The Meadows

The vast majority of the meadows and pastures around the Czech villages of Banat were created two hundred years ago after the forest was cleared. Since then, the proportion of meadows in the landscape has fluctuated, reaching a maximum of 19 %. As the villages were developing, the meadows were ploughed up, and in times of decline, the fields were gradually overgrown with meadow species and later with forest. At first sight, the fallow lands relatively soon become indistinguishable from grasslands, as the seeds of meadow species from the wider countryside can re-sprout there.

The management of the large Banat meadows can take many shapes and is guided by the possibilities and needs of each family. One year, the meadows are used as pasture, the next year as a hayfield, or they are burnt to prevent the spread of woody plants and the accumulation of the biomass of dead plant parts.

Many different species grow in the local meadows, including a number of orchids and other brightly coloured endangered species.