Threats
Based on the inventory of the habitat 72130 conducted in the years 2008-2011 across Poland under the project: “Habitat Action Plan plans of alkaline fens (code 7230) and the related endangered species of Saxifraga hirculus, Liparis Loeselii, Herminium monorchis and Stellaria crassifolia Ehrh” (visit the project website: http://www.kp.org.pl/torfowiska/) and the formulated Habitat Action Plan, among all the areas, 34 were selected in Poland, with the highest concentration of habitat 7230, constituting at the same time the most important refuges of rare plant species in Poland, including the species listed in Annex II of Habitats Directive: Saxifraga hirculus, Liparis loeselii, Hamatocaulis vernicosus. Among the selected areas, the most valuable and best preserved Polish alkaline fens were listed, within the area, of Rospuda Valley, Augustów Primeval Forest, Kaszubskie Lake District. Due to Polish specificity of the superficial structure of the habitat, i.e. large domination of objects of small area (below 2 hectares) and its huge dispersion, the project included app. 30 small areas – lands with typical vegetation for the habitat 7230 of the total area of only 618 hectares. Achievement of the set objectives, in particular the pace of vanishing of the habitat and the species present within the habitat, as well as the necessity to take urgent actions, including economic aspects (disproportionally higher costs in the case of actions dispersed in time and non-comprehensive actions) determined that such a large number of small objects were included in the project.
Extreme endangerment of alkaline fens was confirmed by the results of land inventory of habitat 7230 conducted in the years 2008-2011 by the Naturalists’ Club (approximately 1000 objects of different size were subject to stock taking). The results suggest that only 10-15% of all alkaline fens have characteristic vegetation, and their state of preservation is to be determined as unsatisfactory, poor (U2). The status of only 5% of fens is classified as favourable conservation status (FV).
According to the reports on habitat conservation status in certain EU Member States (except Romania and Bulgaria), the indicated threats may be divided into three categories:
- Threats related with change in the water conditions as a result of the conducted irrigation, drainage etc.
- Threats related with changing the manner of use, extensification or intensification of agricultural land us.
- Natural biocenotic evolution processes.
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