CONCERVING MIRES IN THE EUROPEAN UNION$&.12:/(’*(0(176 Just as small mosses, sedges and other...

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Just as small mosses, sedges and other flowering plants combined to form mires, so too diddifferent elements of the LIFE-Nature projects come together to build up the picture presentedin this report. Firstly, I would like to thank the project managers and their colleagues of the 66LIFE-Nature mire projects, who took the time to answer my questions and to supply us withsome evocative photos of their work. Then, I must express my gratitude to my colleagues inthe external teams, MECOMAT and ECOSYSTEMS, who monitor these LIFE-Nature mireprojects, and who provided me with invaluable assistance in distilling the substantial amountof information accumulated from the projects into a more coherent whole.

The actual report writing was only possible thanks to the comments from, and the discussionsI had with Bruno Julien, Micheal O’Briain, Maria Gaivao, Oliver Schall and other staff in theEuropean Commission (DG XI/D2) and with colleagues at ECOSYSTEMS and MECOMAT.Richard Lindsay (University of East London, UK) kindly provided interesting comments on thedecline of mires in the European Union. Finally, I would like to thank Kerstin Sundseth andAnton Gazenbeek, for their substantial contributions in preparing the final document.

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARYFrom Stockholm’s elegant waterfront toRome’s bustling streets, Berlin’s modernmuseums to Lisbon’s famous streetcars - one ofthe most striking features of Europe today is itscultural diversity. The second may be itsweather! driving rain in Dublin, scorching hotevenings in Athens…. This combination ofdifferent climates and human activities is alsoresponsible for another of Europe’s moreobscure jewels: its mire habitats. These areparticularly well represented considering thesize of the continent, but their decline is now amatter of grave concern – 70% of their formermire range has already been lost.

To protect what remains of Europe’s naturalheritage, the EU is in the process of establishinga European network of protected areas – calledNATURA 2000. This will be made up of sitesdesignated under the Birds Directive and theHabitats Directive, which together form thecentral pillar of the EU’s nature conservationpolicy. In 1992, a European financialinstrument – called LIFE-Nature - was alsointroduced to help set up NATURA 2000. Overthe last seven years some 350 projects were co-financed to the tune of 283 million euro.

This report gives an overview of the projectsco-financed for mire conservation under LIFE.It starts by describing the 13 mire habitat typescovered under the Habitats Directive, looks atthe principal threats identified through theprojects and provides a country-by-countrysummary of what has been funded so far. Itthen goes on to present the main actions used tocombat these threats, using a wide selection ofreal-LIFE examples from the projectsthemselves to illustrate this.

Altogether, 66 LIFE-Nature projects werefunded for mire conservation over the last 7years – with an EU contribution ofapproximately 25-35 million euro. The largemajority (2/3) focused on restoration – which isperhaps not surprising given the drastic declinein ecological quality of so many mires inEurope. Actions principally involved restoringthe hydrology of the mire and/or re-establishingthe ecological value of the vegetation.

Depending on the habitat types involved, asignificant number of mire sites also requiredrecurring management. This was, however, notas easy at it sounds, mainly because many of

the traditional practices were abandoned in theearly part of this century through agriculturalintensification or changing land uses,consequently much of the management know-how was lost too. Thus, many LIFE projectseither experimented with new ways to recreatethese traditional farming practices, or developedinnovative schemes to stimulate long-termmanagement. Moreover, for mires that stillhave an economic farming interest, the key totheir long-term conservation is through theparticipation of the farmers themselves. Severalprojects focused therefore on pump-priminglong-term agreements through the agri-environment regulation 2078/92/EEC.

Just as active and continued management isvital for some mire types, others survive bestwith no intervention. This is especially true forclimax vegetation such as bog woodland,blanket bogs, aapa mires and raised bogs. Toachieve this, a small but important sub-set ofLIFE projects focused on acquiring strategicand representative examples of these habitattypes. It is estimated that around 35,000 ha hasbeen bought so far under LIFE-Nature.

