Grasslands for biodiversity

Supporting the protection of the biodiversity-rich grasslands and related management practices in the Alps and Carpathians

DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT:

Semi-natural grasslands are among the most species-rich habitats in Europe but have sharply declined in spatial extent and biodiversity in recent decades. Within Europe, the grasslands of the Alps and the Carpathians harbour extraordinary biodiversity, which varies significantly due to local environmental conditions and management intensities. This project supports the protection and expansion of species-rich grasslands in the Alps and the Carpathians based on their spatial patterns and information about their plant diversity and management. We combine in-situ vegetation monitoring data, information from farmers, and historical data, together with information from remote sensing sensors, to model the large-scale spatial patterns of grassland plant diversity and its drivers. Our findings will help decision makers and stakeholders to target diversity-friendly policies and resources allocated for the grassland management schemes.

We aim to answer the following research questions:(1) Who are the stakeholders that operate in grassland management and protection? (2) Where are species-rich grasslands located across the Alps and the Carpathians? (3) Which grassland management regimes effectively support grassland plant diversity, how do they vary across regions and what are their legacy effects? (4) Where can we potentially extend the conservation area network in the Alps and Carpathians to maintain the, so far unprotected, biodiversity-rich grasslands? (5) How can we optimize grassland management to support biodiversity in protected areas?

The National Museum of the Romanian Peasant contributes to the project by participating in its activities, mainly by carrying out anthropological research on the project in communities in the mountainous area of the Romanian Carpathians; as well as by contributing to the systematization of data, promoting the results of the project by participating to conferences and writing scientific articles; and contributing to the drafting of documents with public policy proposals supporting the extension of the protected areas network.

This research is funded by BIODIVERSA+, The European Biodiversity Partnership under the 2021-2022 BiodivProject joint call for research proposals, co-funded by the European Commission (GA No. 101052342) and with the funding organizations SNSF, DFG, NCN, PROV BZ, SAS and UEFISCDI).

This project was supported by a grant of the Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digitization, CNCS/CCCDI -UEFISCDI, project number COFUND-BIODIVERSA+-G4B-1, within PNCDI IV.

Value of the project: 180.800 lei

 

PARTNERS CONSORTIUM:

Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL, Switzerland, coordinator of the project; Agroscope, Switzerland; Humboldt University of Berlin, Germany; European Academy of Bozen/Bolzano, Italy; Laimburg Research Centre, Italy; Jagiellonian University, Institute of Geography and Spatial Management, Poland; National Museum of the Romanian Peasant, Romania; Transylvania University of Brasov, Romania; West University of Timisoara, Romania; Institute of Ethnology and Social Anthropology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Slovakia; Institute of Geography, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Slovakia; Plant Science and Biodiversity Center, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Slovakia; Ukrainian Nature Conservation Group, Ukraine.

 

TEAM MEMBERS FROM THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF THE ROMANIAN PEASANT:

Dr. Anamaria Iuga

Dr. Habil. Corina Sîrbu

Dr. Bogdan Iancu

 

Project’s website: www.grass4b.com

 

RESULTS OF THE PROJECT:

1st stage of the project (April-December 2024):

a)    Field research on grassland management (identification of local stakeholders, distribution of 162 questionnaires, promotion of the online questionnaire in groups of stakeholders to be filled in online; recording of 38 interviews).

b)    20 information sheets describing grassland management practices (hayfields and pastures), based on research materials.

c)    Promoting the project at the following events: the workshop "La Preuve imaginaire: asseoir l'authentique en sciences sociales" (The Imaginary Proof: Establishing Authenticity in Social Sciences), Athens, November 2024; the event "La Pas" (The Step), Timișoara, October 2024; the conference "EcoRuralis," Bucharest, December 2024.

 

2nd stage of the project (January-December 2025):

a)    Completion of the field research on grassland management (total number of questionnaires recorded on the platform in 2024-2025: 95 questionnaires with farmers, and 149 questionnaires with local actors; recording of 24 interviews and 34 field notes.

 

b)    Synthetizing the 20 information sheets describing grassland management practices to 10 documents, correlated with the practices identified by the other project partners in the other participating countries.

c) Promotion of project’s results through academic articles:

  • Monika Janišová, Iveta Škodová, Martin Magnes, Anamaria Iuga, Alina-Sorina Biro, Cosmin Marius Ivașcu, Viktória Ďuricová, Oksana Y. Buzhdygan. 2025. “Role of livestock and traditional management practices in maintaining high nature value grasslands.” Biological Conservation, Volume 309, art. 111301, ISSN 0006-3207, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2025.111301.
  • Anamaria Iuga, „Declinul efectivelor de ovine si migratia ca provocări contemporane ale păstoritului” [Decline in Sheep Numbers and Migration as Contemporary Challenges Pastoralism is Facing]. Anuarul Institutului de Istorie „G. Bariţiu” din Cluj-Napoca, Series Humanistica, tom. XXIII, 2025, pp. 31–44, ISSN: 1584-4404, https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17654992.
  • Two articles under evaluation:
  • Polina Dayneko, Dariia Borovyk, Lublov Borsukevych, Anna Kuzemko, Martin Magnes, Iveta Škodová, Denys Vynokurov, Katarína Devánová, Anamaria Iuga, Pavel Širka, Corina Iosif [Sîrbu], Monika Janišová, „Fast post-ploughing recovery of traditionally managed semi-natural mountain grasslands in the Romanian Carpathians”, sent for the journal Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, ISSN: 0167-8809, on 21st July 2025;
  • Monika Janišová, Polina Dayneko, Martin Magnes, Dariia Borovyk, Lublov Borsukevych, Denys Vynokurov, Katarína Devánová, Anna Kuzemko, Corina Iosif [Sîrbu], Anamaria Iuga, Iveta Škodová, „Organic fertilization and hayseed application in traditional hay meadows: A pathway to biodiversity and ecological sustainability”, sent for the journal Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, ISSN: 0167-8809, on 2nd September 2025.
  • An article accepted for publication in 2026 in a collective volume: Anamaria Iuga and Corina Iosif, „Dinamici ale patrimoniului imaterial. Schimbarea managementului pajiștilor și ale practicilor alimentare în nordul României” (Dynamics of Intangible Heritage. Changing meadows management and food practices in northern Romania), in Adelina Dogaru Alexa, Adrian Stoicescu și Gabriel Tamaș, Patrimoniu Cultural: Dinamici, Practici, Reconfigurări. In honorem Narcisa Alexandra Știucă (Cultural Heritage: Dynamics, Practices, Reconfigurations. In honorem Narcisa Alexandra Știucă), Editura Universității din București.

