The semi arid grass­lands are among the rich­est biotopes in species and form irre­place­able sites for rare and endan­gered fau­na and flo­ra species.

What is semi arid grassland?

Semi arid grass­land is com­posed by dif­fer­ent botan­i­cal species grow­ing on arid stony grounds, poor in nutri­ents and of shal­low soil depth. Their sit­u­a­tion on the hill tops and on the south and south west slopes of the site pre­dis­pos­es the semi arid grass­land to a spe­cial warm and dry cli­mate, typ­i­cal for this land poor in woods. This micro cli­mate allows biotopes for many dif­fer­ent species, typ­i­cal for the warm and dry regions of South and East Europe.

Creation by human management

The semi arid grass­land on the Aar­nescht did not emerge nat­u­ral­ly. By uproot­ing the woods and replac­ing them by pas­tures and mead­ows, the semi arid sur­faces could devel­op with their warm and light lov­ing plants.

The fact that the pas­tures were con­tin­u­ous­ly mown or served for graz­ing pre­vent­ed the site from encroach­ing and allowed to the “frail” botan­i­cal species to devel­op. Over the years you could find more and more dif­fer­ent species.

Accommodation strategies

The plants did adapt to the giv­en arid con­di­tions by dif­fer­ent ways: with a deep grow­ing root net­work and a thick leaf sys­tem, pro­tect­ing from evaporation.

Important diversity in fauna and flora species

Grande diversité de plantes et d’animaux

Wasp spi­der Agri­ope bruennichi	Gen­tian Gen­tiana	Paint­ed Lady Vanes­sa cardui
Bell­flower Cam­pan­u­la	Ophrys holosericea	Cen­tau­ri­um erythraea
Mead­ow sage Salvia praten­sis	Com­mon Car­line This­tle Car­li­na vulgaris	Mead­ow Saf­fron Colchicum autom­nale