Wooded meadows and pastures are distinctive landscapes with rich biological diversity, high aesthetic value and a deep cultural heritage. They feature scattered trees or small clusters interwoven in a mosaic with semi-natural grasslands, which have been managed through grazing or haymaking for centuries.
Historically, such landscapes – like Fennoscandian wooded meadows and pastures in the Baltic states and Scandinavia, Dehesa in Spain, Montado in Portugal or Camps in France – were widespread across Europe. However, over the past 70 years, the homogenization and intensification of agriculture and forestry have led to the loss of most of these landscapes across Europe. A particularly rapid decline occurred in Latvia and other countries under Soviet rule,
where large-scale homogenization peaked in the 1970s. During this period, extensive land drainage and field consolidation was carried out, and “unnecessary” landscape elements—such as old homesteads and ancient trees—were removed to increase the area of productive land, while sites that were too complex to improve were abandoned and subsequently overgrown. As a result, wooded meadows and pastures are among the rarest types of semi-natural grassland habitats In Latvia, remaining only in certain river valleys. Their total area does not exceed 1,137 hectares. Most of these sites are overgrown, as their maintenance is incompatible with productive, intensive agriculture, while the remaining open fragments are small and highly
fragmented.
The NGO Latvian Fund for Nature (LFN) has been actively involved in the restoration of these rare landscapes since 2003, securing funding through the EU LIFE programme to restore wooded meadows at several Natura 2000 sites across Latvia. This work continued in 2021, when national funding was obtained to restore overgrown wooded meadows in Lejzemnieki and Kalnkalci, located within the Natura 2000 site “Ziemeļgauja”.
The removal of unwanted trees and shrubs, stump grinding, and the management of regrowth brought the ancient meadow trees back into view. Through restorative grazing and the sowing of characteristic grassland species, the species-rich ground layer of semi-natural grasslands was re-established. To ensure the long-term maintenance of the restored landscape, grazing enclosures were installed and appropriate grazing management was reinstated. In addition, a
range of public awareness and educational activities was carried out to motivate other landowners of overgrown wooded meadows to initiate restoration of their own sites.
Restoration of the wooded meadows in Lejzemnieki and Kalnkalci, located within the Natura 2000 site “Ziemeļgauja” Natura 2000 site “Ziemeļgauja”, Lejzemnieki and Kalnkalci, Valka Municipality, Latvia
Application form landscape award 2025-2026
Application video from Latvia for the 9th session of the Landscape Award
