The impact of activities within an agri-environment scheme on the habitat condition of hay meadows and its alignment with Natura 2000 objectives

Inglés. peer reviewed

Inglés. Extensively managed grasslands are biodiversity hotspots. To help preserve them, agri-environment schemes have been established. This study evaluates whether the management under an agri-environmental scheme implemented in Wallonia, southern Belgium, fulfils Natura 2000 conservation objectives, particularly for hay meadows. The management agreement dedicated to meadow conservation in Wallonia is the “Grassland with High Biological Value” (MC4) scheme. Changes in vegetation communities were investigated across a set of 103 hay meadows under MC4 selected in Wallonia and surveyed between 1998 and 2023. Although species richness did not change significantly, there was a significant increase in the number and cover of typical species. Indicators linked to habitat degradation showed a significant decrease. At the same time, it was found that species linked to meadow quality were associated with meadows committed under MC4 for a minimum of 8 years, while nitrophilous species and species linked to intensive grazing were associated with meadows that were more recently committed under MC4. Species indicative of hay meadows with a higher Ellenberg N-index also declined in number over time. Although improvements were observed in certain criteria, the total degree of conservation of the meadows showed only modest positive outcomes. Our results suggest that the MC4 management steers some meadows towards more oligotrophic habitats than the hay meadows of habitat 6510. Depending on the meadows and the objectives, i.e. to maintain the meadows of habitat 6510 or transition to other types of habitats of high biological value, a low level of fertilisation could be considered.