Collaboration

Cooperations

Meadow birds depend on wet to moist, very extensively used meadows and pastures as breeding habitats. Specifically, they need:

  • High water tables with temporarily flat-flooded sites
  • Low or intermediate trophic level of soil
  • Mowing and grazing compliant to nesting distribution
  • Sufficient farming intensity for optimal vegetation structures

On the one hand, these factors are not attractive for farmers, as they mean significantly lower yields, and therefore less money. On the other hand, conventional agriculture with high fertiliser rates, dense homogeneous plant stands and frequent mowing does not go well with meadow bird conservation.

Wet meadow with short green grass and widely spread areas of shallo water.
Ideal habitat conditions at the project area Dümmer. We depend on farmers to create these conditions. Photo: K. Obracay/NLWKN

That is why farmers, as managers of the meadows, are important partners in meadow bird conservation. We work together with tenants and farmers' associations to manage meadows and pastures in a way that is profitable for both birds and farmers. It is an important task within the LIFE IP GrassBirdHabitats to develop of a sustainable business model that can also be applied beyond the borders of our project areas.