Restoring mountain grasslands in Sibiu county

MountResilience (Accelerating transformative climate adaptation for higher resilience in European mountain regions) is a Horizon Europe project involving 47 partners from 13 European countries. The project will support European regions and communities located in mountainous areas to increase their capacity to adapt to climate change and to transition towards a climate-resilience society. The project will conceptualise, test, and scale up multi-level, multidimensional and re-applicable climate change adaptation and nature-based solutions addressing policy and societal needs, as well as citizen behaviors, to address specific climate impacts in mountainous regions. As part of this effort, the Râu Sadului regional demonstrator in Romania is implementing complex interventions to restore mountain grasslands and improve their productivity. In 2024, a 3-hectare area was prepared for overseeding and fertilization to identify optimal forage grass mixtures for the specific conditions of the site. After utilizing drone technology for NDVI scanning of the target area, diverse seed mixes were selected and sown, including species like Festuca arundinacea and Trifolium repens, at 65kg/ha. Techniques like mulching and precise seed distribution were employed, with areas marked for monitoring. Following overseeding, fertilization was conducted using a bio-conventional NPK 12-12-12 fertilizer and biological stimulants like Atlanticell Nitromix and Cropmax, applied via drone. Early results indicate that some mixtures have already established themselves well on the experimental plots, within a few weeks after overseeding, but the interventions are in progress and their evolution in time has to be monitored. These interventions aim to enhance soil fertility, promote root development, and improve nutrient uptake, ultimately creating a sustainable grazing environment. The goal is to improve livestock productivity and contribute to the socio-economic development of the mountain area through enhanced pasture quality.