Finally, because mires are intimately linked to acomplex matrix of other land uses, it isinconceivable to consider restoring or managinga mire without taking the local interest groupsand users into account. Not only is their supportessential for the success of the project, but theyoften play a central role in safeguarding theconservation value of the sites in the long run.Virtually all LIFE projects had therefore acomponent dedicated to dialogue,communication and raising awareness. Thisranged from negotiating with the stakeholdersto actively involving them in the project andraising interest amongst the public at large overthe value of the habitats.

One last but essential element of LIFE-Natureprojects is that the experiences gained by one –whether positive or negative – should beavailable to others to learn from. A list of all themire projects covered by this report, togetherwith their contact addresses, is given in annexfor anyone who wishes to receive moreinformation about the different activitiesdescribed. Also, in Chapter 8 a selection isgiven of some of the methodology manuals andhandbooks produced under LIFE.

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De l’élégant front de mer de Stockholm aux ruesanimées de Rome, en passant par les musées modernesde Berlin aux fameux funiculaires de Lisbonne - l’unedes caractéristiques les plus frappantes de l’Europed’aujourd’hui est bien sa diversité culturelle. L’autreest sans nul doute son climat ! pluie incessante àDublin, soirées torrides à Athènes ..... C’est dans lacombinaison de ces différents climats et de l’emploides activités humaines qu’il faut chercher l’un destrésors les plus occultes d’Europe : les tourbières. Ceshabitats sont tout particulièrement bien représentéscompte tenu de la dimension du continent. Toutefois,leur déclin suscite de graves inquiétudes - 70% de leurétendue a déjà disparu.

Pour préserver ce qu’il reste de l’héritage natureleuropéen, l’UE est sur le point d’établir un réseaueuropéen de zones protégées - NATURA 2000. Il seraconstitué de sites désignés au titre de la DirectiveOiseaux et de la Directive Habitats qui, conjointementconstituent le pilier central de la politique européennerelative à la conservation de la nature. En 1992, uninstrument financier européen - LIFE-Nature - a étéadopté en vue de contribuer à la mise en œuvre duréseau NATURA 2000. Au cours de ces sept dernièresannées, quelques 350 projets ont été co-financés pourun montant de 283 million d’Euros.

Le présent rapport fournit un aperçu des projets co-financés pour la protection des tourbières au titre deLIFE. Il commence par une description de 13 typesd’habitats de tourbières couvertes par la DirectiveHabitats, énumère les principales menaces identifiéesau travers des projets et fournit un résumé élaboré payspar pays des financement accordés à ce jour. Ils’attache ensuite à présenter les actions principalesentreprises pour combattre ces menaces. A titred’illustration, est présenté un vaste éventail d’exemplesconcrets des projets LIFE.

En tout, 66 projets LIFE Nature ont été financés depuisces sept dernières années pour la conservation destourbières - avec une contribution communautaired’environ 25-35 millions d’Euros. La grande majorité(2/3) cible la restauration - ce qui n’est guèresurprenant compte tenu du sérieux déclin de la qualitéécologique de nombreuses tourbières en Europe. Lesactions visaient essentiellement la restaurationhydrologique des tourbières ou le rétablissement de lavaleur écologique de la végétation.

Suivant le type d’habitat concerné, une gestionrécurrente semblait nécessaire pour un nombreimportant de sites à tourbières. Cette tâche ne s’est pasavérée aussi facile qu’il n’y paraît. En effet, denombreuses pratiques traditionnelles ont étéabandonnées au début du siècle au profit de pratiques

agricoles intensives ou de modifications de l’utilisationdes terres conduisant à la perte du savoir faire auniveau de la gestion. Par conséquent, dans denombreux projets LIFE du temps et de l’énergie ontété consacrés à expérimenter de nouvelles méthodespermettant de recréer ces pratiques agricolestraditionnelles ou d’élaborer des schémas innovants envue d’encourager la gestion à long terme. Par ailleurs,en ce qui concerne les tourbières offrant encore unintérêt économique, le secret pour leur conservation àlong terme passe par la participation des exploitantsagricoles eux-mêmes. Plusieurs projets ont servid’amorçage à des accords à long terme au titre durèglement agri-environnemental 2078/92/CEE.

