Species-rich grasslands of the Apuseni Mts (Romania): role of traditional farming and local ecological knowledge

Traditional low-intensity farming died out in almost all European countries but is well maintained in the Romanian Carpathians. The main aim of our interdisciplinary study was to document traditional farming systems and local ecological knowledge in the colline and sub-montane zone of the Apuseni Mts and to relate this information to recent grassland plant diversity. We performed a detailed botanical and ethnological research at two sites within the Dobresti (site Dobresti) and Bratca (site Ponoara) communes. Six nested-plot series of increasing size (0.0001 m(2), 0.001 m(2), 0.01 m(2), 0.1 m(2), 1 m(2), 10 m(2), 100 m(2)) were sampled at each site to record presence and cover of vascular plants, bryophytes and lichens. Information on the farming practices applied within each sampling plot and local ecological knowledge related to grassland biodiversity were obtained from the farmers during outdoor interviews. In both sites plant diversity was very high at both site and plot level. The average species richness in 10 m(2) plots was 50 (Dobresti) and 59 (Ponoara) vascular plant and 8 (in both sites) bryophyte species. Species richness of vascular plants increased with intensity and heterogeneity of recent management and was the highest in fallows recently used as meadows. Almost all meadows were part of a crop-meadow rotation and currently managed by a combination of cutting (once or twice per year) and grazing (5 different grazing systems). Permanent pastures were poorer in species than fallows and grazed meadows. Our records document how a combination of multiple traditional farming practices (including mowing, grazing, manuring and ploughing), which were applied in rotation, may support high plant diversity in a heterogeneous landscape with high complexity and sustainable low-intensity farming. Our results provide an illustration of (1) multidimensionality of traditional farming, (2) close links between animal husbandry and grassland management and (3) deep local ecological knowledge and experience preserved in rural Carpathian regions.