The undulating landscape is typical for our area and creates a harmonious and peaceful environment. The landforms are mainly determined by the bedrock. There are slopes of varying gradients and lengths. Two opposite slopes meet to form a valley, the imaginary longitudinal axis of which is called the valley line.
We have before us a landscape that has undergone a dramatic transformation. If we were standing here a few centuries ago, the terrain would look the same, but the vegetation would be different. Before the arrival of man – the farmer, there was a forest everywhere. Today's large area of arable land was created by gradual deforestation, with the greatest loss of forest occurring during the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century.
Further intensification of land use is not sustainable. Increasing fertiliser rates will not have any further effect as soil fertility declines. The soil's ability to retain water decreases and erosion increases. In order to reduce these adverse processes at least a little, we are coming up with various biotechnical measures. A simple and very effective one is the so-called grassed thalweg. The aim is to control the water that runs down the slopes and concentrates naturally in the valley. This means creating a strip of vegetation in the thalweg about 5 m wide. We sow it with grass seed, and we can treat it as a meadow. The strip can be made more effective by allowing the vegetation to grow freely.
By using biotechnical measures, we are trying to make a kind of compromise in the landscape to restore vegetation at least partially. Compared to intensively cultivated arable land with the use of chemicals, a completely different soil structure, closer to the original state, will be created under permanent grass and shrubs. Soils that are not affected by intensive farming naturally form aggregates made up of organic matter and fine mineral soil grains. Healthy soil is a living and dynamic environment full of bacteria, fungi, moulds, earthworms, and a variety of small animals. For them, we create a kind of island in the grassed thalweg where they can peacefully return at least part of the landscape to a permanently functional state.
