What is life+? Launched in 1992, life (L’instrument financier pour l’environnement – The Financial Instrument for the Environment) is the financial instrument of the European Union supporting environmental and nature conservation projects. The funding within the programme part life+ nature serves to protect habitats and animal and plant species that are regarded as European Natural Heritage. The Ministry for Agriculture, More often than not, steppe grasslands are interspersed funding is therefore restricted to areas proposed to be identified and designated by Forestry, Environment sac with submediterranean orchid-rich oligotrophic calcare- the European Commission as Special Areas of Conservation ( s) under the Habitats Directive or Special Protection Areas (spas) under the Birds Directive. and Nature Conservation ous grasslands and calcareous areas colonized by pioneer Thus Life projects contribute to securing the European Natura 2000 network of species. In the Bottendorfer Hügel nature conservation protected sites. area, they also occur in areas adjacent to calaminarian grasslands. In central Europe, there are only very small areas of natural woodless dry and semi-dry grasslands. They are limited to very steep, rocky, dry and warm sites. Far more steppic grassland to gypsum hill often, we find “secondary” dry and semi-dry grasslands that have developed on abandoned fields and vineyards with shallow soils over the last centuries. Their biodiver- sity can only be conserved if they are subject to sheep and goat grazing on a regular basis.

red horned poppy (Glaucium corniculatum) What are steppe grasslands and where can they be found?

Steppe grasslands are dry grasslands and semi-dry grass- lands dominated by great feather grass, spring pheasant’s eye and other species that are continentally distributed. needle grass They predominantly occur in areas with an average annual (Stipa capillata) precipitation of less than 500 millimetres. In Thuringia, they are mainly found on the Keuper hills of the Thuring- ian Basin and in the Zechstein belt of the Ky¤häuser Mountain and of the Bottendorfer Höhe. Small areas of life project steppe grasslands also occur on dry and warm lime stone hillsides and on the loess islands of the Hainleite area. Conservation and They can be regarded as the “outposts” of the steppe of development of the eastern Europe. The steppe grasslands on slopes with shallow gypsum, clay or lime marl Rendzina soil that are Contact: life project office of the tmlfun | Dipl.-Ing. (fh) exposed to south and west sites often live under extreme Kirstin Hofmann (project manager), Uhlandstraße 3, steppe grasslands conditions: drought stress, weak soil development, wind 99610 Sömmerda | e-mail: life-steppenrasen@ and water erosion, and they can even turn into “Bad- thueringen.de | www.steppenrasen.thueringen.de in Thuringia lands” – like those in the Drei-Gleichen area and the telephone: +49-(0)3634-359-190 | fax: -359-193 Schwellenburg nature conservation area.

published by: Thuringian Ministry for Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Nature Con- servation, Beethovenstraße 3, 99096 Erfurt, e-mail: [email protected], tel.: +49- (0)-361-37-900 | edited by: life project office | production: Graphische Betriebe Weimar Schwellenburg nature conservation area to the north-west of Erfurt | photos: life project office, Th.Becker, D.Stremke, H.Wiesbauer, K.Bogon | May 2010 project areas with steppe grasslands in thuringia The life+ nature project is managed by the Thuringian Ministry How can steppe grasslands for Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Nature Conservation wipper B85 be conserved? (Thüringer Ministerium für Landwirtschaft, Forsten, Umwelt und B86 tmlfun Naturschutz – ). It comprises 13 project areas in the rural Sondershausen Bad Frankenhausen Artern districts Ky¤häuserkreis (excluding the Ky¤häuser Mountain), Söm- 1 The conservation will be assured by re-establishing and im- 1 Hachelbich merda, Unstrut-Hainich-Kreis, Gotha, Ilmkreis and Erfurt, the state unstrut proving sheep and goat grazing. Therefore the life project capital. With a duration of six years (2009-2014) and a total budget 1 Reinsdorf includes measures for biotope development such as 2 of five million Euros, more than 90 individual projects will be im- Heldrungen plemented. Due to the outstanding significance of this project, the I cutting woody plants Günserode 3 maximum funding rate of 75 percent has been granted by the Euro- A71 Bottendorf I removing deposits Sachsenburg pean Commission. The remaining 25 percent is funded by the Free B4 I preserving heavily matted grasslands through the use of fire State of Thuringia. I creating new habitats for highly endangered species Etzleben Hemleben B249 (species protection measures) The project aims at the upgrading, the enlargement and the Grabe 5 long-term protection of the steppe grasslands. They shelter a unstrutGriefstedt The sheep-farming infrastructure will be improved by Beichlingen 4 multitude of rare and endangered species of European conser- 6 Herrnschwende vation concern. 13 Günstedt I restoring cattle tracks Bothenheiligen Battgendorf Großmonra Bollstedt I Weißensee Kölleda building wells and drinking troughs B84 Leubingen Bachra I providing fences 7 Altengottern Straußfurt Rastenberg unstrut If necessary, the above-mentioned measures will be supported Seebach B176 Großneuhausen Tunzenhausen Sömmerda and safeguarded by land purchase. The good coordination of 8 Großengottern Großvargula B85 maintenance and development plans will ensure the sustain- Nägelstedt Buttstädt Vogelsberg able use of the funds. Kleinbrembach 12 Bad Langensalza small land snail Gräfentonna A71 (Trochoidea geyeri) sac project areas ( s) goats at the Drachenschwanz gera steppe grasslands habitats in the project area stemless mil vetch (Astragalus Elxleben 1 Hainleite – Wipperdurchbruch – Kranichholz exscapus) – a steppe relict species Kühnhausen 2 Bottendorfer Hügel Witterda 9 3 Westliche Schmücke – Spatenberge 4 What are the threats to B247 Tiefthal Hohe Schrecke – Finne 5 steppe grasslands habitats? Trockenrasenkomplex nordöstlich spring pheasant’s eye von Herrnschwende (Adonis vernalis) B7 6 Moorberg und Ziegenbeil nördlich Nowadays, the major threat is posed by the abandonment of Gotha von Battgendorf B7 Erfurt traditional land use and by declining grazing intensity. This 7 Kahler Berg und Drachenschwanz results in woody plant succession: shrubs and trees reconquer bei Tunzenhausen Seebergen life the sites and supplant those species that need light and a warm 8 Brembacher Weinberge – Klausberg – The project will be supplemented by a comprehensive Wandersleben gera climate. Further threats include: 11 Scherkonde awareness campaign: A4 A4 9 Trockenrasen nordwestlich von Erfurt I pesticide and fertilizer depositions from adjacent fields I creating information points and nature trails 10 Drei Gleichen that are subject to intensive farming 10 I establishing a permanent exhibition in Sömmerda 11 Seeberg – Siebleber Teich I forestation Sülzenbrücken I producing a film and a brochure 4 12 nsg I quarrying Mühlberg B Unstruttal zwischen Nägelstedt I organising and conducting meetings and natural und Großvargula I leisure activities (e.g. motocross) Haarhausen history tours. apfelstädt A71 13 Keuperhügel und Unstrut niederung Arnstadt graphische betriebe weimar bei Mühlhausen © karten: