Grasslands hosting orchid populations (habitat 6210*) occur in Czechia, where they feature high species richness mostly at sites featuring a long historical continuity (Chytry et al. 2015). However, the current conservation status of this habitat at the national level is not satisfactory.
Furthermore, the analysis of the decline of orchid species in 27 countries throughout Europe on the basis of recently published red lists has revealed that the threat level in central Europe (including Czech Republic) is significantly higher than in any other European region. In particular, five orchid species targeted by the project also occur, or had been reported, in Czechia, where their threat levels range from being “endangered” to “regionally extinct”, according to the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) classification [Anacamptis coriophora: regionally extinct, Anacamptis morio: endangered, Himantoglossum adriaticum: critically endangered, Ophrys apifera: critically endangered, Ophrys fuciflora: critically endangered.
While in Italy implementation of land stewardship is its infancy, the Czech Republic has a longstanding experience in the field, grounded in a strong tradition of private conservation (Kundrata & Hušková 2005), which is represented for example by land associations or ” land trusts “.
