Alliance for Pasture Diversity (in Saxony-Anhalt): promoting greater species and structural diversity through innovation and knowledge transfer (WeideVielfalt)

When used appropriately, grazed grassland is one of the most species-rich habitats in Central Europe. However, species-rich grassland is now in sharp decline. In addition to its conservation, it is therefore urgently necessary to implement measures on areas that are currently poor in structure and species diversity in order to increase biodiversity. These measures must be practicable and economical so that they can also be implemented on larger areas and adopted by land users. Grazing adapted to grassland-specific target species (e.g., wild bees, butterflies) can make a significant contribution to this, supported by complementary measures to promote target species in grassland.

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Project priorities

A consortium of six partners from science, nature conservation, and agriculture in Saxony-Anhalt with extensive project experience will develop innovative solutions to promote structural, plant, and animal diversity on grazed grassland and implement them on demonstration areas belonging to the project partners. Based on this, a comprehensive range of advisory services will be developed to encourage other land users to implement promising measures on their land. The WeideVielfalt consortium will initially be active in seven model grazing areas in Saxony-Anhalt with a wide variety of grazing types, grazing animals, and habitats. A total of at least 700 hectares are to be covered by measures during the five-year project period. All activities will be accompanied by a wide range of public relations work.

The project focuses on three current challenges:

(1) the successful establishment of target flora and fauna species on formerly structurally and species-poor intensive grasslands or fallow land by adjusting grazing regimes and creating innovative establishment windows with meadow threshing material and/or certified wild plant seeds.

(2) Reducing deficits in knowledge transfer regarding solutions and in communication between the various stakeholder groups concerned through targeted mediation and comprehensive public relations work at various levels and using modern communication tools.

(3) Taken together, these measures are intended to counteract a further decline in extensive grazing livestock farming. The awarding of a WeideVielfalt (pasture diversity) label is also intended to motivate land users and reward them for their contributions to the common good. Web tutorials and the development of a continuing education program at Anhalt University of Applied Sciences will also ensure that the project results are used nationwide.

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Project region

Saxony-Anhalt

Further project details

• Work packages

  Work package 1: Creation of demonstration areas to increase structural, floral, and animal species diversity by adjusting grazing regimes (2023–2028)

  In line with adaptive management principles, grazing management on demonstration pasture areas will be continuously evaluated throughout the project period in terms of structural and plant species diversity and flower availability, and management will be continuously optimized based on the results. Key control variables for pasture management are temporary changes in stocking rates or temporary supplementary mowing measures to suppress undesirable plant species (e.g., dominant grass stands). However, other key control parameters include the exclusion of protected areas during the flight season of insects, the development of flower-rich edge structures, and the targeted retention of tall vegetation as a winter habitat for insects. The aim is to create a mosaic of different vegetation structures that meets the habitat requirements of as many characteristic plant and insect species as possible and does not focus solely on individual species or species groups. The dung of grazing animals can also make a significant contribution to improving the food supply for associated insect species (and, via the food chain, also for grazing birds). For this reason, antiparasitic drugs should be used more sparingly and not as a general preventive measure in grazing animals.

  Work package 2: Reintroduction of target plant species on demonstration areas (focus 2023–2025)

  In this work package, demonstration areas on fresh to (alternately) moist pastures are to be upgraded as examples. This is to be done using 3 x 3 m to 5 x 5 m establishment windows, into which wild plant seeds are sown or meadow threshing material is applied, so that the pasture areas are upgraded. This includes areas where target plant species are either locally extinct (former intensive pastures) or, after conversion from arable land to grassland (spontaneous succession or sowing with grass mixtures), have been unable to colonize even after prolonged periods of extensive grazing. When sowing, particular focus is placed on developing a flowering aspect that is as continuous as possible throughout the growing season, with important nectar and pollen resources and an extensive supply of seeds. The success of the measures will be monitored throughout the entire project period in terms of plant species diversity and the establishment of the target species introduced, as well as in terms of the effects on wild bees and butterflies/zephyrs.