Tout comme une gestion active et continue est vitalepour certains types de tourbières, d’autres surviventbien mieux sans aucune intervention. Ceci estparticulièrement vrai dans le cas des végétationsrenommées comme les tourbières boisées, lestourbières de couverture, tourbières aapa ettourbières hautes. Pour y parvenir, un petit nombrede projets LIFE se sont attachés à acquérir desexemples stratégiques et représentatifs de ce typed’habitats. On estime à ce jour que 35.000 ha ont étéacquis au titre de LIFE-Nature.

Enfin, étant donné que les tourbières sont intimementliées à un ensemble complexe d’autres typesd’utilisation des terres, il est inconcevable derestaurer ou de gérer une tourbière sans prendre enconsidération les groupes d’intérêt et les utilisateurslocaux. En effet, ces acteurs non seulement apportentun soutien essentiel au succès du projet mais ilsjouent également un rôle central pour le maintien dela valeur de conservation des sites à long terme. C’estpourquoi, quasiment tous les projets LIFEcomportent une composante destinée au dialogue, àla communication et à la sensibilisation. Elle va del’établissement des négociations avec lespropriétaires fonciers en vue de les impliqueractivement dans le projet à l’élaboration descampagnes de sensibilisation et de manifestationd’intérêt auprès du grand public sur la valeur de ceshabitats.

Un dernier élément, mais non moins essentiel auxprojets LIFE réside dans le fait que les expériencestirées par l’un - positives ou négatives - devraientêtre transmises aux autres. Une liste de tous lesprojets concernant les tourbières et figurant auprésent rapport, avec les adresses de contact, estprésentée en annexe à tous ceux désireux de recevoirplus d’informations sur les différentes activitésdécrites. Le Chapitre 8 offre une sélection demanuels de méthodologie et des publications produitssous LIFE.


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CENTURIES IN THE MAKING

Some 8000 years ago, when the climate became milder and moister and sea levelsrose (cutting Britain off from Europe, among other things), the last great icecaps tocover northern Europe started to melt away. Wetter weather and higher sea levelscombined to raise groundwater tables everywhere, so that large mires arose in poorlydrained lowlands and basins. Such basins often originated as depressions carved outby the retreating glaciers.

Over millenia these mires grew as peat layer upon peat layer was laid down. Thiswas, and still is - where it persists to this day - an entirely natural process,uninfluenced by man. Pollen analysis of cores drilled straight through theaccumulated peat layers has enabled us to reconstruct the evolution of vegetation andclimate since the formation of the mire at the end of the Ice Age, confirming thatmires have their own ‘natural history’.

In the very early days bogs were simply used as a means of gaining easy access acrossthe countryside. The evidence of this can be found in the numerous ‘corduroytrackways’ (timber trackways) found preserved in peat bogs across the length andbreadth of Europe. Relatively little was done to actively exploit them and so the bogsprobably remained ‘untouched’ for centuries. Our view on mires however changeddrastically during the Enlightenment (end of 17th century) and the IndustrialRevolution (middle of the 18th century), when land became an industrial commodity,which, if it could not be turned fairly readily into commercial gain on an industrialscale, was considered ‘waste’.

Thus, mires, heaths and mountains all developed a cultural label which said‘worthless’. Of course, mires had the added burden of being somewhat dangerous(mainly, it should be said, to livestock rather than local people) and so they have for alonger period been associated with difficulty – ‘bogged down’, Pilgrim’s ‘Slough ofDespond’, ‘stuck in the mire’ – all reflect the somewhat treacherous ground. Thisdread is also mirrored in the sort of toponyms, which crop up in connection with miresacross different languages: “Devil’s bog”, “Schwartzes Moor”, and so on. Or the talesof “will o’ the wisps” (flames from the spontaneous combustion of marsh gas, i.e.methane) leading people to their doom in bottomless quagmires.

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Large-scale drainage schemes first began in the Lowlands, mainly to generate newfarmland to feed Europe’s rising population. But, as mire exploitation began toaccelerate – peat became the fuel of choice for the Dutch, the Prussians and the Irish;ambitious commercial ventures and/or governmental schemes ‘improved’ huge tractsof mire and fen to settle landless peasants and colonists; mires were drained andplanted with trees to meet an expanding timber market. Degradation and outrightdestruction increased exponentially, primarily as a result of state or commercialafforestation and the peat industry. Mires, still relatively intact in Napoleonic times,were reduced to degraded fragments 150 years later, or gone forever.

