In Triglav National park our summer activities in the LIFE FOR SEEDS project during the 2023 season were primarily seed gathering (in addition to meadow restoration), which presented us with a unique challenges. We collected seeds from two habitat types (i) Semi-natural dry grasslands and scrubland facies on calcareous substrates (Festuco-Brometalia) and ii) Species-rich Nardus grasslands, on silicious substrates in mountain areas (and submountain areas in Continental Europe)). The collection area was scattered throughout Triglav National Park and its surroundings, often with challenging access. While we could relatively easily wait for favorable, rain-free gaps in the day In the Radovna Valley, our visits to Mangart Saddle, often planned in advance, exposed us to the harsh conditions of high mountain terrain. The activity itself also provided us with the opportunity to observe a beautiful spectrum of other meadow inhabitants, such as birds, grasshoppers, toads, spiders, etc. Particularly on one of the meadows, we observed numerous Wasp spiders (Argiope bruennichi), but the meadow itself will be mainly remembered for the abundance of ticks!

Regrettably, for the second consecutive summer in the Radovna Valley, we observed a significant increase in invasive plants, especially annual fleabane (Erigeron annuus), which is already overgrowing beautiful meadows in some places, displacing native plants. Due to its exceptional adaptability and resistance, it is practically immune to cutting or mowing.

We would like to extend our sincere gratitude to the landowners, as their cooperation enabled us to efficiently coordinate on-site seed collection, and we signed several new agreements for land-use permission. Landowners provided timely information about planned mowing and meadow conditions, always ready to assist. Our heartfelt appreciation goes to all of them!

On Mount Uskovnica, where we cleared woody plants on 1.5 hectares last year in order to reinstate hummocky meadows, we successfully covered the prepared terrain with freshly cut herbage, colloquially referred to as “green hay,” obtained from a species-rich meadow on Mount Vogar. The journey from Vogar to Uskovnica takes about 1.5 hours by tractor and we had to repeated it three times, emphasizing the importance of sunny weather. We had some help loading the green hay on mount Vogar from a group of volunteers, Belgian scouts, who were staying in Bohinj at the time.

The quantity of green hay was sufficient only for one part of the terrain. Within a month, an incredible amount of spear thistle (Cirsium vulgare) sprouted from underneath the hay. The seed that had apparently remained in the soil germinated massively, prompting immediate weeding. We plan to repeat this process with landowners in the coming season, hoping that the “seed bank” of green hay from Vogar will flourish in full splendour and the thisle will disappear completely.

Summer storms in 2023 also affected the Radovna Valley, where strong winds knocked down trees on two meadows under restoration. The falling trees lifted a large area of ​​turf, creating significant “holes” that will require restoration. Green hay will be used to cover the bare soils and quickly fill the gaps in the meadow. The removal of all fallen trees was completed in the end of 2023, and we plan to continue our restoration activities in the 2024 season.

We successfully sowed the collected seed mixture from the previous year on Mount Konjščica after completing a full meadow restoration, addressing issues like large drainage channels, were rain was washing away the topsoil. Together with the Agrarian Society Srednja vas v Bohinju, we also cleared the meadow as it was already heavily overgrown by small spruce trees, spreading across the entire meadow. We hope that the seeded seed on the restored part of the meadow will sprout in this spring.