New and recent Journals/Newsletters/Books/Reports

The Ramsar CoCoGAP brochure “Peatlands: do you care?” is now downloadable (pdf) from our website www.imcg.net

The Canadian Sphagnum Peat Moss Association has recently installed the Peatland Restoration Guide on its website so that anyone can download it for free. Simply go to www.peatmoss.com/pm-restguide.php

The New Brunswick Department of Natural Resources has recently added the Peat Mining Policy to its website. In English go to:

http://www.gnb.ca/0078/minerals/Peat-e.asp (see Regulatory Process: Peat Mining Policy)

http://www.gnb.ca/0078/minerals/Peat-f.asp (voir Règlementation :Directive sur l'extraction de la tourbe)

In Germany, a working group has developed guidelines for monitoring and assessment of NATURA 2000 mire habitats. The assessment schemes for different NATURA 2000 types can be downloaded at:

The Planta Europa Newsletter can be found on the website www.plantaeuropa.org/newsletternov2005.htm or downloaded as a pdf file:

The Planta Europa Newsletter is one of the most important communication tools for plant conservation in Europe. There are two articles directly related to Natura 2000 in the newsletter: one on the current state with the biogeographic seminars in the new member states, and one about the EU funding lobbying appeal for inclusion of N2K into the Regional Funds & Rural Development Funds.

Other main features in this issue of the newsletter include Red Lists and recent developments in Germany.

Published by the International Peat Society; with articles on Siberian permafrost melting, Peatlands on Ramsar COP9 in Uganda, on the climate impact of energy production with peat compared to using logging residues, a lot of information on IPS (that spread the magazine widely on Ramsar COP9), the information that Klasmann-Deilmann (the global market leader in the production and marketing of raw peat products and growing media) expanded further by acquiring two Belgian peat companies, and that the Latvian government has classified peat as a “slowly renewable resource”. Available under www.peatsociety.org/user_files/files/pi22005final.pdf

You will need the Windows Media Player and a broadband connection to display the films. Both low and high resolution files are available. You can also choose whether to watch the documentaries in your browser or to save them on your computer for later use. All documentaries on the website are in English. German, French, Swedish, Finnish and Dutch versions are available in form of a hardcopy DVD only.

The DVD on “Wise Use of Peatlands” was launched at the 12th International Peat Congress in Tampere in 2004. It visualizes the development of peatlands, their natural functions and presents their global status, the use of peat and peatlands for different purposes, as well as introduces principles of their use on the basis of the book on “Wise Use of Mires and Peatlands” by Hans Joosten and Donal Clarke. The DVD has been edited by a steering group consisting of representatives from eight countries, and it consists of materials filmed in Canada, Estonia, France, Finland, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom. The DVD includes a Documentary (19 minutes) and eight short segments detailing different peatland themes under the heading More Data (total length 45 minutes), as well as an image gallery and statistics from the WUMP book.

La conservation des tourbières. Géocarrefour, vol. 79, n°4, 2004, p. 267-344. (in French) 18.50 €

This number of the review of geography of Lyon gathers contributions on the conservation of peatlands, on the methods of their management, and on the network of actors. The content ranges from an assessment of 12 years of conservation management in the Hautes-Fagnes (Belgium) to the management of peat filled dune slacks in the North of France. There is a synthesis of recent literature on the development of raised bogs as well as an article on the logic behind management for conservation of peatlands. Outside Europe, contributions cover Argentina, South Africa and Canada. For more information: buisson@univ-lyon3.fr

Besides an overview of the actions of the Pole-Relays Tourbières four years after its initiation, this number covers peatlands in Brittany, in Limousin, in Picardy, at the Ile de la Réunion, in Languedoc-Roussillon. On the international front the IMCG stance on the allegedly renewable character of the peat as a fuel is covered, as well as a Franco-Slovenian cooperation on the peatland meadows of Ljubljana.

Behre, K.-E. 2005. Das Moor von Sehestedt. Landschaftsgeschichte am östlichen Jadebusen. Oldenburger Forschungen. Neue Folge Band 21. Isensee Verlag, Oldenburg, 145 p.

Monography on the most famous floating bog of Germany, the Sehestedter Außendeichsmoor, that floats on seawater during storm tides and is gradually destroyed in this way. “Can we allow nature to destroy such a unique natural heritage? We have to, because without permanent dirct attacks of the sea it will loose its special character, that makes it so valuable.”

The book presents chapters on the geological development of the area (including notes on salt peat extraction and the utilisation of swamp gas), on the stratigraphy of the peatland (with typically clay layers intersecting the peat) and its spectacular movement and erosion during storm tides, on its destruction by erosion and sludge deposition, on other floating peatlands as described in historical literature (starting with Plinius), on colonisation of and agriculture on the peatland since the 17th century, on dike construction, on the present-day situation (incl. vegetation and fauna) of the currently less than 10 ha large peatland, and on conservation measures and the lifespan of the Außendeichsmoor, that possibly will survive another century.

Sudhaus, D. 2005. Paläoökologische Untersuchungen zur spätglazialen und holozänen Landschaftsgenese des Ostschwarzwaldes im Vergleich mit den Buntsandsteinvogesen. Freiburger Geo-graphische Hefte Heft 64, 153 p.

PhD thesis dealing with palynological investigations in two mires in the central Black Forest (Germany) and the Northern Vosges Mountains (France) focussing on the regional vegetation development and the immigration of tree species in the area (hardly attention to development of the mire vegetation). More information: dirk.sudhaus@geographie.uni-freiburg.de

Kim, Kyungwan (ed.) 2005. Wetlands in Korea. Korean NGO Report for Ramsar COP9. Korean Federation for Environmental Movement, Seoul, 96 p.