RECENT TRENDS

Today, compared to other continents, Europe has suffered the greatest losses inmires, both in absolute terms relative to its former mire extent. Peat formation hasstopped in about 60% of the original mire area, of which possibly 10-20% does noteven exist any more as peatland (Joosten 1997).1

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Asia 1,070 980 92 8

Africa 10 5 50 50

North America 1,415 1,350 95 5

South America 25 20 80 20

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Nevertheless, the remaining mires in the European Union still represent a tremendousdiversity in habitats, considering the size of the continent. The different climates,such as the Atlantic maritime climate, the continental climate of central Europe andthe boreal or Arctic climate, combined with complex geology and geomorphology,gave rise to different mire types – even in Mediterranean regions, where one leastexpects them, mires occur. The presence of such a variety of different types on arelatively small part of the globe renders the conservation of mires in the Union amatter of world significance.

THEIR BIOGEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION

Mires have declined in all biogeographic regions of the European Union.• �$WODQWLF�UHJLRQ�

The destruction ofmires has beengreater in north-western Europe,which once boastedextensive areas, thananywhere else on theOld Continent. Forexample, the BritishIsles, with theirunique dome-shapedraised bogs andextensive blanketmires, have seen asevere roll-back ofmire surface. Over90% of the originalarea of raised bogshas been modified,damaged ordestroyed. Of theFens in East Anglia,only four tinyfragments survivetoday as naturereserves.

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In the Midlands of Ireland, the lowland raised bogs with their characteristic andrenowned scenery are increasingly under threat. Of the 775,000 ha originally found inthe Republic of Ireland only about 112,000 ha are reasonably intact, indicating a lossof 86%. Much of the undulating moraine landscape of the plains of Lower Saxony, Westphaliaand the eastern part of the Netherlands was also once covered with mires which hadformed naturally after the last Ice Age. The Bourtanger Moor alone covered 300,000ha on the Dutch-German border. Today only a few pitiful mires, each not much largerthan 100 ha, remain and costly measures are required to conserve or restore what isleft.

• &RQWLQHQWDO�DQG�$OSLQH�UHJLRQV� In the foothills of the Alps, great inland lakes filled the valleys after the glaciersretreated back up the mountains. One such lake, the Federsee in Baden-Württemberg,terrestrialised over thousands of years, resulting in a large fen. Nearby, Lake Constance at first covered large areas of today’s Swiss-Austrian Rhinevalley. Sediments from the Alps washed into a delta, which advanced northward intothe lake creating satellite lakes in which mires formed, later used as litter meadows.These two sites exemplify the Alpine foothill mires.

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The low evaporation rate, the gentle topography and the poor soil conditions havebeen ideal factors for the development of vast mires in Finland and Sweden. In fact,the Finnish name for Finland, 6XRPL� is derived from an old Finnish word�� 6RRPD,associated with the word�VXR��meaning peatland�� Despite this association of Finlandwith mires, here too there has been a drastic decline in pristine examples. Many mires have been drained, but compared to the other biogeographic regions ofthe Union, decline has been less pronounced and, from a conservation point of view,many of these degraded mires can still be restored. In Finland, circa 80% and inSweden, circa 35% of the former mire area has been substantially altered, in mostcases through drainage for agriculture and forestry purposes.

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Even in this unlikely region with its winter rains and summer droughts, mires arepresent, but far less widespread and often restricted to mountainous areas, althoughextensive peat deposits also occur in coastal wetlands and at the mouths of the rivers,such as the Rhone delta. These “delta peatlands” with a low organic/high silt contentare formed during the terrestrialisation of coastal freshwater or brackish lakes.Further inland, mires can also occur in the floodplains of large rivers (eg. Tablas deDamiel, River Guadiana, central Spain).

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Bogs, often relicts of former cold climates, occur as far to the south as Corsica orCalabria. Even though the range is limited, many kinds of mire do occur in thisregion: raised bogs, transition mires, calcareous fens with &ODGLXP� PDULVFXV and&DUH[�GDYDOOLDQD, and alkaline fens.

Blanket bogs do not, however, occur in the Mediterranean zone. Most of theMediterranean mires have been much influenced by, and some of them have evendeveloped as a result of, human interaction with nature.

