PROJECT DESCRIPTION
BACKGROUND
Though the Province of Brandenburg in Germany is home to relatively large areas of xeric sand calcareous grasslands, this is one of the most endangered habitat types in the region and listed in the Annex I of the Habitats Directive Several key areas for the conservation of xeric sand calcareous grasslands are found in Dahme-Seengebiet in the administrative districts of Dahme-Spreewald and Oder-Spree. However, there is a need to address the pressures on this habitat conservation status and to secure its long-term conservation.
OBJECTIVES
LIFE Sandrasen aimed to protect and restore areas where xeric sandy calcareous grasslands (habitat type 6120 of the Habitats Directive). This habitat occurs or can be restored, in 20 Natura 2000 sites covering some 7 100 ha in the Province of Brandenburg, Germany. The objective of the project was mainly to support structures of land use that are compatible with nature conservation and which boost the connection of dry grassland habitat systems and improve its conservation statsus. Furthermore, the project team aimed to adopt an integrated approach that also allows other habitat types to recover in the project areas. Specific project goals included: preservation and stabilisation of existing xeric sand calcareous grasslands; restoration and improvement of different occurrences of xeric sand calcareous grasslands in suitable areas; establishment of land use that is suitable for long-term conservation of xeric sand calcareous grasslands in cooperation with regional land users and farmers; securing ownership of very important and endangered areas of sand grasslands to protect them from changes in land use; and stabilisation of the water balance in moor areas that accompany the xeric sand grasslands.
RESULTS
The LIFE Sandrasen project restored sand grasslands and other habitats, and ensuring their long-term management mainly by supporting farmers in applying for agri-environmental funds. The project partners improved the conservation status of ‘Xeric sand calcareous grasslands’, a habitat type (6120) of the Habitats Directive, and other connected habitat types; and established suitable structures for the management and maintenance of project areas in cooperation with regional land users and farmers. They established and tested land use that is suitable for the long-term conservation of sand grasslands, and helped stabilise the water balance in peatlands that accompany these grasslands. The project team purchased 76.7 ha of land, leased over 6 ha for 25 years, while another 135 ha was secured under land use contracts for 20 years.
Practical restoration measures implemented included clearance of trees and scrub from 19 ha of sand grasslands; removal of invasive non-native plant species from 14.3 ha; opening clearings in forests and forest edges to create targeted habitat on 62.3 ha; removal of top soil from 10 ha (to re-establish nutrient-poor conditions for targeted habitats); reestablishment of grazing pasture on 102 ha and mowing on 35 ha of sand grasslands (including grazing by goat, sheep and cattle to prevent invasive plant species re-establishing); creation of mostly linear habitat corridors; species reintroductions. 25 species were re-introduced on 36 ha, among them Gypsophila fastigiata, Allium senescens, Scabiosa caenescens, Digitalis grandiflora, Pulsatilla pratensis subsp. nigricans, and Veronica teucrium. About 27 400 seedlings were planted, grown from seed collected locally. Hydrologic restoration was also implemented in three sites to restore 63 ha of meadows.
The project team improved and stabilised ‘Xeric sandy calcareous grasslands’ on 77 ha, and restored a range of associated habitat types of the Habitats Directive, including the dry habitats, ‘Dry sand heaths with Calluna and Genista’ (2310), ‘Inland dunes with open Corynephorus and Agrostis grasslands’ (2330), ‘European dry heaths’ (4030), ‘Old acidophilous oak woods with Quercus robur on sandy plains’ (9190) and ‘Central European lichen scots pine forests’ (91T0), and the wetland habitats ‘Natural eutrophic lakes with Magnopotamion or Hydrocharition-type vegetation’ (3150), ‘Molinia meadows on calcareous, peaty or clayey-silt-laden soils (Molinion caeruleae)’ (6410) and ‘Lowland hay meadows (Alopecurus pratensis, Sanguisorba officinalis)’ (6510) on a total of 151 ha. Additionally, ‘Species-rich Nardus grasslands’ (6230) and ‘Hydrophilous tall herb fringe communities’ (6430) benefited from project measures on about 5 ha. Through its actions, the project improved a large number of targeted habitats in Natura 2000 network sites on more than 230 ha. Most importantly, it organised long-term management activities for the sustainable development of sand grasslands and the other habitats at these sites. This will be realised through agri-environmental funds that will continue to be available in the future, as otherwise the appropriate land use - a precondition for the conservation of open grasslands - might be changed or abandoned.
The project contributes to the implementation of a range of EU policy, including the EU Regulation 1143/2014 on Invasive Alien Species, due to the removal of non-native forest stands (mainly pine plantations) and invasive alien plant species (mainly Robinia pseudoacacia, Prunus serotina and Syringa vulgaris); the EU biodiversity strategy through actions to halt the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services; and the Habitats Directive, by improving the conservation status of targeted habitats and species.
Economic benefits were achieved by spending around one million euro on employing external contractors in the region to do the habitat restoration work. Further, the project team supported farmers in applying for agri-environmental funds to manage the grasslands in the long-term. The project established land use concepts on about 100 ha of land, on which the yearly income from agricultural enterprises is about €50 000. Since there is widespread tourism in the project areas, the project team established hiking trails, erected information boards, and constructed an observation tower.
Further information on the project can be found in the project's layman report and After-LIFE Conservation Plan (see "Read more" section).
