Prats Vius, an initiative for conservation of semi-natural meadows in Catalonia

Semi-natural meadows are habitats dominated by a wide variety of spontaneously growing herbaceous species, some of which are considered habitats of Community interest due to their richness. In the last seventy years, the area occupied by semi-natural meadows in Europe has decreased by almost 90% for two main reasons: abandonment (and subsequent encroachment), and intensification or transformation into croplands. Through the Living Meadows project, the Living Landscapes organization seeks to guarantee the conservation of a representative sample of semi-natural meadows in good condition (donor meadows), which will be used to obtain seeds that will be sown to restore others in poor condition (recipient meadows). The project is based on several land stewardship agreements with the owners and/or managers of these meadows, who have committed to their long-term maintenance. Since 2017, six new meadows have been created and a dozen more have been restored through a variety of management measures and the application of innovative restoration techniques such as collection and sowing of seeds, transplantation of soil turf, production of seedlings plugs of indicator species and the use of facilitating plants. The results of the project are evaluated through two indicators: the ecological status of the meadows (through indicator plants) and their biodiversity (through diurnal butterflies). The results of this monitoring allow adaptive management to be applied to each meadow and to the project.