Montane grassy habitats in the Western Carpathians are relatively well preserved, maintain high species richness and are often important in accordance to the nature conservation policy in Europe. However, knowledge about the impact of farming on the habitat quality there is rather poor. The influence of various management types (permanent sheep pen, irregular grazing, mowing) on Orthoptera diversity and species determining assemblages of these habitats were analysed on 72 plots in Poľana Mts Biosphere Reserve. Altogether, 36 Orthoptera species (15 Ensifera, 21 Caelifera) were found, whereas the highest number of species was found on plots with irregular grazing (28 species), followed by plots with mown grass (17) and permanent sheep pens (14). All four measures of the assemblages' diversity confirmed significant differences. Using Discriminant Function Analysis, correct classification rate of Orthoptera assemblages was unambiguous according to the type of management. Each form of the management harboured several characteristic species. Thus implications regarding the biodiversity conservation and grassland management were given.
Acknowledgements The present article emerged at the interface of transdisciplinary research and practice with the Slovak State Nature Conservancy (SNC) and local stakeholders. The authors would therefore like to thank the many initiative people for their engagement for local action on the ground. While we cannot list them all, we would like to mention the mayor of Ubla, Nadeshda Sirkova, and the mayor of Zboj, Ladislav Ladomirjak, both in Poloniny National Park, as well as farmer Jan Bariak from Snohy, in Poľana Biosphere Reserve. We thank Zusana Okániková of Slovak NGO "pronatur" as well for developing a spin-off i.e. a twinning between Entlebuch Biosphere Reserve in Switzerland and Poľana Biosphere Reserve in Slovakia. The process of adapting the Swiss baseline methodology to the needs of large protected area management in Slovakia benefitted crucially from our excellent collaboration with the University of Žilina. We extend our heartfelt thanks to Prof. Dr. Marián Janiga and Dr. Jaroslav Solár of the Institute of High Mountain Biology in the High Tatras. The authors thank the coordinator of this Swiss Contribution programme at SNC, Ivan Koubek, for networking and fostering exchange between conservationists and local stakeholders in the Slovak pilot regions, as well as between Slovak and Swiss colleagues, mayors, farmers, and researchers of CDE at the University of Bern.
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