Habitats in Kozjansko
Dry grasslands, wet grasslands, meadow orchards and woodlands
Source: savaparks.eu
The highest, foothill areas of Kozjan Park reach altitudes of between 600 and 1000 metres above sea level. These are the areas of Vetrnik, Oslice and Bohorje. Meadows in this area are not fertilised, and single mowing and autumn grazing predominate. The meadow is a treasure trove of living nature, changing its appearance weekly during the season.
In this area of Kozjansko, the meadow is not only a meadow, but also individual trees, shrubs and borders. Among the plants, numerous cuckoo plants or orchids catch our eye - finger cuckoo, cuckoo, wolf's tongue, pilewort... Common are the Cranian lily, the common hairy lily, the arnica and the endemic intoxicating goldenrod in the company of the clusi's cowslip. Pannonian clover and cold-lover's bindweed also grow in the meadows.
The fairly common cross-leaved cowslip hosts the protected butterfly species, the cowslip ant butterfly. Among the more than a thousand known butterfly species in the area, there are also numerous grassland butterflies.
The diversity of the dry grasslands can be experienced by walking along the nature trail Travnik (Meadow), which runs around the top of Vetrnik (708 m) in the eponymous settlement of Vetrnik.
Kmetje na tem območju vzdržujejo tradicionalno kmetijsko krajino. To pomeni, da ni intenzivne rabe; ni temeljite in sistematične obdelave, dobiček je večinoma manjši.
Pod njimi se navadno pase živina ali se kosi trava.
Sadne vrste v takšnem sadovnjaku so jablane, hruške, slive, marelice, češnje ... Visokodebelne sorte so bolj odporne na bolezni in škodljivce, kar pomeni, da ni potrebna uporaba škropiv in gnojil. V teh sadovnjakih živijo nekatere redke in ogrožene vrste ptic. Tu gnezdijo vijeglavke, pogorelčki, veliki skoviki in rjavi srakoperji. Hranijo se s tu prisotnimi žuželkami – mravljami, kobilicami, metulji in hrošči. Več TUKAJ.
Brez opraševalcev ne bi bilo sadja. Tu živijo tudi čebele samotarke, med njimi na primer vrsti rdeča in rogata dišavka. V pomoč jim na Kozjanskem postavljajo tako imenovanje žuželčje hotele. Podobne pomoči so deležne tudi pikapolonice in strigalice, ki prav tako pripomorejo lastniku, da v jeseni obere obilen in zdrav pridelek sadja.
Most are beech forests, but in addition to beech, there are also oak, fir, maple, holly, yew, mild and scented lupine, and broad-leaved and prickly-leaved holly.
It's not just trees in the forest. The undergrowth also contains orchids such as marsh marigold, black and dark purple hollyhock, common yarrow, and the two bluebells - the little bluebell and the crown bell.
It may seem a bit strange, but the chamois also lives here. Among the animals, the common dormouse, the common clover, the barn owl, the white-necked flycatcher and the black stork are common among the birds, while the hornbill and the alpine goat are more ground-dwelling. More about birds in the Kozjan forests HERE.
Wet meadows are also found in the Kozjansko and Obsotelje biosphere zone. The rare marshy patches provide habitat for the marsh cuckoo orchid, the fern called snake's tongue and grassland-nesting bird species such as the blackbird, the lapwing and the grasshopper warbler. Among the many species of butterflies, the marsh fritillary is a common sight, while the grasshoppers include the marsh fritillary.