Dry Grasslands

Grazing
Abundant Life in Open Landscapes

Open habitats such as dry grasslands serve both as pasture for livestock and as habitat for many other species. Birds such as the Eurasian hoopoe (Upupa epops), rare flowers such as sainfoin milkvetch (Astragalus onobrychis), light-demanding plants, amphibians, dung beetles and grasshoppers all find ideal conditions here. Yet traditional small-scale grazing has become rare, as it is hardly profitable any more. Grazing projects such as those carried out in Naturpark Kaunergrat help preserve open land as a habitat.

1– Seed Dispersal

Seeds become caught in the fur of grazing animals, which helps plants to spread.

2 – Spawning Sites

Small ponds serve not only as watering places for livestock, but also as spawning sites for amphibians.

3 – Foraging

Birds such as the Eurasian hoopoe find abundant food on grazed land. In the low vegetation, they can hunt insects effectively. Dung beetles and other insects living in dung are also an important food source for bats such as the greater mouse-eared bat (Myotis myotis).

4 – Light for Low-growing Plants

When grazing animals nibble at the bark of shrubs and woody plants, this slows their spread. In open land, even low-growing plants receive enough light.

5 – Open Ground for Insects

Hoofprints are valuable microhabitats for many insect species.

6 – A Place in the Sun

In sheep tracks in dry areas, light-demanding plants can establish themselves.