\/strong> of future pastures, dotted with scattered trees and shrubs. Not long ago<\/strong>, such a landscape was a common sight<\/strong>. Over time, however, it has been replaced by two extremes\u2014either intensively cultivated fields, treeless meadows or dense forests lacking an herbaceous underwood. Neither of these extremes supports biodiversity<\/strong>.\r\n\r\n

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Of course, we made sure to preserve junipers, solitary wild fruit trees, and oaks, creating an open mosaic that is both visually appealing and beneficial for biodiversity.<\/p><\/div>\r\n\r\n\n\t\t\t