D02 – Monitoring agricultural land use in Transylvania. WALLACE RESOURCE LIBRARY Module 05 - Natural Resource Use and Sustainability D02 – Monitoring agricultural land use in Transylvania.

Tarnava Mare, Transylvania This stunning 85,000 ha area boasts some of the most extensive flower-rich grasslands in lowland Europe A habitat similar to that of a medieval landscape, it contains a spectacular array of fauna including one of the largest populations of European Brown Bears found anywhere in the world. In 2008 it was recognised and declared as a Natura 2000 site, making funding available to protect this traditional countryside. Definition of Natura 2000 – a network for life - http://www.rspb.org.uk/Images/natura2000_tcm9-263713.pdf Imagine a network of the very best places for nature spread across all 27 countries of the European Union – from sweeping coastal wetlands, through towering forests to the highest mountains. These are some of the most iconic and most loved landscapes of Europe. Their protection should be a natural reaction to their beauty and intrinsic value. The good news is that such a network – though in parts incomplete – exists. It is called Natura 2000. It is made up of Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) designated under the 1992 Habitats Directive (see below) and Special Protection Areas (SPAs) designated under the 1979 Birds Directive. These are selected against rigorous scientific criteria to protect the most threatened and important species and habitats in Europe. They are not, generally, nature reserves; their emphasis is on ensuring that future management is sustainable, both ecologically and economically. The network of protected areas also fulfils some of the European Commission’s obligations under the UN’s Convention on Biological Diversity. The RSPB’s network of nature reserves encompasses over 90 SPA sites in the UK. We also work through the planning system to try to ensure that development proposals do not harm SPAs. In 2007 we engaged in 253 proposals affecting SPAs. We campaign to ensure that the UK Government honours its commitment to designate sufficient Natura 2000 sites, to meet its obligations to conserve Europe’s most important species and habitats.

Tarnava Mare, Transylvania The traditional landscape can in part be attributed to the Saxon communities which have occupied the region since the 12th C. A network of 200 Saxon villages stretches across the foothills of the Carpathians, originally positioned to act as a defence against invasions. 23 of these villages sit in the Tarnava Mare and are a great example of a relatively unchanged way of life. Traditional communities with very traditional farming techniques. The Saxon communities of the lowland Carpathian Mountains have been managing the Transylvanian landscape in a traditional manner since the 12th Century. A network of around 150 Saxon villages stretches across this region, 23 within the Tarnava Mare, built by German settlers who were encouraged to establish themselves in the region to help withstand Tartar and Turkish invasions. Each village has a distinctive fortified church, where the villagers took refuge in times of threat, most of which still remain and are excellent havens of not only historical and cultural importance, but also can be important roost sites for bats. The layout of these villages has remained virtually unchanged and typically have small farms, each with patches of hay meadow, grazing pasture and different crops, allowing for a mosaic landscape perfect for high biodiversity. Taking a cross section through the valleys of this region, the villages and arable strips of land would be found in the valley bottom with hay meadows and pasture for cattle and sheep above. Forest still blankets the steeper slopes of the valley.

Traditional Farming Despite being a man-made landscapes, farmland can often be richer than that of wilderness areas because the mosaic of habitats encourages species diversity. In the Tarnava Mare, Small scale farms with traditional practices have barely altered over the centuries. Farmers still use communal grazing and the traditional hay meadows are cut by hand. By remaining low intensity it is the farming that has maintained the medieval landscape and so nurtured the amazing wildlife of the region. High Nature Value (HNV) meadows have remained due to the low impact management methods such has hand mowing and low impact grazing. Cattle and sheep are owned by different households but grazed on the common unfenced pasture areas with a cow herd and shepherds accompanying them. The cows return each night to their owners in the village and are milked in the courtyards before being turned out the following morning and grazed under the supervision of an elected cow herd on the lower pastures. Sheep are turned out in May and graze the upper pastures in large flocks with shepherds and do not return to the valley bottom until the onset of winter in November. The sheep are milked by the shepherds high in the valleys and at night the sheep are fenced in sheepfolds with the shepherds sleeping at spaces around them to prevent bear or wolf attacks.