 

d) Promotion of project’s results at international an national conferences:

  • Anamaria Iuga, Contemporary Changes in Semi-natural Grasslands’ Management. Keynote speech, at the international conference „Social Relations and the Redistribution of Economic Resources in Contemporary Rural Environments / Társadaknu viszonyok és gazdasági erőforrások átrendeződése a mai fuluban”, organised by Hungarian Ethnology and Cultural Studies Department, Babeș-Bolyai University, Faculty of Philology, Cluj-Napoca, and the Hungarian Academy of Sciences Academic Committee, Cluj-Napoca, 30-31 January 2025 (https://kab.ro/konferenciak/konferencia/tarsadalmi-viszonyok-es-gazdasagi-eroforrasok-atrendezodese-a-mai-faluban-1747).
  • Anamaria Iuga and Corina (Iosif) Sîrbu, Observing changing meadow management and food practices in Northern Romania, at the International Society of Ethnology and Folklore Congress, „SIEF 2025: Unwriting” (https://www.siefhome.org/congresses/sief2025/), Aberdeen, United Kingdom, 3-6 June 2025.
  • Monika Janišová, Dariia Borovyk, Lubov Borsukevych, Polina Dayneko, Martin Magnes, Iveta Škodová, Denys Vynokurov, Katarína Devánová, Corina Iosif [Sîrbu], Anamaria Iuga & Anna Kuzemko, Traditional grassland management practices for enhancing hay productivity and quality: implications for biodiversity conservation, at „67th IAVS (International Association for Vegetation Science) Annual Symposium”, Greeley, SUA, 29 July – 3 August 2025 (https://www.iavs.org/events/EventDetails.aspx?id=1896016).
  • Anamaria Iuga, „Rolul patrimoniului imaterial și strategiile de atenuare a efectelor secetei. Studiu de caz” (The role of intangible heritage and strategies for mitigating the effects of drought. Case study). At the International Conference Patrimoniul și comunitatea [Cultural Heritage and Communities], Baia Mare, Departmental Museum of Ethnography and Popular Art Maramureș, Technic University of Cluj-Napoca, University Center Nord Baia Mare, The Regional Library „Petre Dulfu” and the Association Friends of Ethnography Museum Baia Mare, 6-7 November 2025.
  • It was accepted a paper at the 31st EGF (European Grassland Federation) General Meeting, care va fi organizată la Evora, Portugalia în perioada 12-16 august 2026. The presentation will have the following title: „Stakeholder perception of the relevance of measures promoting species-rich grasslands in the Alps and Carpathians”, participants: Zanon, Silvia (Laimburg Research Centre, Italy), Andergassen, Jasmin (Innsbruck University, Austria), Barandun, Marco (Agroscope, Forage Production and Grassland Systems, Switzerland), Bassignana, Mauro (Regional Agriculture Institute, Italy), Battaglini, Luca (University of Torino, Italy), Biro, Alina Sorina (West University of Timisoara, Romania), Coppa, Mauro (University of Torino, Italy), Iancu, Bogdan (National Museum of the Romanian Peasant, Romania), Iosif [Sîrbu], Corina (National Museum of the Romanian Peasant, Romania), Iuga, Anamaria (National Museum of the Romanian Peasant, Romania), Ivascu, Cosmin (West University of Timisoara, Romania), Jakiel, Michal (Jagiellonian University, Poland), Kaim, Dominik (Jagiellonian University, Poland), Kuzemko, Anna (Botanical Institute M.G. Kholodny, Ukrainian Academy of Sciences, Ukraine), Miloș, A. (West University of Timisoara, Romania), Moser, M. (Laimburg Research Centre, Italy), Panáková, J. (Slovak Academy of Sciences, Slovakia), Pazúr, Robert (Slovak Academy of Sciences, Slovakia), Pazúrová, Zuzana (Slovak Academy of Sciences, Slovakia), Schneider, Manuel (Agroscope, Switzerland), Sommer, Jonas (EURAC Research Centre, Italy), Tasser, Erich (Inssbruck University, Austria), Tokarczyk, Natalia (Jagiellonian University, Poland), Peratoner, Giovanni (Laimburg Research Centre, Italy).

e) Other activities to promote the project’s results:

  • A presentation given by Anamaria Iuga on May 26, 2025, entitled "Semi-natural grassland management" at the invitation of Associate Professor Suzana Carmen Cismas from the Faculty of Management and Rural Development, University of Agronomic Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, Bucharest, during the course "Village museums around the world."
  • Participating to the activities organized by ADEPT Foundation through FarmBioNet network.

 

Contact: Dr. Anamaria Iuga, revistamartor@gmail.com; +40213179661, fax: +40213129875.

Muzeul Național al Țăranului Român, Șos. Kiseleff, nr. 3, București, sector 1, România.