Maintaining Semi-natural Grasslands in Slovakia

Miroslava Plassmann

Brussels, 15th March 2012

Farmland biodiversity in Slovakia• High diversity of grassland habitats depending

on farming • NATURA 2000 covers 11.9% of national

territory• Farmland covers 14% of NATURA 2000 land

(app. 80 000 ha)

HU

AT

CZ

PL

UKRNumber of semi-natural habitat types in EU-10

2023

2529

35

0 5 10 15 20 25 30Number of habitats

40

Czech rep.HungarySlovakia SloveniaRomania

No specific scheme available for habitats

conservation (including NATURA

sites)

Targeting Agri-Environmental Schemes

Step 1: integration of biodiversity into AEM

Tool: scheme for conservation of the semi-natural and natural grasslands

Step 3: specific grassland management adressing

biodiversity

Tool: grasslands devided into seven ecological groups according to habitat

types

Tool: National Grassland Inventory

System for subsidy allocation ensuring also basic management in NATURA 2000

sites.

Step 2: identification of valuable grasslands (HNV)

Scheme for conservation of semi-natural and natural grasslands:

Grasslands divided into seven ecological groups:1. Dry Grasslands2. Mesic grasslands3. Mountain hay meadows4. Wet grasslands of lower altitudes5. Alluvial Cnidion grasslands6. Wet grasslands of higher altitudes, Fen and Molinia meadows7. High-mountain grasslands

Habitat specific management under the Slovak AE scheme

Gaps in knowledge on favourable management practices for different habitats

“Management models for grassland habitats” in 2010 (methodological instrument)

• start in 1999 funded by PIN-MATRA programme, later WB/GEF project, national sources (MoE) and small projects

• in 2006 more than 96% of potential semi-natural grasslands mapped • information system with more than 16,000 polygons• extensive database with 1 million of species records• HNV represents about 60% of grasslands in the LPIS system

Semi-natural grasslands in Slovakia: 323 000 ha (National Grassland Inventory 2010)

National Grassland Inventory

Semi-natural grasslands defined

on basis of characteristic

species

Certificate defining semi-natural grasslands eligible for AE support and their management :

• map with distribution of HNV within LPIS blocks• definition of main habitats• basic management recommendations • all certified grasslands are available on the website of Soil Protection

Institute responsible for LPIS maintenance in Slovakia www.podnemapy.sk

• 2003-2006: DAPHNE responsible for certification (later State Nature Conservancy)

Grassland certification

AE Scheme implemented only on semi-natural (HNV) grasslands

Achievements and gaps in AE scheme

• High participation of farmers in scheme

• „Conservation of semi-natural grasslands“ – key agri-environmental scheme

• Management practices defined for each habitat type (e.g. grazing regime, mowing frequency, etc.)

• More than 120,000 hectares of semi-natural grasslands were certified

• More than 102,000 ha are subsided by MoA (17 million EUR per year)

Gaps:

• management practices defined on national level, lack of territorial approach

• insufficient control – some areas were not properly managed

• inappropriate design of scheme rules in some cases (rotation grazing)

• insufficient payment for some types of special management

Hedgerow management for butterflies

Problems in NATURA 2000 site management

Strenghtening the focus on valuable areas under the AE scheme

• implemented only for semi-natural grasslands in NATURA 2000 sites

• more specific management practices per polygon• based on existing data from National Inventory and local research• well adapted payments (more attractive to small scale farmers)• monitoring

Wishes for future design of the AE scheme

Implementation of farm plansEffective advisory system

Increase of budget

Diversity is important!