Volunteers clear overgrown larch meadows in Tyrol

Volunteers are helping preserve larch meadows in the Obernberg Valley in Tyrol, ORF reported. The meadows are at risk of becoming overgrown because many farmers no longer have enough time to maintain them. Once cleared, the land can be managed more easily again.

The meadows originally served a dual purpose, providing both hay and timber. Their nutrient-rich fodder and durable larch wood were essential to farmers’ livelihoods.

The Alpine Club is funding the volunteer project together with Tyrol’s protected areas. It is taking place in the Natura 2000 area known as “Mountain meadows in Obernberg am Brenner”. Project leader Klaus Auffinger said that when the meadows become overgrown, habitats, protected species and landscape diversity are all lost.

Working at around 2,000 metres above sea level, volunteers use pruning shears and handsaws to cut back green alders, remove lower branches from trees and drag felled spruce trees off the meadows. Breaks include shared meals and talks about local wildlife and plants, as well as the importance of maintaining the land.

Most farms are now run as secondary occupations, leaving less time and fewer workers available. Maintenance also previously required a walk of about one and a half hours, Auffinger said. Farmers therefore focused for decades on more productive and accessible land.

Machines now provide some support, but they are of limited use on steep terrain and during the difficult initial clearing of areas that have already become overgrown, Auffinger said.