Peatlandsin semi-naturallandscapetheir transformation and the possibility ofprotection Edited byJ. Forysiak,L. Kucharski,M. Ziulkiewicz Bogucki Wydawnictwo Naukowe, 2012:.19-24
Degradation of Piskorzeniec peatland - causes and impact on vegetation Degradacja torfowiska Piskorzeniec - przyczyny i wplyw na szatQro6linn4 D ominik Kope6, D orota Michalsha-Hejduk
Introduction and purpose of the studies
coenoseswere classified as typical and well preserved.However,asearlyasbetween1996and 1998,asa result of accelerateddegradation, mire communities Wetlands cover only 2Voof the area in l,6dZ Province and their flora started to disappear (Kucharski and and mainly include bogs,mostly convertedinto grass- Michalska-Hejduk2000). The aim of botanicalstudies carried out in 2009 was to determine the direcland (Kucharski1995).Raisedand transitionalmires tions and rate of changesin peatland vegetation and are much more rare - approximately 40 locations of the area of over 5 ha were identified (Kucharski, also to identiff the reasonsof the accelerateddegeneration. A botanical comparative study included PisPisarek1996).At present,most of them degradevery korzeniec Nature Reserveand its surroundings. The quickly, mainly as a result of both direct and indirect basic reference material used for the analysis of human impact (Kucharski et al. 2004; Kucharski 2011). Thesetendenciesare observednot only in Po- peatland flora and vegetation changeswas the data land but also throughout the world. It is estimated collectedin 1987 (Kurzacet al. 1987).The vegetation map contained in this paper was constructed at the that approximately 807oof peatlands in Central and West Europe (Smith et al. 2001) and 50Voglobally scaleof 1:5000,and the phytocoenoseswere mainly (Keddy 2002) have been drained or converted to the classifiedas classes.Floristic recordswere takendurextent that they are no longer visible in the landscape ing field studies carried out in 2009, and a new vegetation map was made at the same scaleusing a tradiand fail to perform any ecosystemservices.All ofthe tional topographic method and a GPSdata collector. raisedand transitional mire communitiesinhabiting Central Poland have been classified as locally endan- Then both historic and current maps were compared gered (Kucharski2011). Peatlandflora is also at high to estimate the changesbetween the areaoccupiedby The spatialanalysisofvegepeatlandphytocoenoses. risk. The regional red list comprises36 speciesof -Sphogneteq tation was carriedout usingATcGIS9.3. Floristicdata -Cariceteanigrae and Oxycocco Scheuchzerio from the two periods was also used to describe classes(fakubowska-Gabaraand Kucharski I 999). changesin peatland communities. In the early 1990s the Piskorzeniecpeatlandwas The Piskorzeniec nature reserve was created in one of the best preserved peatlands in the region (Kurzacet al. 1987). It was home to many valuable 1990 for preserving natural peatland and forest biocoenoseswith valuable protected and rare speciesof and endangeredplant speciesand its peatland phytoDominik Kopeil, Dorota Michalska-Hejduk2:lDepartment of Nature Conservation, Faculty of Biology and EnvironmentalProtection,University of tidL, ul. Banachal/3,90-237 lidL,
[email protected]; 2Departmentof Geobotanyand Plant Ecology,Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of t-od2,ul. Banacha72/16, 90-237 t-6d2,dhejdukpbiol.uni.lodz.pl
20
Dominik Kopei, Dorota Michalska-Hejduk
plants and animals. Its total areais 409.19ha. About 200 ha is coveredby forests,and the remainingarea consists of non-forest communities and two big ponds of the total areaof TO7.76ha (Fig. 1). The reserveareais flat. situated at between225 and228 meters above sea level. The central part of the Piskorzeniecpeatlandcatchmentis infilled by Holocene depositsof peat. The averagepeat thicknessis approx. 150 cm. Bogs occupythe largestpart of the peatland and are the thickest. The maximum peat layer is 285 cm. Raised mire in the study area is Iocatedin the central-eastpart and is approx. 1700 m long and approx. 750 mwide (Kurzacet al. T987).
