Restoring the conservation status for wetland habitats and species intrinsic to long term management practices in Sweden

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

BACKGROUND

The project concerns two sites near the city of Orebro, central Sweden – one is a Natura 2000 lake area, the other is one of the largest alkaline fens in the country. Both are suffering from serious lack of management which is threatening habitats and species. Site No 1 is the lake at Tysslingen. Until the 1950s, grazing and hay-making were commonplace. The number of farms around the lake then reduced, beginning a long period of overgrowth. Grazing had ceased almost entirely by the 1970s, and both meadows and lake quickly succumbed to overgrowth. Efforts to halt the decline began in 1986: grazing was reintroduced on the meadows and different machine-assisted methods were tried to halt the overgrowth, with varied success. Landowners tried to improve the lake for fishing, hunting, and waterfowl. Since the area was designated a Natura 2000 site in 2004, the County authority has taken over main responsibility for its upkeep. Site No 2 is Venakärret, a large alkaline fen that has also suffered because management of alkaline fens is a relatively undeveloped science in Sweden. Better methods of wetland management and restoration are badly needed. Managers of Swedish wetlands have noticed that meadows have become wetter since tractor-assisted mowing started in the late 1990s.

OBJECTIVES

The main objective of the 'RECLAIM' project is to reverse the degradation of the Tysslingen lake and Venakarret fen sites and to create favourable conditions for continued and sustainable management of targeted habitats and species. The focus will be on enabling good continued management after the end of the project. Both sites include habitats and species favouring conditions characterised by historical grazing and mowing. Therefore the project will aim to restore the sites to conditions that will allow grazing and/or mowing to be carried out in a sustainable manner by managers and landowners. It will prepare strategies for long-term management of both sites, including a specific reed bed plan for Tysslingen. Numerous targeted conservation tasks will be carried out: clearance; restoration of grazing; cutting and control of trees, shrubs and undergrowth; installation of fencing; restoration of reed beds; construction of an access road; hydrological management; creation of a pond and the moving of a dyke. The project also aims to demonstrate and assess use of a new machine for wetland mowing in areas with low carrying capacity.

Expected results At the Tysslingen lake site:

Formulation of a long-term management strategy and reed bed plan;

Restoration of 212 ha;

Grazing to be enhanced on 250 ha;

Habitat and hydrological characteristics will be improved on 45 ha of “Molinia meadows on calcareous, peaty or clayey-silt-laden soils”;

Reed bed dynamics will be restored on 2 ha of “Natural eutrophic lakes with Magnopotamion or Hydrochartition-type vegetation”; and

The habitat and conservation status of seven bird species listed in the EU Birds Directive will be improved.

At the Venakärret fen site:

Formulation of a long-term management strategy;

Restoration of 11.6 ha of “Alkaline fens” habitat;

Restoration of 15 ha of “Fennoscandian wooded pastures” habitat; and

An improved habitat for four species listed in the EU Habitats Directive – the marsh fritillary (Euphydryas aurinia - on 28 ha); Geyer's whorl snail (Vertigo geyeri - on 11.4 ha); slender green feather moss (Hamatocaulis vernicosus - on 11.4 ha); and lady's-slipper orchid (Cypripedium calceolus - on 1 ha).