Threats to the Tarnava Mare These intense or ‘improved farming’ methods, threaten to impact the biodiversity Herbicides Pesticides Silage Machinery Intense Grazing The grass is cut earlier than for traditional hay meadows and reduces the time needed for successful breeding (birds, herps and invertebrates). Use reduces plant diversity by only allowing hardier species to survive. Reduction in the number of species of invertebrates and amphibians (water-run-off). “HNV landscapes are fragile. Application of artificial fertilisers would seriously damage or destroy the wildflower meadows, allowing coarse or vigorous grasses to invade. The most substantial threats to wild plants and animals and their habitats in HNV landscapes are intensification of grassland management, with nutrient over-enrichment by fertilizers or high stocking rates, or over-grazing, especially by sheep and the abandonment of land and cessation of traditional land management practices such as mowing or scrub clearance.” – Fundatia ADEPT In the 1990s many of the Saxons returned to Germany, many of these villages now have ageing populations and are in decline and the houses and farmsteads have been allocated to other ethnic groups (Roma, Hungarians and Romanians) who were not experienced in the traditional farming techniques that had been practiced by the Saxons for centuries. The current EU funding system favours ‘improved’ farming techniques and the pressure on the region is to abandon the traditional methods in favour of more modern practices. Funding also doesn’t recognise farms below a certain size, meaning many low impact farms are excluded. Large farms are moving in and swallowing up the mosaic landscape and so information on the changing land use and its effect on biodiversity are crucial in order to affect funding policy and slow down this change. Pesticides, pollutatnts, run off, water quality, reduction in biodiversity https://www.ufz.de/index.php?en=31771

Threats to the Tarnava Mare These intense or ‘improved farming’ methods, threaten to impact the biodiversity Herbicides Pesticides Silage Machinery Intense Grazing Heavy machinery causes damage to soil structure and the survival of vulnerable wild flower species. Is also affects breeding success of ground nesting birds. Intense grazing will see more palatable species under more pressure and hardier species ‘out -compete’ and become dominant. This can result in a significant loss of biodiversity. “HNV landscapes are fragile. Application of artificial fertilisers would seriously damage or destroy the wildflower meadows, allowing coarse or vigorous grasses to invade. The most substantial threats to wild plants and animals and their habitats in HNV landscapes are intensification of grassland management, with nutrient over-enrichment by fertilizers or high stocking rates, or over-grazing, especially by sheep and the abandonment of land and cessation of traditional land management practices such as mowing or scrub clearance.” – Fundatia ADEPT In the 1990s many of the Saxons returned to Germany, many of these villages now have ageing populations and are in decline and the houses and farmsteads have been allocated to other ethnic groups (Roma, Hungarians and Romanians) who were not experienced in the traditional farming techniques that had been practiced by the Saxons for centuries. The current EU funding system favours ‘improved’ farming techniques and the pressure on the region is to abandon the traditional methods in favour of more modern practices. Funding also doesn’t recognise farms below a certain size, meaning many low impact farms are excluded. Large farms are moving in and swallowing up the mosaic landscape and so information on the changing land use and its effect on biodiversity are crucial in order to affect funding policy and slow down this change. Pesticides, pollutatnts, run off, water quality, reduction in biodiversity https://www.ufz.de/index.php?en=31771

Hay vs Grazing Traditional hay meadows are rich in wild flowers and support a correspondingly high biodiversity of other organisms e.g. invertebrates, small mammals, herps and birds. Meadows which have been subject to high intensity grazing are much less species rich. The current funding system for farming subsidies does not distinguish between a traditional hay meadow and land used for grazing. Allowing livestock to graze more intensively can increase the economic value of a farm but it might also result in the the subsequent loss of species rich traditional hay meadow. Images (l-r) traditional hay meadow, hand cut hay with traditional haystacks, area of over grazing

Habitat study The role of Opwall scientists is to assist in the monitoring of Biodiversity within this area with particular reference to farming practice. This data set looks at how different habitat types are assessed and monitored using GIS technology. Habitat data is analyzed from GIS maps and some simple conclusions drawn. This type of data will be collected every year and used to monitor change. This information will be used to ‘under-pin’ other important scientific data that is being collected and will be used to produce future conservation management plans It is all about - Farming practice v Biological diversity For details of GIS look at the key facts leaflet found in the key papers folder.