  Work package 3: Restoration and enhancement of FFH habitat types (2023–2025)

  This work package focuses on the restoration and enhancement of Fauna-Flora Habitat (FFH) habitat types. Appropriate measures are planned primarily for pastureland, especially goat pastures, in the Lower Saale Valley, where FFH habitats (primarily calcareous dry grasslands 6210(*), steppe grasslands 6240(*)) are to be restored or their conservation status improved, as they have largely lost their habitat-typical species spectrum due to undergrazing or abandonment of use and the associated processes of fallow (e.g., scrub encroachment, grass encroachment). After initial restoration through scrub clearance or, alternatively, an intensive phase of goat grazing, it will be examined whether the target species can re-establish themselves spontaneously. In order to support the success of the renaturation, missing LRT species are to be reintroduced using the methods described in work package 2. In addition, this work package aims to upgrade the Hecklingen inland salt marsh, which is characterized by salt marsh vegetation (LRT 1340*) but is largely overgrown with reeds. If necessary, initial measures to reduce the reeds will be implemented in order to promote biodiversity and the local practice of rotational grazing. Furthermore, enhancement measures are planned by reducing maintenance deficits in the area of grassland areas grazed by Konik horses and Heck cattle in semi-wet locations (LRT 6510, 6440).

  Work package 4: Establishment of a state and nationwide advisory service and development of a WeideVielfalt (pasture diversity) label (focus 2026–2028)

  Building on the project partners’ many years of experience and incorporating demonstration areas that have already been successfully developed and newly created as part of the project, target group-specific consulting and mediation services are being developed. A wide range of grazing animals (including Boer goats, Exmoor ponies, Galloway cattle, Heck cattle, Konik horses, sheep, and water buffalo) are represented on these areas in order to take into account the various approaches to pasture management. In addition to traditional approaches such as organizing target group-specific workshops, field days, and citizen excursions, modern media (online advisory tool with web tutorials/educational videos, a smartphone app) will also be used for public relations work. Project-related information will also be distributed via social media such as Instagram and Twitter.

  In cooperation with the project partners, this work package aims to establish a selection process to reward farmers for their efforts to create a species-rich and structurally diverse pasture landscape and to award them with a WeideVielfalt (pasture diversity) plaque. Among other things, this is intended to support regional value chains (especially the marketing of products from landscape conservation). Based on the project experience, the project consortium also offers to provide advice on the design of measures for the next funding period (further development of contractual nature conservation and state programs) in Saxony-Anhalt. The aim is to ensure that additional services provided by farmers to improve species and structural diversity are better rewarded in the future, thereby counteracting a further decline in biodiversity-preserving grazing, especially on marginal land dependent on use.

  Work package 5: Transfer of results in Saxony-Anhalt (focus 2026–2028)

  Building on the services developed in the project, further farmers in Saxony-Anhalt will be advised and motivated to implement measures on their land. Thanks to the excellent contacts that all project partners have with regional farmers, initial consultations are scheduled to take place as early as 2024. However, the focus will not be on transferring measures successfully implemented on the demonstration areas to other pasture areas until the second half of the project.

  Work package 6: Evaluation of project results (ongoing evaluation throughout the entire project period)

  Indicators include structural and plant species diversity, as well as the availability of flowers and the presence of wild bees and butterflies. The results of the ongoing evaluation will be used for continuous adaptation and optimization of grassland management and for public relations work throughout the entire project period.

• Kick-off workshop 2024

  On March 14, the kick-off workshop for the “WeideVielfalt” project took place at Anhalt University of Applied Sciences. The event was attended by approximately 100 participants from across Germany representing politics, science, and nature conservation, including State Secretary Dr. Steffen Eichner from the Ministry of Science, Energy, Climate Protection, and Environment of Saxony-Anhalt (MWU Saxony-Anhalt) and representatives of the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN) and the program office of the Federal Biological Diversity Program (project management agency DLR). A very varied program included a detailed presentation of the WeideVielfalt project and all project partners, as well as other thematic presentations (the presentations are linked as PDF files):

  • The situation of pasture grassland in Germany: challenges and opportunities (Dr. Anja Schmitz, Bundesamt für Naturschutz)
  • Biodiversity and grazing – experiences with grazing effects from various projects (Prof. Dr. Sabine Tischew, Anhalt University of Applied Sciences)
  • Presentation of the new WeideVielfalt project (Dr. Daniel Elias, Anhalt University of Applied Sciences)
  • The importance of grazing for insects (Prof. Dr. Thomas Fartmann, University of Osnabrück)
  • 20 years of ups and downs – grasshopper monitoring on grazed grassland (Dr. Andreas Zahn)
  • Weidewonne – the support network for landscape conservation businesses in Thuringia (Stefanie Schröter, Naturstiftung David)
  • Open land management in Hainich National Park – focus on grazing (Madlen Schellenberg, Hainich National Park)