Condition of Piskorzeniec peatland vegetation and its changes Flora At presentthe nature reserveis inhabited by 60 species of moss. Out of this number 6 species of bryophytes are strictly protected and 15 are partly protected.Due to the specificcharacterofthe reserve, sphagnopsidaare the most important group of bryophytes. At the same time sphagnopsida are the only taxonomic rank of bryophytes for which abundance records are available for the protected area (Kurzacet al. 1987). The reserve is now inhabited by 8 species of sphagnopsida,2 of which are partly protected and 6 are strictly protected. In the 1980s 11 speciesof
sphagnopsida were identified (including 9 strictly protectedspecies),5 of which were not found at present (Table1). Among 257 vascular plants presently inhabiting the reserve,8 speciesare strictly protected and 5 are partly protected.The most valuablespecieshavebeen listed in Table2. The analysisof the previousstudies has shown that the condition of the population (apart from Carex chordorhiza)is unsatisfactory. No Salix myrtilloidesstands were found. As early as in the late 1990s their population declined significantly (Kucharski and Michalska-Hejduk 2000). No Carexlimosa, Droseraanglicaor Droseraintermediawere found either. Two species, namely Droserarotundifoliaand Scheuchzeriapalustris were found only in the north-westpart of the reserve(ObjectA, Fig. 1). Sinwith no flowers gle individuals of Scheuchzeriapalustris were identified. During the twentyyears of the reservefunctioning, major changes in the quality of the flora have occurred, both as regards vascular plants and bryophytes. Many raised and transitional mire species with low toleranceto changinghabitat conditions are declining (Table2). In the 1980sthe mire locatedin the north-west part of the reservewas home to most of the identified valuable vascular plant and bryophytes species. Today, only single stands of palustriscan be Droserarotundifolia and Scheuchzeria is the only valuable chordorhiza found there. Carex peatland specieswhose local population within the reserveis still high.
Table1. Protectedspeciesofsphagnopsidain the Piskorzeniecnature reservein 1987and 2009 Tabela1. Chronione gatunki torfowc6w w rezerwaciePiskorzeniecw roku 1987 i2OO9 Species name
No.
Protection statusl
L9872
1
capillifolium: Sph.nemoreum Sphagnum
Ch
2
Ch
3
Sphagnum compactum contortum: Sph. subsecundum Sphagnum
4
Sphagnum cuspidatum
Ch
5
Ch
6
Sphagnum fimbriatum Sphagnum magellanicum
7
palustre Sphagnum
ch
+ + + +
8
papillosum Sphagnum
Ch
T
9
Sphagnum russowi
Ch
10
subnitens: Sph.plumosum Sphagnum
Ch
11
Sphagnum teres
Ch
72
Sphagnum fallax : Sph.recurlum squarrosum Sphagnum
i3
Ch
Ch
czCh czCh
20093
T
T
T
T
T
+ T
+ + + + +
+ T
'Kurzac et al. 1987; 'current data (authors' status (Rozporz4dzenie...2004):Ch - strictly protected, czCh - partiy protected; own studiesfrom 2009). 'aktualnedanez 2009 roku. 'Kurzac 'status ochrony (Rozporz4dzenie...2004): Ch - chroniony6ci3le,czCh- chronionyczgSciowo; et al. 1987; 'Protection
Degradation of Piskorzeniec peatland - causes and impact on vegetation
21
Table2. Dynamic tendencyof the most valuablevascularplant speciesin the reservebetween i966 and 2009 Thbela2.'iendencje dynamicznenajcenniejszychgatunk6w ro6lin naczyniowychw rezerwaciew okresie od roku 1966 do 2009 current dataData from the 1970s Protection status/ Data from the 1gg0s, Species name No. 20093 and 1980s' Endangeredin PLIPS Ch/-/LRlc
+ +
Carex lasiocarpa
ChlV/CR -/-NU
++
a
Carex limosa
ChN/CR
+
5
D actylorhiza incarnat a
ch/-/_
+
6
Drosua anglica
Ch/E/CR
7
Drosera intermedia
Ch/E/CR
+ +
8
Drosera rotundifolia
Ch/.NU
9
Ledumpalustre
Ch/-/LRlc
10
Listera ovata
Ch/-/LRlc
11
Lycopodiumannotinum
ch/-/-
++
?
