The effectiveness of the implemented agri-environmental measures for the conservation of grasslands of high nature value in Slovenia

Travišča so eden izmed vrstno najbolj bogatih habitatov na svetu in pokrivajo okrog 52,5 milijonov kvadratnih kilometrov zemeljske površine. Vendar se v zadnjih letih zaradi spremembe v tradicionalni rabi tal, intenziviranja kmetijstva, pogozdovanja, spremembe vodnega režima, vsejavanje sortnih trav v travno rušo, urbanizacije, gradnje infrastrukture, komasacij, melioracij, povečanega vnosa fitofarmacevtskih sredstev in mineralnih gnojil, prepogoste košnje in nižanja višine košnje, fragmentacije ter po drugi strani zaraščanja, hitro spreminjajo v vrstno veliko revnejše evtrofne sestoje. To je privedlo do ukrepanja Evropske unije, ki je skozi Skupno kmetijsko politiko vpeljala kmetijsko-okoljske ukrepe, ki zagotavljajo kmetom finančna nadomestila za izgubo dohodka, nastalega zaradi izvajanja ukrepov, ki ohranjajo naravo in povečujejo biodiverziteto. Raziskave o učinkovitosti ukrepov kmetijsko-okoljskega programa so maloštevilne, zato smo v magistrski nalogi proučevali, v kakšni meri ukrepi, ki imajo postavljene konkretne varstvene cilje in so najbolj izrazito usmerjeni v ohranjanje naravovarstveno pomembnih travišč na območju Slovenije v obdobju 2007-2013, vplivajo na ohranjanje naravovarstveno najpomembnejših ekstenzivnih travišč v Sloveniji. Z uporabo geografskih informacijskih sistemov Esri ArcGIS 9.3 in Idrisi Selva smo obdelali georeferencirane prostorske podatke vseh dosedanjih kartiranj negozdnih habitatni tipov in izbranih podukrepov kmetijsko-okoljskega programa ter podatke in rezultate prikazali na slikah ter tabelah. Ugotovili smo, da je bil delež naravovarstveno pomembnih ekstenzivnih travišč vključenih v izbrane podukrepe zelo nizek. Izmed 76.822,21 hektarjev potencialno naravovarstveno najpomembnejših travišč je bilo v izbrane podukrepe vključenih le 2.123,12 hektarjev oz. 2,76 %. Z dobljenim rezultatom smo potrdili naša pričakovanja, da je interes za vključitev v izbrane podukrepe zelo slab. V podukrepe je bilo vključenih 1.482,63 hektarjev travišč, ki pa niso bila identificirana kot naravovarstveno pomembna. Tako je bilo veliko denarja porabljenega nenamensko, mimo doseganja ciljev varstva narave. Mi smo kot naravovarstveno pomembna identificirali 73.216,46 hektarjev travišč, ki pa niso bila vključena v noben izbran podukrep. Na osnovi rezultatov lahko zaključimo, da so ukrepi, ki imajo v teoriji postavljene konkretne varstvene cilje in so najbolj izrazito usmerjeni v ohranjanje naravovarstveno pomembnih travišč na območju Slovenije, neučinkoviti, ne-ciljno usmerjeni in kmetov ne stimulirajo k sodelovanju v ukrepih ter tako ne zagotavljajo pričakovanih učinkov.Grasslands are one of the most species-rich habitats in the world, covering approximately 52.5 million square kilometers of the earth\u27s surface. However, in recent years, due to changes in traditional land use, intensification of agriculture, reforestation, changes in water regime, urbanization, land consolidation, drainage, an increased intake of plant protection products and fertilizers, too frequent mowing, fragmentation and on the other hand overgrowth, grasslands are rapidly changing in to species poorer eutrophic stands. In response to increasing concern about the loss of grassland biodiversity, the European Union introduced agri-environmental schemes, which have been seen as an important tool to halt or reverse negative biodiversity trends. Agri-environmental schemes provide financial compensation to farmers for loss of income resulting from the implementation of CAP measures. As the number of studies on the effectiveness of agri-environmental measures is limited, we focused our study on the effectiveness of measures, which have concrete protection objectives and are oriented to the preservation of grasslands of high nature value in Slovenia. With the use of geographic information systems ESRI ArcGIS 9.3 and Idrisi Selva, we elaborated the georeferenced spatial data of all non-forest habitat type mappings, with the selected agri-environmental measures, and have shown results in the form of figures and tables. Our results demonstrated that the proportion of grasslands of high nature value included in the selected agri-environmental schemes is very low. From 76.822,21 hectares of potentially species-richest grasslands, only 2.123,12 hectares, which represents approximately 2,76 %, were included in the schemes. With the results obtained, we confirmed our expectations that the interest from farmers to participate in the selected agri-environmental schemes is very low. Surprisingly, 1.482,63 hectares of grasslands, which have not been identified as grasslands of high nature value, were included in one of the schemes. This has resulted in a large amount of money being spent in such a way as does not achieve the objectives of nature conservation. We identified 73.216,46 hectares of grasslands of high nature value, which were not involved in any selected schemes. Based on these results we have concluded, that the measures which in theory have concrete protection objectives and are most oriented to the preservation of grasslands of high nature value in Slovenia, are inefficient and non-targeted. Farmers are not stimulated to participate in the measures and are as such not providing the expected effects