Agricultural Landscape
The Goriška region is fertile, which is reflected in its many autochthonous varieties of fruit trees and its rich winegrowing tradition. Vineyards characterise the entire cross-border region – from the Karst, the Vipava Valley and the Gorizia Hills to the hilly area between Nova Gorica and Gorizia, as well as the Italian Collio. In recent decades, olive groves have also become increasingly common, especially in the Gorizia Hills. Apple, cherry, fig, persimmon and other fruit orchards also remain an important part of the landscape. The fields are dominated by maize and wheat, while in the Solkan area, Solkan radicchio, a local variety with a protected geographical origin, has been cultivated since the time of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
However, the agricultural landscape is not only a habitat for cultivated plants. Numerous other plant and animal species live in meadows, along field margins, in hedgerows, and in orchards. In extensive orchards, we can find a rich grassland flora, while typical arable weeds grow in fields. Although we often see them as unwanted plants, flowering weeds, such as the common poppy (Papaver rhoeas), cornflower (Centaurea cyanus), and the now increasingly rare common corncockle (Agrostemma githago), make an important contribution to the appearance and biodiversity of the agricultural landscape. Their flowers attract many pollinators, including bees, bumblebees, butterflies and hoverflies.
Intensive agriculture, frequent fertilisation, spraying, frequent mowing and removal of hedgerows lead to a decline in biological diversity. As flowering plants disappear, the number of pollinators also decreases, although they are essential for many cultivated plants. Particularly valuable are the remnants of wet meadows in the lower Vipava Valley, where some species of conservation importance still occur, such as the scarce large blue (Phengaris teleius) and the large copper (Lycaena dispar). In contrast, the false ringlet (Coenonympha oedippus) has become extremely rare in the area of Goriška Brda and around Nova Gorica due to overgrowth.