grasslands without fertilization and in a traditional manner because they are idealists
and want to preserve the beauty of the landscape.
Thus, nature conservation of grassland in Europe needs a comprising policy
respecting public goods and services and the demand of the farmer.
These should also focus on the health of the animals, on animal welfare and their
natural medicine in the grassland, on the quality of the products, i.e. meat, butter and
milk, and on beneficial organisms such as insects. Furthermore, the diversity in the
landscape might reduce the risk of crop failure caused be severe weather. This was
visible in Central Europe in 2018, where a long and hot drought caused serious
failure in the agriculture and organic farming was obviously less affected (pers.
comm. with authorities from agriculture administration in Lower Saxony).
The importance of species-rich hay for the health of domestic animals was for a
long time part of the traditional knowledge. Farmers used hay of species-poor
grassland on nutrient-rich ground as energy-rich fodder, they used species-rich
grassland of nutrient-poor ground for the health of the animals, and they used hay
of species- and energy-poor grassland of mires—dominated e.g. by Molinia
coerulea—as bedding material in the stables. In spring the mixture of excrements
and old hay was transferred from the stable to the cropland as nutrient supply. We
did not find any indication that grassland before the twentieth century was regularly
fertilized.
In many agricultural landscapes across Europe species-rich grasslands are already
totally destroyed. Only old local floras and checklists tell how species-rich the
landscapes must have been during former times. However, a few examples show
that under certain ecological conditions it is possible to restore such high nature
value grasslands.
Therefore, it could be useful to transfer hay from the surrounding to provide seeds
of target grassland species to the restored field and to develop an optimal management regime to enable the long-term coexistence of multiple species at the place.
However, keeping existing HNV grasslands is always a better and cheaper solution
than restoring what was destroyed before.
7.3.3 Transforming Cropland to Grassland
Meadows with Arrhenatherum elatius which normally grow on mesotrophic to
eutrophic ground have been re-established in a rather short time on former eutrophic
soil of farmland. One or two years after transmission of hay it was possible to
produce relatively species-rich and healthy hay of high quality (Bosshard 1999).
The establishment of grassland on formerly tilled ground was performed e.g. in
the Ruhrgebiet, North Rhine-Westphalia. The goal of the project was the production
of healthy hay. Thus, the economic goal of hay production was combined with the
European goal to protect a threatened habitat type (FFH 6510, Habitat E2.2 of the
European Red List of habitats). In this case the habitat type was re-established with
transmission of regional hay.
352
C. Hobohm et al.
and want to preserve the beauty of the landscape.
Thus, nature conservation of grassland in Europe needs a comprising policy
respecting public goods and services and the demand of the farmer.
These should also focus on the health of the animals, on animal welfare and their
natural medicine in the grassland, on the quality of the products, i.e. meat, butter and
milk, and on beneficial organisms such as insects. Furthermore, the diversity in the
landscape might reduce the risk of crop failure caused be severe weather. This was
visible in Central Europe in 2018, where a long and hot drought caused serious
failure in the agriculture and organic farming was obviously less affected (pers.
comm. with authorities from agriculture administration in Lower Saxony).
The importance of species-rich hay for the health of domestic animals was for a
long time part of the traditional knowledge. Farmers used hay of species-poor
grassland on nutrient-rich ground as energy-rich fodder, they used species-rich
grassland of nutrient-poor ground for the health of the animals, and they used hay
of species- and energy-poor grassland of mires—dominated e.g. by Molinia
coerulea—as bedding material in the stables. In spring the mixture of excrements
and old hay was transferred from the stable to the cropland as nutrient supply. We
did not find any indication that grassland before the twentieth century was regularly
fertilized.
In many agricultural landscapes across Europe species-rich grasslands are already
totally destroyed. Only old local floras and checklists tell how species-rich the
landscapes must have been during former times. However, a few examples show
that under certain ecological conditions it is possible to restore such high nature
value grasslands.
Therefore, it could be useful to transfer hay from the surrounding to provide seeds
of target grassland species to the restored field and to develop an optimal management regime to enable the long-term coexistence of multiple species at the place.
However, keeping existing HNV grasslands is always a better and cheaper solution
than restoring what was destroyed before.
7.3.3 Transforming Cropland to Grassland
Meadows with Arrhenatherum elatius which normally grow on mesotrophic to
eutrophic ground have been re-established in a rather short time on former eutrophic
soil of farmland. One or two years after transmission of hay it was possible to
produce relatively species-rich and healthy hay of high quality (Bosshard 1999).
The establishment of grassland on formerly tilled ground was performed e.g. in
the Ruhrgebiet, North Rhine-Westphalia. The goal of the project was the production
of healthy hay. Thus, the economic goal of hay production was combined with the
European goal to protect a threatened habitat type (FFH 6510, Habitat E2.2 of the
European Red List of habitats). In this case the habitat type was re-established with
transmission of regional hay.
352
C. Hobohm et al.