The Austrian Nature Conservation Youth (önj) Haslach is looking for valuable testimonies of nature and people in the three-country Bohemian Forest region. The development of the past decades has blurred many traces in the cultural landscape, and with it the knowledge of traditional cultural techniques of old forms of cultivation has been lost. At the same time, numerous animal and plant species have disappeared. Paradox: Beautiful and intact landscapes like the Torf-Au are very high on society’s wish list.
landscape with history
A valuable natural and cultural asset has been preserved in the Torf-Au nature and European conservation area in the municipality of Ulrichsberg. At every step, the önj Haslach team discovers a long-forgotten farming world. This offers a rich field of activity for those who are interested in ecological and cultural history. With the purchase of 22 hectares so far, the entire peat floodplain can be preserved. This is a wetland complex with litter meadows, different types of moor, remains of alluvial forest, a reactivated mill stream, a farm mill that has also been extensively renovated, a river bed in the Große Mühl that is equipped with structural stones and the 2.5 hectare large water meadow on the left bank of the mill.
Securing ecological diversity
In cooperation with the farmers from Berdetschlag and Seitelschlag, the ecological diversity of the peat floodplain should be secured. So far, 400 species of butterflies, 65 species of birds and numerous other animal and plant species have been discovered here. With a later mowing date, their habitat is preserved.
On the forest meadows of the Bohemian Forest and in the valley landscapes of the Große and Kleinen Mühl, clearly recognizable ditches and silted up ponds can still be found in some places. 60 percent of all meadows in the Bohemian Forest region were managed as “water meadows” up until the 1950s. In the water of the Šumava streams, especially in autumn and spring, valuable river humus flows down into the valley. Allowing this to flow past unused or directing it to the meadows in small ditches as fertilizer at the right time has led to a number of different water meadow systems. Because fodder for the cattle is harvested from the meadows, the grassland has become increasingly important. More cattle in the barn provided more manure, which in turn was used as an important fertilizer only for the fields. The meaning of the meadows makes the following saying understandable in this context: “The meadow is the mother of the field!”
Traditional watering
The traditional irrigation of meadows served not only to supply water to the meadow plants and for fertilization, but also led to soil improvement and supplied the soil and plants with trace elements. Due to the meadow watering, the soil warmed up much earlier in the spring and thus extended the growth period. At the same time, grubs, voles and other less desirable meadow dwellers were driven away with the irrigation. With the historical meadow irrigation, good harvest yields could already be ensured early in the year.
Water meadows are ecosystems created by human hands. Numerous plant species have immigrated over the centuries, including the particularly valuable and rare orchid species.
This project is funded and awarded by the Biodiversity Fund of the Federal Ministry for Climate Protection, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology.
Source: Nachrichten