12
Salix myrtilloides
ch/-/-
T T
T
13
Salvinia natans
ChN/EX
14
Scheuchzeriap alustris
Ch/E/CR
I
Ar ctostaplryIos uva-ursi
a
Carex chord.orhiza
J
T
T
++ +
? T
f f
? ?
++ + + ++ T
T T
+
(Zarzycki,Szel4g2006):E-declining(critiprotectionstarus(Rozporz4dzenie...2004):Ch-strictlyprotected;endangeredinPoland(PL) cally endangered), V vulnerable;endangeredin Central Poland (PS) flakubowska-Gabara,Kucharski 1999) : EX extinct and missing, CR low risk. LR critically endangered,VU vulnerable, "+" - singlestands; "++" a few stands;" " - not found ? - no data; 'data from rhe 1970s and 1980s. (Wnukowa, Wnuk 1971, Kurzac et al. 7987, Pisarek 1993); 'data from the 1990s. (Kucharski, 3currentdata (authors'own studiesfrom 2009). Michalska-Hejduk2000); 2004): Ch chroniony6ci3le;zagro2onew Polsce(PL) (Zarzycki,Szel4g2006): E - wymieraj4ce kryStarusochrony (Rozporz4dzenie... CR i zaginione, EX wymarle 1999): Kucharski tyczniezagro2one,V nara2one;zagro2onew PolsceCentralnej (PS) (Jakubowska-Gabara, - krytycznie zagro2one,VU nara2one,LR - ni2szegoryzyka/najmniejszejtroski. 'dane z lat 70. i 80. XX wieku (Wnukowa, ? - brak danych; ,,+" - pojedynczestanowiska; ,,++" - kilka stanowisk; ,,-" - nieodnaieziony; 'aktualnedanez roku 2009. 'danez lat 90.XX wieku. (Kucharski,Michalska-Hejduk 2000); Wnuk 1971,Kurzacet al. 1987,Pisarek1993);
Vegetation In the 1980s,the most valuableplant communities found within the Piskorzeniecpeatlandwere peatland and Scheuchzephytocoenosesof Oxycocco-Sphagnetea nigraeclasses(Kurzacet al. 1987). In the rio-Caricetea late 1980s raised and transitional mire communities coveredthe areaof over 32 ha (Fig. 1,2). Among the peatland vegetation communities of that time Cai' phytocoenoses magellanici cetumlimosaeandSphagnetum were the most dominantones (Kurzacet al. 1987). At present, phytocoenosesof the peatland communities in the nature reservecover a total area of 0.6 ha (ObjectA, Fig. 1), which constitutesas little as almost 2Voof their area in the 1980s.The dominant peatland community in the reserve are now recurvii phytocoeEriophoro angustifolii-Sphagnetum noses and the patchesof other communities found within the reserve(Thble3) cover less than 0.05 ha. All of the existent patches are in poor condition they havebecomegrown with Phragmitesaustralisand and degenerationis the dominant proPinussylvestris CCSS.
