Partial recovery of the meadow community to reduce the impact of the quarry on the nature

Abandonned farmlands have been transferred for the Gurovo quarry. Limestone has not yet been mined for some of them. When these sites are involved in development, the soil from them will be used for reclamation of the finished part of the quarry. Currently the soil in the plots is a carbon store. Tax regulations encourage agricultural use of such plots. The owners of the quarry carry out the targeted use of the territory as an experimental one for the restoration of the meadow community. The meadow community performs better ecological functions than abandoned arable land due to the higher biodiversity corresponding to local natural ecosystems. This is beneficial for nature and people, convincingly justifying the reduction of the tax burden for the land user. We will compare the quantitative indicators of carbon stock and the qualitative and quantitative indicators of biodiversity in different parts of the experimental area, in neighboring areas where restoration is not carried out, and in the area of traditional haymaking. In addition to the staff of the Institute of Geography of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IG RAS), Tula and Moscow specialists in certain key groups of animals and plants will participate in the project. Schoolchildren of the Novogurovskaya secondary school will help in collecting material. The developed recommendations will improve the biodiversity of the meadow community and enhance its ecological functions, create a basis for further cooperation