Natura 2000 Site Designation Process - with a special focus on the Biogeographic seminars
The new EU Member States possess a significant part of the European natural heritage, including many threatened species and habitats. The establishment of Natura 2000 is a key step to protect and maintain this rich natural treasure for future generations. Therefore it is very important to make sure that the designation of Natura 2000 sites is carried out in a timely and proper way to maintain their conservation interest as a priority of major importance. To realise this, it is essential to inform relevant stakeholders about their roles and responsibilities within the site designation process. This brochure aims to give information about the site designation process and also to help clarify the role of NGOs in the establishment of Natura 2000.
The brochure can be downloaded (PDF, 114Kb) from the website of the Central and East European Working Group for the Enhancement of Biodiversity (CEEWEB).
http://www.ceeweb.org/a4euhabforum/docs/ biogeo_booklet.pdf
The CEEWEB website provides much more background information on policies and conventions related to the conservation of biodiversity in Easter Europe: http://www.ceeweb.org/
De Vries, H.H. & S. H. Ens (2004). De Limburgse hoogvenen en het veenhooi-beestje. De Vlinderstichting, Wageningen. (in Dutch)
The last observation of the butterfly species Coenonympha tullia in the southern part of the Netherlands dates from 1996. Dessication of the raised bog remnants in the south is the major factor in the disappearance of the species here. Although some suitable habitats are still present in the area, they have become increasingly rare. The long term nature conservation goals of the area, the restoration of raised bog vegetation, would stimulate the re-establishment of the species. It specifically needs the presence of Eriophorum vaginatum as a host species of the caterpillar.
http://www.limburg.nl/upload//pdf/Groen_De_Limburgse_hoogvenen_en_het_veenhooibeestje.pdf
Faubert, P. (2004) The effect of long-term water level drawdown on the vegetation composition and CO2 fluxes of a boreal peatland in central Finland
This study is providing a better understanding of the potential implications of the global climatic warming on Sphagnum dominated peatlands. The drainage of a part of the peatland began 55 years ago. Vegetation composition of the drained and natural areas was compared along six transects and analysed by ordination techniques. CO2 fluxes were measured during the growing season on one transect of the drained area and inferred by modelling. In response to drainage, vegetation composition changed and it was not related to a natural mire margin-mire expanse gradient. In the wetter part of the transect (far from the drainage ditch), gross photosynthesis and total respiration decreased. There was also slightly less CO2 sequestration than in the drier part. This study suggests for Sphagnum dominated peatlands that the effect of climate change might be reduced by a change of vegetation communities.
Available under:
http://www.theses.ulaval.ca/2004/21536/21536.html
Schouten, M., Van Ool, M. & Kempenaar, A. (2003) Veen, turf en Vincent van Gogh. Staatsbosbeheer, Assen. (in Dutch)
Beautifully illustrated booklet on peatlands in general, the peatland colonies in the northeast of the Netherlands, the inspirational role of peatlands in arts, especially with respect to Vincent van Gogh, who spent some months in 1883 sketching and painting the peatland landscape in Drenthe, and the art of bog restoration. More information under www.staatsbosbeheer.nl
Gebühr, M. (2004) Moorleichen in Schleswig-Holstein [Bog bodies in Schleswig-Holstein], Wachholtz Verlag, Neumünster, Germany, 60 p. (in German)
Bog bodies tell fascinating stories about the daily life in the past. This brochure was published as a museum booklet by the Archaeological State Museum Schloß Gottorf in Northern Germany already in 2002. The brochure was recently awarded with the media award for the best museum publication in 2005. It offers answers to the following questions: What are bog bodies? Why are they so interesting? When were they found? And how are the findings interpreted in modern times? The second part gives a state of the art interpretation of four well-known bog bodies from Schleswig-Holstein. For a price of 7.80 € the book is a perfect gift for everybody interested in the mystery of mires and it is an excellent example how to present scientific findings attractively to a wider public.
www.wachholtz.de/shop/info.phtml?info=1870100
Landesumweltamt Brandenburg (ed.) (2004) Leitfaden zur Renaturierung von Feuchtgebieten in Brandenburg. 192 p. (in German)
Peatlands are the most important freshwater wetland type in Germany. These “Guidelines for wetland restoration in Brandenburg were was prepared by the Environmental State Agency of Brandenburg to support local managers in their tasks to rewet and restore peatlands. The book gives a well-illustrated overview of the hydrogenetic peatland types and how and the knowledge behind theses types can be used to restore these vulnerable ecosystems. The second part includes many case studies how to solve technical problems with raising water levels under different (ecohydrological) situations. This guideline together with the guidelines developed by Wagner & Wagner for peatland restoration in Bavaria are excellent tools for peatland restoration in Germany. May many readers consult these works so that more restoration projects will follow the succesful ecohydrological approach.
The report can be downloaded in three parts:
www.mlur.brandenburg.de/cms/detail.php?id=201900
or ordered via email from:
Hotes, Stefan 2004. Influence of tephra deposition on mire vegetation in Hokkaido, Japan. Diss. Bot 383, Cramer, Stuttgart, 304 p. € 70.00
Following large-scale explosive volcanic eruptions, vast areas are blanketed by fine-grained volcanic particles known as tephra. This book elucidates the impact of tephra deposition on the vegetation of mires in Hokkaido, northern Japan.
Stratigraphical and experimental studies were conducted to investigate that influence at different spatial and temporal scales. Peat and sediment cores were taken from six mires in different parts of Hokkaido. Macrofossil analysis was employed to detect vegetation changes in relation to tephra deposition during the Holocene. Field experiments were carried out at Sarobetsu Mire in northern Hokkaido to test the impact of artificial tephra layers of different thickness and grain size on a Sphagnum lawn community. The nutrient limitation of Sphagna and vascular plants was studied in a separate experiment.
The results indicate that tephra thickness is the dominant parameter determining the vegetation response, but grain size and the season also play an important role. The long-term effects of tephra deposition are less pronounced than previously suggested. No evidence for fundamental vegetation changes at tephra layers was found.
For more information:
http://www.schweizerbart.de/pubs/isbn/bo/dissertati-3443642969-desc.html
Ashworth, Nancy 2004. Voices from the Peat - An oral history of the Avalon marshes. Somerset County Council, Taunton, 82 p. GBP 4.99 plus mailing costs
This nicely illustrated booklet is an oral history of the peat industry over the last 100 years in Somerset. It is a product of the Peat Heritage Project (launched October 2001) that aimed to record, document, and celebrate the social and landscape heritage of the Somerset Peat Industry. The project has traced and interviewed around 20 people involved within the industry over the last 100 years and has pieced together their memories, anecdotes, and experiences to form a comprehensive archive of oral recordings, transcriptions, and photographs. In July 2002 project co-ordinator Nancy Ashworth worked with local artist Kate Lynch and two local schools, Ashcott and Meare Primary schools, to turn the anecdotes into an illustrative format.
The anecdotes in the book picture the social and landscape history surrounding the peat extraction industry from hand-digging techniques, farm life, and floods to archaeological discoveries, including the internationally famous “Sweet Track”. The book can be ordered from
nancy.burditt@somersetlevels.org.uk