Restoration and extensive grazing of wetlands - ecological and sociocultural evaluation of an nature conservation measure in the Syr floodplain (Luxemburg)

Background

As a consequence of human activities, the floodplains of Europe have undergone significant changes in the last century. These alterations have greatly restricted the capacity of the floodplains to serve their normal function in the context of the overall landscape balance. The naturally high levels of biodiversity of these components of the cultural landscape have also been impaired. In addition to the compositional elements such as species and populations, the comprehensive understanding of the internationally defined term ‘biodiversity’ also includes structural and process-related dimensions.

Of critical importance to the conservation and development of functional floodplains is the restitution of dynamic processes and natural disturbances in these ecosystems. Measures recommended for application in floodplain areas with development potential to help achieve this goal include the restoration of water bodies and rewetting, as well as the reintroduction of non-intensive management approaches to promote a structurally rich, semi-open landscape character.

In cooperation with the Administration des Eaux et Forêts a research project was initiated at the Institute for Landscape Management in January 2005 to determine the nature conservation potential of such measures; specifically to study the combination of non-intensive grazing with Galloway cattle and water body restoration, and their impacts on the biodiversity along the River Syr in Luxemburg. As part of a three tiered project, results pertaining to vegetation dynamics and the effect on vegetation of the behaviour of the cattle and the altered water balance, as well as the social acceptance of such nature conservation schemes are being examined.

Objective

Overall aim of this research project is to analyse and evalute the measure complex of "restoration" and "extensive grazing" to foster biodiversity and dynamic processes in floodplain areas interdisciplinary (with a set of data concerning vegetation development, animal ethology and sociocultural attitudes).

Procedure

The first aspect of the research concept involves monitoring the development of the vegetation at different scale levels, encompassing the recording of permanent observation plots and the repeated mapping of vegetation structure types. To facilitate a precise assessment of the influence of the cattle on the vegetation composition exclosures are established on the pasture according to different vegetation types. Data pertaining to ground water movements will also be collected in the exclosures.

This second aspect of the determination of the vegetation development also comprises a study of the space-utilisation behaviour of the cattle on the year-round pastures employing GPS telemetry and observation. The social scientific analysis of the acceptance of the measures by residents, visitors and social partners makes up the third methodological aspect of the interdisciplinary research approach. Upon completion of the data collection phase, the results will be merged so that the measures may be evaluated from both a nature conservation and a sociocultural perspective, and ultimately to derive practice-orientated recommendations for the arrangement and management of such nature conservation projects in the floodplains of central Europe.