Overview of wetlands in South-Korea, especially tidal flats and estuaries and focussing on their ornithological values. Peatland is hardly mentioned. Special attention is paid to the recent trends in rice farming as a result of changing international economc conditions and their effects on bid diversity.

UN Economic Commission for Europe (2005). Sustainable Development and Biofuel Use as a way towards the Kyoto Protocol imple-mentation and enhanced complex utilization of wood raw material and peat: discussion papers on sustainable forest management. United Nations. 106p.

This publication contains a number of papers written in Russian and English, presented at a conference held in St Petersburg in July 2001 to discuss sustainable forest management development in the Russian Federation. The meeting included representatives from federal and regional government, research institutes and universities, forestry agencies, non-governmental bodies and international organisations.

Le Roux, G. 2005. Fate of natural and anthropogenic particles in peat bogs. PhD diss., University Heidelberg.

Investigating atmospheric deposition over a scale of millennial period is crucial because humans are emitting more and more synthetic and natural compounds (i.e.: pollutants and/or dust) to the environment through the atmosphere. It is therefore necessary to determine the background deposition rate of these compounds, to assess their natural variations (i.e.: temporal and/or spatial) and to understand the effects of the increased atmospheric depositions induced by humans on the environment.

The primary aim of this work was to improve the understanding of the processes affecting the fate of anthropogenic and natural particles in peat bogs, to see which geochemical processes can affect the suitability and accuracy of peat bogs as archives of atmospheric deposition, and also the effects of these inputs on the bog ecosystem.

Kunskas, R. 2005. Ežerų ir pelkių ekosistemų raida (Development of lake and bog ecosystems). ISC Cyklonas, Vilnius, 438 p.

An illustration based review book on lakes and bogs in Lithuania, including tectonic structures, tectonic and glacial relief formation, hydrogeological conditions, peat formation, development of lakes and peatlands, and lake and peatland restoration.

Schäfer, A. & Joosten, H. (eds.) 2005. Erlenaufforstung auf wiedervernässten Niedermooren. Duene, Greifswald, 68 p.

Guide to the cultivation of high-quality Alder wood on rewetted degraded fen soils. An example of “paludiculture”: the sustainable exploitation of peatland under wet, peat-forming conditions. Economically, Alder cultivation scores much better than all other types of forestry. Monetarisation furthermore shows that, from a climate point of view, Alder cultivation is much more cost-effective than other techniques to reduce Carbon emissions, e.g. 5 times more than hydropower, 20 times more than wind energy, and 100times more than insulation of old buildings.

Ten Heggeler, M.M.A., Van der Ploeg, M.J., Vurens, S.H.& Van der Schaaf, S. 2005. Subsidence of Clara Bog West and acrotelm development of Raheenmore Bog and Clara Bog East. A comparison of 1991-1992 and 2002-2003. Wageningen University, Sub-department Water resources, Report 121, 74p.

Comparison of bog surface levels showed that Clara Bog West (Ireland) subsided more than 1 meter in its southern part as a result of marginal peat cutting and drainage via the underlaying mineral soil (till). This change in surface slope has changed flow patterns that damaged acrotelm formation in large parts of the bog.

Restoration activities in 1995/1996 proved to work out positively on acrotelm formation in Clara Bog East and Raheenmore Bog. For more information: Sake.vanderSchaaf@wur.nl

Beintema, A. 2005. Het begon met het Naardermeer. Fontaine, ’s-Graveland, 160 p.

A personal account in which the author, a leading Dutch ornithologist, compares the present-day Naardermeer fen area, the oldest Dutch nature reserve – 100 years old, with his own observation of 40 years ago.

Jóža, M., Vonička, P. & kolektiv 2004. Jizerskohorská rašeliništĕ. Jizersko-ještĕdský horský spolek, Liberec, 160 p.

Bautiful colourful monography about the mires in the Polish and Czech part of the Sudety Mountains with nice schematic presentations of the various mire types, an overview of flora, vegetation, and fauna, and of the most important mire localities in this area.

Kotowski, W. (ed.) 2005. Anthropogenic influence on wetlands biodiversity and sustainable management of wetlands. Warsaw University Press, Warsaw, 172 p.

A compilation of numerous case studies from several European countries (with special attention to Poland), resulting from a 2004 WETHYDROworkshop in the Narew river valley (Poland).

Pfadenhauer, J. & Heinz, S. 2004. Renaturierung von niedermoortypischen Lebensräumen. 10Jahre Niedermoormanagement im Donaumoos. Bundesamt für Naturschutz, Bonn - Bad Godesberg, 299 p.

Evaluation of 10 years of fen management in the Donaumos in Bavaria with information on hydrology , nutrient dynamics, and plant roductivity, on various restoration and management measures and their effects on vegetation development and fen fauna.

Vreeken, A. 2005. Veenterpen rond Sneek. Friezen tussen klein en veen in de romeinse tijd. Uniepers, Abcoude, 80 p.

Archeological study of the drainage and use of peatlands in the northern Netherlands in Roman times.

IMCG mires and peatlands field symposium Tierra del Fuego 2005 Abstracts Book. 68 p.

IMCG mires and peatlands field symposium Tierra del Fuego 2005 Field Guide. 66 p.

IMCG Newsletter now also available in HTML

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