Field week in Armenia
Within the framework of the ALPMEMA project, a first field week has been carried out in Armenia. The American University of Armenia organized the field week where a group from Mid Sweden University, together with partners from the University of Copenhagen, the University of Hohenheim participated.
Within the framework of the project, the visit to Armenia has focused on selecting suitable areas for the three-year research project. The areas should have very high values in terms of biodiversity but also how they are managed in terms of the risk of overexploitation. The starting point for this is the Species and Habitats Directive, which the EU Member States have agreed on in order to preserve specific natural environments. The idea with ALPMEMA is to see how the areas with high qualities have been able to preserve their values. A very important part of the project is therefore to capture the users' perspective through workshops and interviews, as well as the various authorities and other organizations' work on the issue.
Armenia has vast grasslands with very high biodiversity. There is still a living pastoral culture in the mountainous areas of Armenia and the use of land for both hay making and as pasture land is still an important part of the economy. There are also challenges such as some areas being overexploited while other areas are underused. Since the use of mountain areas still is highly active, these constitute an important component in understanding how similar systems can be maintained for instance in the Swedish mountain range. In order for the study to be carried out, the focus will be on a specific type of habitat, i.e. mountain hay meadows. To find comparable areas in Armenia, we have worked within the project to pick out which plant species correspond to the European environments in Armenia.