From October 15 to 17, 2024, a project meeting for the G4B project: “Grasslands for Biodiversity – Species-rich grasslands in the Alps and Carpathians” was held in the city of Timisoara (Temişvár) in Romania, in which 21 experts from 6 European countries participated. This meeting aimed to review the current status of the project and plan further steps within the framework of cooperation in working groups.
The project addresses the biodiversity of semi-natural meadows in the Carpathians and the Alps by involving interdisciplinary connections of several scientific disciplines: vegetation research, remote sensing (current and historical images) and socio-economic ethnographic research on management. Such comprehensive research allows a better understanding of how the grassland biodiversity was created and what tools need to be created to preserve the traditional semi-natural character of the landscape.
During the first two days, the participants presented the achievements so far, analysed the challenges and discussed the possibilities of further cooperation. Within the working groups, they focused on the key areas of the project and developed specific recommendations for improving the efficiency and quality of the outputs.
The final third day brought an excursion to the mountain village of Cornereva. During the excursion in the Carpathians, participants had a unique opportunity to explore traditional forms of farming in the mountainous area around the village of Cornereva in Romania. The local population still uses old-time animal husbandry and tillage methods adapted to the Carpathian Mountains’ harsh conditions. The excursion offered an insight into preserved agricultural methods and a sustainable way of life that harmoniously combines with the natural environment. Such a way of farming inspires modern approaches to nature protection and cultural heritage preservation.
Text: Zuzana Pazúrová, Tomáš Goga | Photo: Cosmin Ivascu, Tomáš Goga, Michał Jakiel