Reasons for the change in vegetation within the Piskorzeniec reserve In the 1980sthe Piskorzeniecreservewas one of the most valuablepeatlandsin Central Poland (Kucharski and Michalska-Hejduk2000). Due to its exceptional botanical qualities it was granted protection status in 1990 (M. P No. 48, Item 442) and convertedinto a reserve.Peatlandvegetation,in spite ofthe protection status,sufferedadversechanges.As a result,peatland vegetation has been virtually lost (Table 3) and the flora has become much poorer (Table2). Peatland vegetation disappearanceis also observed within other peatlands in the region and the country (Olaczek et al. 1990; Kucharski and Michalska-Hejduk 2000: Herbich 2001; Kucharskiet al. 2004; Michalska-Hejdukand Kopei 2010). It involvesthe appearanceof Phragmitesaustralls(common reed) and Carex rostrata(Balcerzak2003; Braun 2003; Sawosz2OO7; Brzozowska2071). Typical peatland species,particularly sphagnopsida,have also been lost due to the
Dorota Michalska-Heiduk Table 3. Raisedand transitional mire vegetation within the Piskorzeniecreserve (Obejct A) Tabela3. Ro6linno6citorfowisk przej6ciowychi wysokich w rezerwaciePiskorzeniec(Obiekt A) Plant communities
Data from the 1970s and 1980s1
Current data-2O09
Caricetum limosae
T
Rhynchosporetumalbae
+
Caricetum lasiocarpae
T
+
Sphagnetummagellanici
T
T
Eriophoro vaginati-Sphagnetumr ecuryii
+
T
Eriophor o angustifolii- Sphagnetum r ecury ii Ledo-Sphagnetum mageIIanici
Dvnamic tendencv
;;
+
.t J
t t
'data from the 1970sand 1980s.(Wnukowa,Wnuk 1971,Kurzacet al. 1987,Pisarek1993);t - increasethe areaof plant community,J decreasethe areaof plant community, JJ - very rapid decreasethe areaof plant community 'dane z lat 70. i 80. XX wieku (Wnukowa,Wnuk 1971,Kurzacet al. 1987,Pisarek1993);t - wzrostpowierzchnizbiorowiskaro6linnego,J spadekpowierzchni zbiorowiska rodlinnego,JJ - bardzo silny spadekpowierzchni zbiorowiska ro6linnego
Fig. 1. Area of non-forest peatlandcommuniriesin 1987 and 2009 1 - non forest peatlandphytocoenosesin 1987 (Kurzac et al. 1987),2 - non-forest peatlandphytocoenosesin 2009, 3 - fish pond, 4- boundaryofreserve,5 - boundaryofforest sections,6 channels. Ryc. 1. Rozmieszczenie niele6nych zbiorowisk torfowiskowych w roku 1987 i 2009 I - fitocenozynielednychzbiorowisk torfowiskowych w roku 1987 (Kurzac et al. 1987), 2 - fitocenozynieleSnychzbiorowisk torfowiskowychw roku 2009, 3 - staw rybny 4- granicerezerwatu,5 - granice wydzielefi le6nych, 6 - kanaly.
changedlight conditions resulting from overgrowing (Rydin,Jeglum 2008). The studies in the Budwity peatland area proved that shade provided by young trees was necessaryfor the existenceof certain mire species (Pawluczyk and Pisarek 2009). However peatlandvegetationdegenerationin the Piskorzeniec nature reserve is much quicker than that in the Korzei reserve(Brzozowska2011) or the Zabieniec peatland (Michalska-Hejduk,Kopei 2010). The rate ofchangeshowsthat theseprocessesarenot only due to regional or global changes.To confirm the hypothesis the changesin the vegetationofanother peatland (Object B, Fig. 1) situatedonly 200 meters from the reserve but hydrologically independenr were analysed. In the analyzedpeatland, fluctuation processis the dominant one and the phytocoenosesdescribed back in 7987 (Kurzacet al. tssz) have nor undergone any significant changes,Comparedwith object A, the peatland phytocoenosesare stable and relatively well preserved.The areaofobject B decreasedby only 0.1 ha (from 5.9 to 5.8 ha) over 20 years (Fig. 1). The presenceof all previouslyidentified plant communities was confirmed. Such a high differenceberweenthe rare and range of changeswithin a small areaprovesthat the changes in objectA are local and result from poor hydrological managementwithin the peatland area. The most likely reasonfor the poor condition of the reservepeatlandsis the extensivedrainageby several drainage ditches, and most of all bad hydrological managementin the fish ponds that should retain water within the peatland. The effect is that the warer is drainedfrom the peatland,probablyas a resuk ofperiodic emptying of the ponds and the resulting peatland drainage.The former renanr admitted that in 1998 he totally emptied the ponds. The physical properries of peat prevent it from soakingonce dried. With reduced
