Validation and optimisation of technology for collecting regional grass and herb seeds from species-rich grasslands

Principle investigator: Klára Řehounková
Funding provider: Technology Agency of the Czech Republic (Sigma)
Grant number: TQ11000016
Duration: 2025-2026

Meadow vegetation has undergone massive changes in management practices in recent decades, leading, among other things, to a significant decline in biodiversity. One way to restore species diversity and return meadows to their ecosystem functions is to use regional seed mixtures in their restoration. These mixtures use only seeds of native species originating from the area, thus preserving local ecotypes and ensuring good adaptation to local conditions. However, these mixtures are not currently available everywhere. This is largely due to the lack of technology that would help to obtain these regional mixtures efficiently.  The project aims to test and optimize new technology for collecting these mixtures directly from small-scale species-rich meadow vegetation using a brushing machine. These machines have long been available abroad, but they are not yet available in the Czech Republic. It is a hand-guided machine with a brush and a collection basket, which combs and collects seeds by driving over mature meadow vegetation. It is a long-term sustainable harvesting system that does not damage the source location and, at the same time, effectively collects a sufficient amount of seeds.