Study tour to raised bogs in Lithuania 10/10/2012 14:32
In October, 2012, Project team visited Lithuania to observe restoration process of mire hydrological regime in Žuvintas Biosphere Reserve and Aukštumala Raised Bog Reserve in Nemuno Delta Regional Park.
In the time period from January, 2009 to March, 2012, the EK LIFE project LIFE 07 NAT/LT/000530 “WETLIFE – Restoring Hydrology in Amalvas and Žuvintas wetlands” was implemented in two raised bogs of Žuvintas Biosphere Reserve, Amalva Mire and Žuvintas Mire. It is one of the largest mire complexes of Lithuania, located in this area; drainage and tree planting was carried out here in the past. During the LIFE project trees were cut off and water level of bogs was raised after building of dams on drainage ditches. Enhanced hydrological regime in mires after building of dams has resulted in higher occurrence of typical raised bog plants in restored area, like Sphagnum, which indicates to positive changes in mire ecosystem.
Aukštumala Mire Reserve has one of the longstanding research histories in Lithuania. C. A. Weber wrote book “Vegetation and its development in Aukštumala Raised Bog” already in 1902. Pools with typical raised bog vegetation with Sphagnum, cotton-grass (Eriophorum vaginatum), bog-rosemary (Andromeda polifolia) and cranberries (Oxycoccus palustris) occur in the unaffected part of the Aukštumala Mire, while peat extraction is carried out nearby. Large area of peat extraction fields contrast greatly with relatively small area of natural mire. It is important to emphasize that only in the unaffected area of Aukštumala Mire many rare and protected plant species, like cross- leaved heath (Erica tetralix) occur which lacks in raised bogs of Latvia. In this area, the main problem is high water runoff trough large drainage ditches and mire eutrophication. To stop it, building of dams on ditches was carried out, and it will continue in future projects.
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