Several projects in Eastern Ladoga region are based on long-term monitoring of the largest European aggregations of geese during spring migration towards their nesting areas in the Russian tundra.

During a three-year study financed by WWF and conducted by Karelian Academy of Science (Scientific group leader: Dr. Vladimir B. Zimin, Karelian Research Centre of Russian Academy of Science, Petrosavodsk, Karelia, Russia) over one million individuals of 130 bird species were registered yearly during the spring study (mid April through May). The majority of individuals registered were either White-fronted Goose Anser albifrons or Bean Goose Anser fabalis. Other goose species were noted only occasionally e.g., Barnacle Goose Branta leucopsis, Pink-footed Goose A. brachyrhynchus and Greylag goose A. anser. Other fairly large groups of birds staging in the Olonets fields are ducks, swans, cranes, waders, gulls, doves and pigeons, birds of prey, owls and passerines.
A favourable combination of places for feeding and roosting is the prerequisite for aggregations formation in the Eastern Ladoga Lake area. The geese use the vast agricultural lands, mostly occupied by perennial grasses, for feeding during the day and rest on the water of Lake Ladoga and big open peatbogs during the night. Geese require high quality (protein) feed to build up fat layer for upcoming reproduction with egg laying and incubation. Geese also prefer open landscape without hindering bush layer that may hide predators.

The fields used by geese have steadily been over-grown by bushes (mainly Salix species) due to decrease in grassland management. The fields are mainly used for winter hay (silage) production as feed for diary cows of nearby state farms. Because of economic difficulties after the crush of Soviet Union necessary cultivation of the fields has not been possible resulting in degradation with lower grass quality and invasion of bushes. For example, the equipment of the state farms was very old, fuel, fertiliser and grass seed prices were too high. This resulted in far too long cultivation rotation cycles. Low quality winter feed also meaned lower milk production and lower income.

It became clear, that for conservation of geese staging sites on spring migration it was necessary to prevent reduction of agricultural areas. The project   «Improvement of agricultural practices in eastern Ladoga» was started.

IMPROVEMENT OF AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES IN EASTERN LADOGA

WWF Sweden,
Baltic Fund for Nature,
Karelian Research Center of RAS,
State farm “Iljinskoe”

The project is financed by  WWF Sweden.

Coordinators:
Dr. Ola Jennersten (WWF Sweden), 
Dr. Rustam A. Sagitov (BFN), 
Jorg Dinkelaker (BFN). 

Project was implemented in 2000 - 2002

The project is aimed to improvement of grassland management in favour of both cattle and geese in the Olonets region (Southern Karelia, Russia).

The co-operation has involved discussion meetings to develop a common understanding of problems, exchange of expertise, a study tour to Sweden discussing and experiencing mowing techniques and diary production, financial support to improve grassland management and grass seed quality as well as species composition. A gift of chain saws and bush cutters from the Husqvarna company has speeded up cutting of bushes on the field.  

It is the common understanding among ornithologists, conservationists, agriculturist and tourist entrepreneurs that this project is mutually beneficial for both goose conservation, diary production as well as tourism.

New project Rural development in Southern Karelia has been started in 2003

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