On the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the death of
Mieczysław Jasnowski, a symposium on The Future
of Polish Peatlands was organized on 13 September 2003 (see IMCG newsletter
2003-3). The proceedings of this meeting have now been published (see below).
Here we reproduce parts of the biography of Jasnowski as published in the volume
by his wife Janina Jasnowska.
Mieczysław Jasnowski (1920-1993) distinguished himself as a prominent scientist, specialising in peat and peatland science. Following his Masters, he continued on the scientific path of the Polish peat-science school, led before World War II by Prof. Stanisław Kulczyński and later, in Wrocław, by Prof. Stanisław Tołpa. Wide ranging research on peatlands in different areas of Poland was carried out by Professor Jasnowski and his team in close cooperation with the leading specialists from the country and from abroad. He was looking for new solutions to difficult
problems in peat science and outlined new directions of research.
From the very beginning of his research Prof. Jasnowski studied mire vegetation and peat-forming processes in relation to the stratigraphy of peat and gyttja deposits, in which he saw an
excellent source of knowledge on the genesis of these systems.
His doctoral thesis, entitled “The classification and genesis of the Quaternary moss peats” (1957), was a pioneering work, forecasting the modern genetic classification of peat. It was a follow-up of his earlier works: “Moss flora of rheophilous deposits of the Quaternary”
(1957) and “Calliergon trifarium Kindb. in the stratigraphy and flora of the H olocene peatlands in Poland” (1957). The peat classification proposed by Tiuremnow et al., based on botanical composition of peat and applied in the PhD thesis of Jasnowski,
was critically analysed. He distinguished groups of associations in which the mass growth of peat-forming mosses occurred, such as Caricetum rostrato-vesicariae of the Magnocaricion alliance, Caricetum diandrae of the Caricetalia fuscae, and an association called provisorically Caricetum flavae of the Tofieldietalia order.
Also the need to intensify in-depth studies on these plant communities, which disappeared fast
due to natural succession and to human impact, was stressed by Jasnowski. He pointed
out that mass occurrence of these communities is possible only under the special hydrological conditions existing in springs and percolating fens. In respect to the genesis of such
mires he stated that “the reconstructed mossy, peat forming communities and the described phytocoenoses point only to historic environmental conditions in which the mires formed.
They are neither identical nor unchangeable during the whole course of peatland development.”
His habilitation thesis “The stratigraphy and vegetation of peatlands in Szczecin, Pomerania” (1962) was the first study of this rank published in Poland after World War II. It presented the natural distribution
and typological differentiation of mire types in relation to the spatial variation of climatic, geological, geomorphological and hydrological conditions of the region. The work
contained:
- a characterization of peat stratigraphy, based on modern typological criteria, including palynological studies;
- a geobotanical survey of the plant cover of peatlands according to the syntaxonomical approach; the full phytosociological characteristic of mire plant communities was presented, including plant communities already very rare in Poland, such as: Scirpetum maritimae, Mariscetum, Juncetum subnodulosi, Buxbaumietum, Schoenetum nigricantis, Ericetum tetralicis, Sphagnetum papillosi; and a new association - Caricetum ripariae;
- a study on mire flora, with special elaboration of the frequency of species and their occurrences in particular mire phytocoenoses.
Unfortunately, this valuable monography was unavailable to the general public for a long time, due to censorship restrictions that put large
weight on peatlands for state security. Luckily, the
thesis was known to a few specialists in the country and abroad, setting new standards and giving inspiration for similar investigations elsewhere.
A special place in the work of Jasnowski is taken by his peat classification system based on the phytosociological analysis of peat-forming plant associations, the “System der genetischen
Klassifizierung der Torfe Mitteleuropas” (1964), elaborated in cooperation with S. Tołpa and A. Pałczyński. The new classification was the first to take a phytosociological-geobotanical approach, taking into account the peat forming plant communities (recognised from the plant remnants in peat) as well as the environmental conditions of the formation of particular peat types. The concept was later applied in several countries. The obtained results not only had theoretical, but also practical consequences, as they formed the basis of peat classification
for technology and soil science In Poland the peat classification system has been officially accepted and implemented as a “Polish Industrial Norm” for use in the peat industry.
After the World War II, Polish peatlands were mapped for practical use. Jasnowski took an active role in outlining this research and in methodological training of teams performing the surveys. He himself
took part in numerous large-scale field studies, accumulating valuable scientific material. As a result of the project ca. 49 thousand peatlands were documented across the country.
Jasnowski and his team prepared an atlas of peatlands in Poland. This large data set that was collected is still waiting for complete elaboration. Until now it has been used
only partially to solve specific scientific problems. However, a map “Peatlands of Poland” was prepared by Jasnowski, Markowski
and Wołejko and published as a part of the “Atlas of resources, values and threats to the natural environment of Poland” (1994).
Jasnowski had a particular interest in glacial and post-glacial “relic species” in mires and associated problems of mire protection. This was a subject of numerous publications, reports and projects on mire nature reserves, as well as advisory work as head of the Provincial Nature Protection Council in Szczecin and head of the Mire Protection Commission of the State Council for Nature Conservation. In the course of this work a “Program for Peatland Protection in Poland” (1973) was elaborated. It contained an analysis of peatland status in the country, pointing out to their
destruction and gradual disappearance, and at the same time formulating a proposal for the establishment of a network of mire reserves. The threats and protection needs for wetland plant species were evaluated in the publication “List of threatened species of mire
flora in Poland” (1977). Jasnowski co-authored the
list of species in need of strict protection that became an official law in 1983. Due to his efforts several nature reserves and landscape parks protecting mires, were established in Western Pomerania. A good example is the Polish-German landscape park “Lower Odra Valley”, established in 1993.
Besides his purely scientific interests, professor Jasnowski always took good care of the practical follow-up of his work, setting directions
for the proper use of peatlands and underlining their role for the national economy. An example is a publication “Peatlands in the Słupsk Voivodeship –
status, resources, management and protection” (1990) formulating principles for the commercial use of selected peatlands. Jasnowski always stressed the need for deciding on
the future use or protection of mires in the light of scientific knowledge and law, enabling a compromising balance.
Yet in another appeal, presented in his last publication, Professor Mieczysław Jasnowski stated: “I conclude with a reminder. Mires
found in cultural landscape are peculiar oases of life in the desert of civilisation. With increasing human impact these biocoenoses disappear with accelerated speed. We have to remember, that these resources are non-renewable”.