Basic information about the project

Project entitled „Conservation of alkaline fens (7230) in southern Poland” is co-funded from the financial instrument LIFE+ of the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management and Regional Directorate for Environmental Protection in Rzeszów, run by Naturalists’ Club in partnership with the Gorce National Park. This project will be implemented until June 2018 and it involves the inhibition of degradation process, and improvement or maintaining the proper condition of alkaline fens in Southern Poland in 24 areas Natura 2000, as the habitat of many rare, protected and extremely endangered plant species, particularly including those listed in Annex II of the Habitat Directive, and restoring within them the extensive mowing ensuring their good condition in long-term time perspective. Among the selected areas, there are 97 the most valuable and best preserved alkaline fens of the southern and central Poland, located in 8 voivodeships: Lower Silesia Voivodeship, Lublin Voivodeship, Łódź Voivodeship, Małopolska Voivodeship, Masovian Voivodeship, Podkarpackie Voivodeship, Silesia Voivodeship and Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship.

In particular, the project will aim to:

prevent excessive drainage and to raise the water table in areas of alkaline fens;
inhibit mineralisation and eutrophication of the surface peat layer;
halt the loss of biodiversity in alkaline fens due to the expansion of species from habitats with lower humidity, such as grasses, trees and shrubs;
propagate alkaline fens protection methods within management plans based on scientific knowledge, with particular emphasis on hydroecologic aspects;
promote the protection of alkaline fens as the refuge of rare and endangered species, which can also serve as regional and local attractions;
create a group of people interested in the long-term protection of alkaline fens who in future will undertake actions sustaining effects achieved within the project;
encourage the highest possible number of people (farmers) to apply extensive mowing in the future.

Achievement of the assumed objectives, and in particular the rate of disappearance of habitat and the species occurring within, as well as the need for urgent action, including economic aspects (disproportionately higher costs in the case of actions, which would be non-comprehensive and dispersed in time) decided about including in the project such large number of small objects. Project concerning the conservation of alkaline fens is a natural consequence of the implemented project entitled: Management programmes: alkaline fens (7230) and associated endangered species (pl Programy ochrony: torfowisk alkalicznych (7230) i związanych z nimi zagrożonych gatunków), results of which confirmed that the previously estimated area of alkaline fens in Poland amounting from a dozen or so to approx. 35 thousands ha, currently is at the level of approx. 8 thousands ha (with characteristic vegetation), and only 9% of them is in the favourable conservation status (FV). The project constitutes an extension to the southern Poland of the project Life+ entitled Conservation of alkaline fens (7230) in early post-glacial landscape of northern Poland (pl. Ochrona torfowisk alkalicznych (7230) w młodoglacjalnym krajobrazie Polski północnej).

This text is also available in: PL