1. Introduction to the INTERREG CENTRAL Europe Project: Semi-natural grassland as a source of biodiversity improvement - SALVERE Michele Scotton - SALVERE Project coordinator University of Padova (Italy) Department of Environmental Agronomy and Crop Production

2. The programme INTERREG Central Europe 2007-2013 Objective tree

3. The Programme Interreg Central Europe 2007-2013 Geography of Central Europe 8 EU countries + Czech Republic + Germany, parts + Italy, parts + Hungary + Austria + Poland + Slovenia + Slovak Republic

4. SALVERE within Central Europe General traits + funded for the period 2009-2011 + reference to the 3rd Priority “ Using our Environment Responsibly” “ Developing a high quality environment by managing and protecting natural resources and heritage” + eight partners from 6 EU countries

5. SALVERE partnership

6. Background of SALVERE + strong biodiversity decrease in Europe + 1992 Rio de Janeiro Convention on Biological Conservation and recent EU regulations promoting biodiversity protection + need of biodiversity rich native plant material General aim of SALVERE + to contribute to the practical realisation of the EU regulations regarding biodiversity by utilising the semi-natural grasslands as donor sites of biodiversity rich propagation material

7. Principles for the use of seeds and plants of native species + seed and plants should come from the same biogeographical region as the surface to be restored + seed and plants have to be get from sites with similar characteristics as regards altitude and soil

8. Main methods to obtain seed of native species 1. Cultivations specialising in seed production 2. Harvesting from semi-natural grassland Approach chosen by SALVERE + less studied + adoptable in every situation + particularly useful for environments with high diversity

9. Structure of SALVERE

10. SALVERE: knowledge acquisition Work packages 3 to 6 Core activity + WP5: study of the methods to harvest seed from semi-natural grassland Other studies connected + WP4: seed amounts produced in semi-natural grassland + WP6: efficacy of the seed obtained in restoration + WP3: role and future of species rich semi-natural grassland SALVERE Knowledge acquisition

11. Types of communities SALVERE Knowledge acquisition + Arrhenatherion elatioris : all partners + Mesobromion , Molinion and Cnidion dubii : only one or two partners

12. Studies on the donor sites: WP5 Aim: assessment of the efficiency of harvesting methods + Harvesting as Green hay + Threshing + Seed stripping + Harvesting as Dry hay SALVERE Knowledge acquisition

13. A spects considered + amount of harvested seed + quality of harvested seed + possible effects on the donor site + harvesting costs + methods for the evaluation of the quality of the seed mixtures + methods to separate seed of single species within a seed mixture SALVERE Knowledge acquisition

14. Studies on the donor sites WP4: studies on the seed production Aims + to obtain basis knowledge + to obtain information necessary to evaluate the results of the harvesting trials Aspects considered 1. total seed production of the important species 2. seed quality of the important species 3. modelling of the total seed production and of the standing seed yield SALVERE Knowledge acquisition

15. Studies on the receptor sites WP6: studies on the quality of the restored sites Aims + assessment of the quality of the herbaceous covers as a consequence - of the harvesting methods - of the type of receptor site Aspects considered 1. botanical composition and density of the herbaceous covers 2. cost/benefits analysis of the restoration techniques SALVERE Knowledge acquisition

16. HNVF in Central Europe WP3: role and future of species rich semi-natural grassland Aim + put the acquired knowledge into the context of the importance of semi-natural grassland Aspects considered 1. status quo of HNVF in Central Europe 2. agro-environmental policies and their impact on HNVF 3. future development of HNVF 4. attitudes of the affected stakeholders 5. strategic approaches to maintain and increase HNVF SALVERE Knowledge acquisition

17. SALVERE: knowledge transfer Explicit requirement of the Central Europe programme (“Effective knowledge creation and transfer”) Aims + to integrate the knowledge acquired in the project with that contained in the literature + to exchange the knowledge within the project group + to transfer the knowledge to the main project target groups SALVERE Knowledge transfer

18. Internal knowledge transfer + sharing the methods and the results (WP’s 3-6) + joint drafting of Manuals and Guidelines (WP’s 2-6) + participation of all partners in the national workshops (WP2). SALVERE Knowledge transfer

20. Activities Publication of Guidelines and Handbooks + Guidelines on Seed harvesting in HNVF + Guidelines for Donor sites + Guidelines for HNVF + Handbook for the utilisation, the seed harvesting and the establishment of HNVF + Proposal of a Native Plant Certificate SALVERE Knowledge transfer

21. Activities Direct contacts with the target groups + a pilot action in each involved country + national workshops and international conference Indirect contacts with the target groups + website ( www.salvereproject.eu ) + electronic newsletter + press releases and articles SALVERE Knowledge transfer

22. Conclusions SALVERE provides the integration of + public interest of biodiversity protection and interest of private restoration companies + partners with different backgrounds and competences + acquired knowledge and already available knowledge SALVERE will succeed insofar as its partners will be able to carry out all these integrations

24. Main requirements of the Central Europe programme 1. Transnational thematic focus 2. Coherent approach 3. Transnational partnership 4. Effective management 5. Effective knowledge creation and transfer 6. Concrete outputs and results