Meeting with EREMITA MEADOWS project staff

On March 9, 2012, the manager of the Dviete LIFE+ project Edmunds Račinskis, and the local coordinator Benita Štrausa, met with the staff of LIFE+ project EREMITA MEADOWS ('Management of Fennoscandian wooded meadows (6530*) and two priority beetle species: planning, public participation, innovation'), Jolanta Bāra, Māris Nitcis and Kristīna Aksjuta. Meeting took place in the nature park 'Dviete floodplain'.   Its aim was to show wooded meadows with oak trees in the Dviete floodplain to the guests and discuss possibilities of their management and investigation.

After a short introduction of maps and images at the information centre in ‘Gulbji’ farm, representatives of both LIFE+ projects visited two sites with groves of large and old oaks – one on the left bank of Dviete oxbows at Skuķu lake, partly overgrown with young forest, and the other with managed wooded meadows in Ilūkste floodplain near Doļnaja. Jolanta Bāra considered both sites suitable for actions of the EREMITA MEADOWS project – restoration of wooded meadows could be planned in the first site, but the second oak stand could be included in the list of sites for studies with the aim to check out occurrence of beetle species of priority conservation concern in the EU.

The representatives of LIFE+ project EREMITA MEADOWS had been visiting Dviete floodplain last September, while taking part in the voluntary work event of bush removal. Now cooperation of both projects will continue also for the research and maintenance of wooded meadows, a rare and especially valuable habitat type in Latvia. Wooded meadows with oaks have been recorded in Dviete floodplain nature park only a few years ago. They are surviving only in very small areas, nevertheless constituting an important part of the areas’ biological and landscape diversity, as well as cultural heritage. Therefore all chances of maintenance, restoration and study of this habitat is very welcome.

Edmunds Račinskis

15.03.2012.