Meadows: Steep and Colourful Grasslands / Senožeti, Rovti: Strme in Pisane Površine

About this book

Language: Bilingual in English and Slovene

This book describes Slovenian meadows and their importance in agriculture and horticulture, as well as the traditional moving practices.

Meadows, once indispensable colourful treasures of the landscape and crucial goods for peasants, are now at risk. Excessively early mowing, ensilage and hay baling impoverish plant species diversity. Traditional knowledge which enabled the sustainable use of space and was the primary link that connected man to nature is also being lost. Although traditional meadow mowing was a heavy job and demanded a lot of time, it was better nature conservation than today's highly mechanized mowing. Each phase of work required skills, good knowledge and understanding of the environment. At the same time, specific tools have been developed. All this together led to successful work. Mowing was at the same time a social event where people interconnected intergenerational and from the nearby and distant surroundings. They helped each other, exchanged experiences and had a good time after the work was finished. On tasks like mowing, people connected with each other and with the environment that was giving them home and food. The meadows in Slovenia were created and remained precisely because of human land development.

Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS ... 7
RECENZION 1 ... 11
RECENZION 2 ... 13
PROLOGUE ... 15
UPLAND MEADOWS – VARIETY IN COLOUR THAT IS DISAPPEARING! ... 27
Introduction ... 29
Grasslands in Slovenia ... 39
Diversity of grasslands ... 45
The importance and use of grassland ... 79
Agricultural aspect ... 79
Horticultural aspect ... 85
Eco-tourism ... 97
Endangered meadows and some grassland plant species ... 101

TRADITIONAL MOWING PRESERVES PLANT BIODIVERSITY ... 117
Introduction ... 119
Mowing the upland meadows ... 135
Harvesting of hay ... 153
Hay transportation ... 163
Eating and drinking ... 175
Upland meadows and high meadows in Slovenian literature ... 183
Šege in navade ... 190
Svetniki, povezani s košnjo ... 196
Vremenski pregovori, povezani s košnjo ... 200

ZAKLJUCEK ... 206
ZAHVALE ... 208
SLOVAR ... 210
LITERATURA ... 214
STVARNO KAZALO ... 222

Customer Reviews