Bilateral EU-SAB project (D/CZ): "Causes of the decline in grassland diversity in protected areas in the Czech-Saxon border region (DiGraSo)"

(2024-2027), Friederike Roy & Harald Kellner

DiGraSo is an international and interdisciplinary research project that brings together researchers from the Czech Republic and Germany to investigate the influence of botanical and microbial diversity in species-rich grasslands in the border region. The project involves the TUD Dresden University of Technology Liberec as lead partner, the IHI-Zittau (TU Dresden), the Senckenberg Museum Görlitz and the Česká Zemědělská Univerzita v Praze, each with a different scientific focus.

The IHI team focuses on the molecular biological recording of fungal biodiversity on extensively managed meadows, especially with regard to rare meadow fungi species ("Red List species"), about which hardly anything is known in the region under investigation. In addition, we measure the emissions of climate-relevant gases such as methane (_CH4) and carbon dioxide (_CO2) in near-natural and intensively managed meadows in order to record the change in material cycles depending on the form of management.

The aim of this project is to use our research results to develop management recommendations for owners and information material for interested citizens, taking into account not only plants but also soil organisms such as fungi, bacteria and mesofauna. In this way, we want to make a contribution to the more comprehensive recording and protection of healthy ecosystems and habitats in the border region of Upper Lusatia.