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Located way out in the Atlantic Ocean, the Macaronesian Region is the most westerlyand southerly point of the European Union. The mires of this region are almostunknown to the outside world. Nevertheless, the Azorean mires encompass a greatdiversity of morphologically distinct types. They are also particularly rich inendangered species of European importance such as the plants &XOFLWD PDFURFDUSD,(ULFD D]RULFD, )UDQJXOD D]RULFD, -XQLSHUXV EUHYLIROLD, /DXUXV D]RULFD, ,VRHWHVD]RULFD, etc.

Higher altitudes on the Azorean islands (above 500 m) are extremely humid: heavyrainfall, mist and water retention by the soil allows peat to accumulate and mires togrow. At present Azorean mires – bogs, fens and forested peat bogs – cover an area of2,100 ha, and are found on 7 islands: São Miguel, Terceira, Pico, Faial, São Jorge,Flores and Corvo.

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One can imagine that in the past most of the higher levels of the islands were coveredby bogs and fens, but there are no data to assess the original mire area. There are onlyindications that the present mire area is just a fraction of the original mire expanse.

Recent human pressures for forestry purposes or for conversion to agricultural areas(combined with drainage or peat extraction), have modified, damaged or evendestroyed many of the mire habitats. Nevertheless, several mires have not beendamaged beyond repair and restoration is still possible.

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EU NATURE CONSERVATION POLICY

To meet its international obligations and encourage better management of Europe’snatural heritage, the European Union has been progressively developing andimplementing a nature conservation policy on its territory since 1973. At the heart ofthis policy are two pieces of Community legislation: the ‘Birds Directive’ and the‘Habitats Directive’. Together, these focus on the protection of natural habitats, faunaand flora and the creation of a coherent European ecological network of protectedareas - called the Natura 2000 Network.

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Adopted in 1979, the Birds Directive is concerned with the long-term protection andmanagement of all bird species living in the wild state on Union territory and of theirhabitats. 181 bird species, in particular, benefit from specific conservation measures –for these, the Member States must classify the most appropriate areas as SpecialProtection Areas (SPAs). To date, around 2,400 sites covering over 160,000 km² havebeen classified. These SPAs have also had a positive effect on the protection of anumber of bogs and fens, which are important breeding, resting and foraging sites fora number of the targeted bird species.

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This Directive, adopted in 1992, the year of the Rio summit, is the main EUinstrument to safeguard its biodiversity. It introduces the obligation to preservehabitats and species of Community interest. Around 200 natural and semi-naturalhabitat types - whose current range is very small or has shrunk considerably across theEU - are listed in the Directive, as are a further 200 animal species and over 500 plantspecies requiring habitat protection.

Each Member State is responsible for identifying and designating, as Special Areas ofConservation (SAC), sites which are important for the protection of these species andhabitats. These areas will then benefit from statutory or contractual safeguards, and,where appropriate, management plans will be elaborated to ensure their long-termpreservation through the integration of human activities into a sustainable strategy forthe site.

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The Natura 2000 Network will ultimately be made up of SACs designated under theHabitats Directive and the SPAs classified under the Birds Directive. Onceestablished, it will form the central pillar of the Union’s conservation policy. Whilstthe SPAs are automatically included in Natura 2000, a more stepwise process isforeseen for Habitat Directive sites. First, each Member State proposes a list of sitesfor the conservation of the species and habitat types listed in annex occurring in theirterritory (the national list). Then, the Commission selects, in agreement with theMember States and on a biogeographical basis, those sites that are considered to be ofCommunity Importance (SCIs). Finally, the Member States formally designate theselected sites as Special Areas of Conservation (SAC) and introduce measures toensure their favourable conservation state.

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When adopting the Habitats Directive in June1992, the ministers in Council gavethemselves three years to propose thenational list of sites to the Commission.However, the first phase took longer thanexpected and for some countries it is still notcomplete. Nevertheless, by the beginning of1999, more than 8,800 sites coveringapproximately 320,000 km² (equivalent to10% of the EU territory) had already beensubmitted to the Commission. This meantthat work could begin in earnest on selectingthe SCIs for some of the biogeographicregions.

