Assessment and Spatial Planning for Peatland Conservation and Restoration: Europe’s Trans-Border Neman River Basin as a Case Study

Land

Wendelin Wichtmann¹  Andrzej Kamocki²  Aleksander Kołos²  Piotr Banaszuk²  Leonas Jarašius³  Jūratė Sendžikaitė⁴  Marta Stachowicz⁵  Mateusz Grygoruk⁵  Evaldas Makrickas⁶  Michael Manton⁶  Nerijus Zableckis⁷  Jan Peters⁸  Per Angelstam⁹  Maxim Napreenko^1,10 

[1] Experimental Plant Ecology, Partner in the Greifswald Mire Centre, Institute for Botany and Landscape Ecology, Greifswald University, 17489 Greifswald, Germany;Faculty of Civil Engineering and Environmental Sciences, Bialystok University of Technology, Wiejska 45 E, 15-351 Bialystok, Poland;Foundation for Peatlands Restoration and Conservation, Zirmunu 58-59, LT-09100 Vilnius, Lithuania;Institute of Botany, Nature Research Centre, Žaliųjų Ežerų 49, LT-12200 Vilnius, Lithuania;Institute of Environmental Engineering, Warsaw University of Life Sciences-SGGW, Nowoursynowska 166, 02-999 Warsaw, Poland;Institute of Forest Biology and Silviculture, Faculty of Forest Science and Ecology, Vytautas Magnus University, Studentu 13, LT-53362 Akademija, 44248 Kaunas, Lithuania;Lithuanian Fund for Nature, Algirdo 22-3, LT-03218 Vilnius, Lithuania;Michael Succow Foundation, Partner in the Greifswald Mire Centre, Ellernholzstrasse 1/3, 17489 Greifswald, Germany;School for Forest Management, Faculty of Forest Sciences, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE-739 21 Skinnskatteberg, Sweden;Shirshov Institute of Oceanology, Russian Academy of Sciences, 36, Nahimovskiy Prospekt, 117997 Moscow, Russia;

关键词: Baltic Sea region;    bog;    environmental history;    fen;    gap analysis;    governance;   

DOI  :  10.3390/land10020174

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Peatlands are the “kidneys” of river basins. However, intensification of agriculture and forestry in Europe has resulted in the degradation of peatlands and their biodiversity (i.e., species, habitats and processes in ecosystems), thus impairing water retention, nutrient filtration, and carbon capture. Restoration of peatlands requires assessment of patterns and processes, and spatial planning. To support strategic planning of protection, management, and restoration of peatlands, we assessed the conservation status of three peatland types within the trans-border Neman River basin. First, we compiled a spatial peatland database for the two EU and two non-EU countries involved. Second, we performed quantitative and qualitative gap analyses of fens, transitional mires, and raised bogs at national and sub-basin levels. Third, we identified priority areas for local peatland restoration using a local hotspot analysis. Nationally, the gap analysis showed that the protection of peatlands meets the Convention of Biological Diversity’s quantitative target of 17%. However, qualitative targets like representation and peatland qualities were not met in some regional sub-basins. This stresses that restoration of peatlands, especially fens, is required. This study provides an assessment methodology to support sub-basin-level spatial conservation planning that considers both quantitative and qualitative peatland properties. Finally, we highlight the need for developing and validating evidence-based performance targets for peatland patterns and processes and call for peatland restoration guided by social-ecological research and inter-sectoral collaborative governance.

【 授权许可】

Unknown