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Description
The project focuses on the conservation of endangered species of the Red Lists. The proposed measures include restoration and care of grasslands, destruction of invasive species, removal of woody plants, cutting of old fruit trees, planting of new high-stemmed fruit trees of old varieties, construction of stone walls for reptiles and birds and hatcheries for reptiles. The measures also include the examples of good practice transfer and innovative practices. The implementation of the project will enable the preservation, improvement and restoration of natural habitats of 56 endangered species from the Red Lists in the territory of 14 localities included in the project. The project will contribute to the fulfillment of the Strategy for the Protection of Biological Diversity of the Czech Republic. The project is in accordance with the requirements arising from Act No. 114/1992 Coll., On Nature and Landscape Conservation.
Summary of project results
Our project focused on the protection of endangered species of plants and animals, particularly those listed in the Red Lists. It consisted of a series of individual and interconnected or mutually linked measures for the protection of species listed in the Red Lists, which we implemented through the preservation, improvement, or restoration of their natural habitats. The aim of the project was the careful implementation of the planned 22 types of measures to protect endangered species listed in the Red Lists at a total of 14 sites in the Middle Jihlava River region. The purpose of the project was the long-term preservation, improvement, or restoration of the natural habitats of the species listed in the Red Lists at all the ecologically valuable sites included in the project.
The measures included the restoration and maintenance of grasslands, improvement of the current condition of degraded grasslands, suppression of undesirable expansive species (especially Calamagrostis epigejos), eradication of problematic invasive species (especially Robinia pseudoacacia), removal of undesirable woody plants, pruning of old fruit trees, planting of new high-stem fruit trees of old varieties, construction of stone walls for reptiles and birds, and creation of breeding sites for reptiles. The measures also included the transfer of examples of good practice and innovative procedures, such as the installation of special nesting boxes in stone walls for the Eurasian hoopoe and the Northern wheatear (partner: Czech Society for Ornithology – South Moravian branch), pollarding of overgrown willows to support saproxylic species (especially beetles), mowing and mosaic mowing of grasslands to support the European ground squirrel, removal of invasive woody plants by herbicide injection (foreign partner: Bratislava Regional Conservation Association – BROZ), and measures implementing the results of scientific research projects successfully tested in other locations, such as the use of plant parasites/hemiparasites (e.g., Rhinanthus or Melampyrum) to suppress undesirable Calamagrostis epigejos and change the proportion of grasses in favor of herbs in degraded grass-herbaceous meadows (partner: Local Chapter of the Czech Union for Nature Conservation – Hády Land Trust)
The measures implemented in the project from June 2021 to April 2024 included:
- Mowing areas with a total size of 23.61 ha,
- Harrowing grasslands over an area of 2.22 ha,
- Mechanically disrupting grass sward over an area of 0.9 ha,
- Establishing and restoring grasslands over an area of 1.3 ha,
- Grazing sheep and cattle over an area of 8.4 ha,
- Injecting (painting) invasive woody plants over an area of 4.88 ha,
- Cutting dense woody vegetation over an area of 5.07 ha,
- Felling undesirable woody plants (primarily invasive black locusts) amounting to 1201 trees,
- Health and safety pruning of 4 large lime trees,
- Pollarding a total of 41 willows,
- Initial pruning of long-neglected fruit trees amounting to 162 trees,
- Planting high-stem old varieties of fruit trees totaling 230 trees (including subsequent care),
- Planting autochthonous shrubs totaling 140 shrubs (including subsequent care),
- Sowing plant parasites and hemiparasites over an area of 1000 m²,
- Installing 400 m of fencing to protect areas with sown plant parasites and hemiparasites from wildlife,
- Installing a permanent fence for cattle grazing with a length of 590 m,
- Installing individual permanent protection for 100 trees during cattle grazing,
- Stripping sod over an area of 40 m²,
- Building 112 m of dry-stone walls,
- Constructing 11 breeding sites.
All measures were carried out outside specially protected areas, yet on ecologically valuable or potentially very valuable sites. The implemented measures represented positive interventions not only in terms of benefits for the species listed in the Red Lists mentioned below but also in terms of supporting biodiversity in general, particularly for other valuable and endangered species of plants and animals. All the implemented measures simultaneously contributed to increasing the ecological-stabilizing function of the individual sites addressed. The project also contributed to fulfilling the Strategy for the Protection of Biological Diversity of the Czech Republic.