Habitat study Habitat types around a example village in the Nature 2000 conservation area. Research Tasks: Using the maps provided, work out the relevant distribution (as a percentage) of the different habitat types in the 3 study villages. Then construct graphs to show: Which is the dominant habitat type for each village? Which is the dominant grassland type? (total hay meadow or total grazing) Answer and discussion to the research tasks: Although computer programs are mostly used to calculate ‘habit areas’ from detailed maps, making these calculations ‘by hand’ should give you an insight into how data like this is collected and processed. You might also be in a remote location where there is no computer available so a useful skill to develop. Collection of this type of data is vital as it ‘under-pins’ much of the other research being carried out within the area such as relating how the more intensive types of farming might affect the biodiversity of species found in rich hay meadows. If the initial survey is carried out carefully and repeated every year, it will allow for the creation of well directed Conservation Management strategies. These strategies will then help the more productive farming practices to enhance traditional wildlife habitats rather than destroy them. Your graphs and analysis table should indicate that: Crit is Grazing (51.55%) Malancrav is Cultivation (22.39%) Mesendorf is Woodland ( mixed broadleaf, 35.29%) n.b your figures may differ slightly as these results were determined using mapping software which calculates ‘polygon areas’ and has a higher degree of accuracy. The dominant grassland type in each of the villages is grazing pasture   Final thoughts: In this area cattle and sheep are important agricultural grazers although sheep go up into the high meadows for much of the year. In the summer in this area grass is directly available to cattle when they graze in fields surrounding the villages (most are dairy cattle and have to be near the village to be milked once a day). Traditionally hay is harvested in wildflower rich hay meadows which is then fed to livestock in the winter months especially as it snows heavily in this part of Transylvania and no grass is available. These hay meadows are very rich in wild flower species (high biodiversity) and have a high conservation value and are famous in the region. In other areas outside of the Natura 2000 region cattle farming is more intensive and hay meadows have declined and been replaced by species poor meadows which are often used to make silage. Some farmers are also turning to beef production which will impose different demands on traditional grazing pastures. Fundatia ADEPT is the local organisation (NGO) who help to run this conservation area and one of the main reasons for the research being carried out in The Tarnava Mare Natura 2000 Region is to help to monitor how successful the Natura 2000 initiative has been in maintaining Biodiversity alongside good farming practice. For more on what ADEPT are trying to achieve, read the leaflet in the Key Papers folder located in the Associated Resource folder. The solid continuous RED line is the transect route walked by the research scientists.

Research Tasks/Questions Using the maps provided, work out the relevant distribution (as a percentage) of the different habitat types in the 3 study villages. Then construct graphs to show: Which is the dominant habitat type for each village? Which is the dominant grassland type? (total hay meadow or total grazing)

Data Conclusions Crit is Grazing (51.55%) Mesendorf is Woodland ( mixed broadleaf, 35.29%) Malancrav is Cultivation (22.39%) n.b your figures may differ slightly as these results were determined using mapping software which calculates ‘polygon areas’ and has a higher degree of accuracy. The dominant grassland type in each of the villages is grazing pasture

Final Thoughts. In this area cattle and sheep are important grazers although sheep go up into the high meadows for much of the year. In the summer grass is directly available to cattle in nearby fields : most are dairy cattle and have to be near the village to be milked once a day. Traditionally hay is harvested from wildflower rich hay meadows and then fed to livestock in the winter months (it snows heavily in this part of Transylvania and no grass is available). In other areas outside of the Natura 2000 region cattle farming is more intensive and hay meadows have declined and have largely been replaced by species poor meadows which are often used to make silage (an easier and more efficient alternative to hay for the winter). Some farmers are also turning to beef production which will impose different demands on traditional grazing pastures.