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Miroslava Plassmann. Maintaining Semi - natural G rasslands in Slovakia. Brussels , 15th March 2012. N u mb e r of semi- natur al habitat types in EU-10. Rom ania. 35. Slov enia. 29. Slova kia. 25. H ungary. 23. Czech rep . 20. 0. 5. 10. 15. 20. 25. 30. 40.
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Miroslava Plassmann MaintainingSemi-naturalGrasslands in Slovakia Brussels, 15th March 2012
Number ofsemi-natural habitattypes in EU-10 Romania 35 Slovenia 29 Slovakia 25 Hungary 23 Czechrep. 20 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 40 Number ofhabitats Farmlandbiodiversity in Slovakia • Highdiversityofgrasslandhabitatsdepending on farming • NATURA 2000 covers 11.9% ofnationalterritory • Farmlandcovers 14% of NATURA 2000 land (app. 80 000 ha) PL CZ AT UKR HU No specificschemeavailableforhabitatsconservation (includingNATURA sites)
TargetingAgri-EnvironmentalSchemes Step 1: integrationofbiodiversityinto AEM Tool: scheme for conservation of the semi-natural and natural grasslands Step 2: identificationofvaluablegrasslands (HNV) Tool: NationalGrasslandInventory Tool: grasslands devided into seven ecological groupsaccording to habitattypes Step 3: specificgrasslandmanagementadressingbiodiversity Systemforsubsidyallocation ensuringalsobasicmanagementin NATURA 2000 sites.
Habitatspecificmanagementunderthe Slovak AE scheme • Schemeforconservationofsemi-natural and naturalgrasslands: • Grasslandsdividedintosevenecologicalgroups: • DryGrasslands • Mesicgrasslands • Mountainhaymeadows • Wetgrasslandsofloweraltitudes • AlluvialCnidiongrasslands • Wetgrasslandsofhigheraltitudes, Fen and Moliniameadows • High-mountaingrasslands Gaps in knowledge on favourablemanagementpracticesfordifferenthabitats “Management models for grassland habitats” in 2010 (methodological instrument)
NationalGrasslandInventory • startin 1999 fundedby PIN-MATRA programme, laterWB/GEF project, nationalsources(MoE) and smallprojects • in 2006 more than 96% ofpotentialsemi-naturalgrasslandsmapped • informationsystemwithmore than 16,000 polygons • extensivedatabasewith 1 millionofspeciesrecords • HNV represents about 60% of grasslands in the LPIS system Semi-naturalgrasslandsdefinedon basisofcharacteristicspecies Semi-naturalgrasslands in Slovakia: 323 000 ha (NationalGrasslandInventory 2010)
Grasslandcertification • Certificatedefiningsemi-naturalgrasslandseligiblefor AE support and theirmanagement : • mapwithdistributionof HNV within LPIS blocks • definitionofmainhabitats • basicmanagementrecommendations • allcertifiedgrasslands are available on thewebsiteofSoilProtectionInstituteresponsiblefor LPIS maintenance in Slovakia www.podnemapy.sk • 2003-2006: DAPHNE responsiblefor • certification (later State NatureConservancy) AE Schemeimplementedonly on semi-natural (HNV) grasslands
Achievements and gaps in AE scheme • Highparticipationoffarmers in scheme • „Conservationofsemi-naturalgrasslands“ – keyagri-environmentalscheme • Managementpracticesdefinedforeachhabitat type (e.g. grazingregime, mowingfrequency, 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: • managementpracticesdefined on nationallevel, lackofterritorialapproach • insufficient control– some areas were not properlymanaged • inappropriate design of scheme rules in some cases (rotationgrazing) • insufficient payment for some types of special management
Problems in NATURA 2000 site management Hedgerowmanagementforbutterflies
Wishesforfuturedesignofthe AE scheme • Strenghteningthefocus on valuableareasunderthe AE scheme • implementedonlyforsemi-naturalgrasslands in NATURA 2000 sites • more specificmanagementpractices per polygon • based on existingdatafromNationalInventory and localresearch • welladaptedpayments (more attractive to smallscalefarmers) • monitoring Implementationoffarmplans Effectiveadvisorysystem Increaseofbudget