Degradationof Piskorzeniecpeatland- causesand impact on vegetation
Fig.2. Raisedbog in 1987- ObjectA. (author: R. Olaczek,
1e87) Ryc.2. Torfowiskowysokiew 1987roku - obiektA (autor: R. Olaczek1987) moisture content, the peat undergoesmineralization which means that the peatlands are invaded by euthrophic communities - mainly reed beds. At the sametime lower water level acceleratesplant succession. Under natural, stablehabitat conditions,the successionis relatively slow and results in the formation of marshy coniferous forest. In the peatland analyzed in the study successionis acceleratedby drying the peat (muck-forming process)and accompaniedby degeneration.Marshy coniferous forests, formed in the placeof mire, aredegraded.Herb layeris dominatedby commonreed and other wetland speciesbut not by the speciestypical for marshy coniferousforests.
Conclusions 1. Over the 20 yearsof the reserve'sfunctioning its vegetation,and in particularraisedmire communities (objectA) haveundergonenegativechanges. 2. At the sametime the nearbypeatland (object B), hydrologically independent from the water level in fish ponds, has retained its original character.In 2009 valuablespeciesofvascular plants and peatland plant communitieswere still found here. 3. All types of ecosystemsliving on peat soil within the reserve have undergone degeneration. The changesare related to lower level of groundwater within peat deposit. 4. Conservationactionswithin the Piskorzeniecpeatland haveproved ineffective and resulted in permanent changeswithin the habitat. 5. The main reason for the changesare badly managed pond fisheries. Emptying the ponds and strong decreaseof the water level resulted in the peat depositbeing dried out. 6. One of the most important results of the above mentioned changesare major declines of raised
23
Fig.3. Raisedbogin 2009- ObjectA. (author:D. Kopet 2009) Ryc.3. Torfowiskowysokiew 2009- obiekt A. (autor: D. Kopei2009) mire communitiesand the relatedspeciesof bryophytes and vascular plants, and the formation of degraded and floristically poor communities of marshy coniferous forest in their place. 7. The speciesthat have been lost in the reserveover the last 20 yearsate Carexlimosa,Droseraanglica,D. intermediaand Salix ryrtilloides. SphagnumcapillifuIium, S. cuspidatum,S. papillosum,S. plumosum,S. teres. 8. Other peat species except Carexchordorhizahave undergonemajor population declinesand are extremely endangered. 9. To preservethe remaining peat communities and restorepeat formation prompt action is necessary to ensurehydrologicalintegrity within the reserve. A new permanent weir should be designedand constructed, and pond management practices should be improved
Streszczenie Torfowisko Piskorzeniecw latach 80. XX wieku uznawane bylo za najcenniejszyobiekt przyrodniczy tego typu w PolsceSrodkowej.Pomimo objgciago w 1990 roku ochronArezerwatow4 nie powstrzymano postgpuj4cegoprocesudegradacji.W ci4gu ostatnich 20 lat flora i ro6linno6i torfowiska ulegla znacz4cymniekorzystnym zmianom. Nie stwierdzono ju2 w rezerwacie wystgpowanianp. rosiczki dlugolistnej czy turzycy bagiennej a powierzchnia niele6nychzbiorowisk torfotw6rczych skurcfa sig z 32 do 0,6 ha. Przyczyn4 degeneracjitorfowiska jest przedewszystkim ile prowadzono gospodarkawodna na stawachpowi4zanych hydrologicznie z torfowiskiem.
24
Dominik Kopei, Dorota Michalska-Hejduk
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