A communication plan was developed to identify/contact the target groups. Various communication tools like a website, posters, Newsletters will be elaborated, tested and installed. Media communication and workshops ensure that outputs and results will be disseminated in an effective way to stimulate the public awareness. The added value will be summarized in a user-friendly report
In the early 1990’s the ‘High Nature Value Farmland’ concept developed from a growing recognition that the conservation of biodiversity in Europe depends on the maintenance and continuation of low-intensity farming systems. This concept assumes that biodiversity conservation goals in Europe cannot be met only by protecting particular habitats or species, or designating certain areas for their management, such as Natura 2000 sites. Low-intensity farming and land use that favour the dynamics of natural processes and create opportunities for biodiversity to flourish across large, contiguous areas of land should therefore be supported. Extensively managed semi-natural grasslands are the most important type of HNVF that has been nominated an objective-related baseline indicator according to the EU Common Monitoring and Evaluation Framework for the rural development programmes of the EC. The estimation of HNVF distribution in Europe on the basis of CORINE land cover makes clear that the prevalence is in less productive areas, for example in southern Europe and mountainous regions. HNVF is unevenly distributed and makes up about 15-25 % of the utilised agricultural area (UAA) in Europe.
Functionality, development and use of semi-natural grassland
Although semi-natural grasslands are human-influenced habitats, they provide cultural, aesthetical, functional, economical and biological values. When semi-natural grasslands are managed with traditional farming methods they support more diverse plant and animal communities and are also important for birds and invertebrates. Most semi-natural grasslands are rich in species of native provenance and for this reason can be harvested to obtain valuable propagation material for ecological restoration projects. The preservation and monitoring of semi-natural grasslands has therefore a high priority in conservation in the European Union.
In most European countries a dramatic decrease in the number of farms with grazing animals can be noticed in recent decades and the traditional agricultural use of semi-natural grasslands seems to be no longer competitive. In alpine and mountainous regions of Europe the increasing loss of semi-natural grasslands is a very serious threat to rural development resulting in negative consequences for ecology, economy and society. Alternative land use concepts must be tested and developed in future to counteract this trend. There are different options including productive agricultural land use and new forms of cooperative management systems. Productive, non-agricultural land-use systems (e.g. grassland-based biogas production, hay) can also contribute to keeping the landscape open and to avoid the development of forest. The use of semi-natural grasslands as a source of biodiversity can be an additional option both maintaining and conserving HNVF and fulfilling the requirements of ecological restoration by providing valuable plant and seed material.
The seed production of semi-natural grassland is a complex phenomenon, where the several component species participate each with its reproductive traits and phenological rhythm. Perhaps for this reason, it has been studied up to now in the indirect and simplified forms of the seed bank and seed rain analyses, and almost never directly on the contributing plants. Nevertheless, to utilize semi-natural grassland for seed harvesting it is important to know directly the phenomenon. This could help to increase the efficiency of the harvesting (difficult in a complex ecosystem) and to limit its potential negative impacts on the grassland natural value. Therefore, with reference to the main species of some important Central Europe grassland types, the project will conduct some basic studies on the seed production and on its time development during the vegetative season. It also provides a first modelling of these two aspects, which will be useful in scheduling harvesting.
The semi-natural HNV grassland is characterized by high diversity of site characteristics (slope, accessibility) and vegetation structure. Therefore, the harvesting method normally used in the seed cultivations, hay-threshing, cannot always be adopted. Moreover, due to its high price, the necessary equipment can seldom be purchased by institutions and companies involved in establishment of HNV areas. So, the project experiments some harvesting methods suitable to different environmental conditions and mechanization levels.
Harvesting as green hay (GH)
Harvesting as dry hay (DH)
Seed-stripping (SS)
On-site threshing (OST)
The efficiency of the methods is compared on grassland with different structure and composition. For each method the amount of harvested seed as compared to the standing seed yield, and the unit cost of the harvested seed, are analyzed. Moreover, the possible negative impacts of harvesting on the characteristics of the donor sites are explored.
Within this part of the project, demonstration and experimental trials are implemented using near-natural restoration methods such as on-site threshing or seed stripping and the transfer of seed-rich green hay or dry hay.
Those practise methods for the establishment of High Nature Value areas will be promoted to reach one of the main goals of the project SALVERE: improving the methods to harvest the seed produced in semi-natural grasslands and to use it in restoration and establishment of High Nature Value Areas all over Europe. These demonstration trials will be used as showcases to convince practitioners, planners, and administrators from the multiple benefits of these methods for the region such as enhancement of biodiversity, ecological restoration of Natura-2000 sites, extension of the biotope network, and attractiveness for tourism.