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PROTECTION UNDER THE HABITATS DIRECTIVE

Because of their rarity and continuing decline, 13 mire habitat types are included inAnnex I of the Habitats Directive. Leaving bog woodland as a special case, these miretypes can be broadly organised into the following three main groups, primarilyaccording to their topography, hydrological condition and the plant species which arethe most important component of peat formation.

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Bogs occur in situations where the water feeding the vegetation is no longer in contactwith the mineral soil. Because of this, bogs are very poor in nutrients. Peat mosses(sphagnum) take over the role of ‘brown mosses’ in peat formation because they arehighly successful in sequestering the very few minerals dissolved in the rainwater.The uptake of these minerals causes bogs to become acidic because peat mossesscavenge the few cations from the dissolved minerals and exchange them forhydrogen ions (acidity is defined by the concentration of hydrogen ions). Bogs dependsolely on rainwater and are thus ombrotrophic (“rain-fed”). The peat layer of bogs isgenerally thicker than in fens and, because of this, bogs can be seriously destabilisedif this layer is destroyed as a result of digging ditches or extracting peat.

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Fens occur where the vegetation is still in contact with the enriched mineral water,either through the run-off of water from the surrounding mineral soil or throughseepage. Since fens rely on a mineral water supply, they are called minerotrophic(“mineral-fed”). In some cases fens are precursors of bogs. Under certain conditions,the peat soil remains poor in oxygen and is generally very low in nitrates orphosphates, even in situations where a substantial amount of dissolved minerals canbe present in the water, such as in the alkaline fens. However, in other cases, notablythe eutrophic fens, nitrogen and phosphorus may be abundant. In fens, sedges,‘brown mosses’ and some sphagna form the peat. The peat layer is generally (but notalways) thinner than in bogs.

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Boreal mires are particular complexes where bog and fen situations occur next to eachother. Boreal mires are generally flat landscape features, much influenced by theeffects of the annual spring thaws and of compression by snow cover. Trees oftenoccur where the peat layer is thin.

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The following section gives a brief description of the mire habitat types listed in theHabitats Directive, summarised from the “Interpretation Manual of the HabitatsDirective”1 The interested reader should consult this Manual for a more detaileddescription of the habitats and their component plant and animals.2,3

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Habitats Directive code: 7110*: active raised bogs and 7120: degraded raised bogs

Vegetation characteristics and topography� Peatmoss-dominated vegetation, oftengrowing together with small sedges, cotton grasses and ericaceous species such as&DOOXQD� YXOJDULV. Small shrubs such as &KDPDHGDSKQH� FDO\FXODWD, /HGXPSDOXVWUH and %HWXOD�QDQD are present in boreal raised bogs. Because of the poormineral content, carnivorous plant species such as sundew ('URVHUD� VSV.) oftenoccur between the peat mosses or on bare peat. They are called raised bogs becausethe bog surface and the water table in the bog are higher than in the surroundingvegetation. Dome-shaped raised bogs are well known, for example, in the BritishIsles, but a variety of raised bogs also occur in most geographical areas.

Mineral content and acidity: poor and acidic.

Peat characteristics: The peat is formed by peatmoss (6SKDJQXP) and the peat layer can bevery deep (up to 7m is not unusual). Inactive raised bogs, a priority habitat type,peat formation is still occurring; indegraded raised bogs, peat formation hasstopped because the bog hydrology hasbeen disrupted as a result of a significantdrop in the water table (ditches, peatextraction ...). As long as the peat is not toodesiccated and mineralised, the bog can stillbe rehumidified and, with appropriaterehabilitation, there is a reasonableexpectation of re-establishing a peatforming vegetation. If the peat layer is toodesiccated and mineralised, the bog is nolonger capable of retaining water naturally.

Conservation issues: Intact raised bogs have become very rare, except in borealregions where they are a predominant mire type in southern boreal regions.

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Habitats Directive code: 7140

Vegetation characteristics and topography: Transition mires are intermediary mirestages between fens and bogs and often occur as a succession stage in theterrestrialisation of ponds and lakes. They are, to a certain extent, ombrotrophicbecause the vegetation surface has become somewhat disconnected from themineral water table beneath. However, an increase in the water table after heavyrain or a decrease in the mire’s surface, e.g. when the vegetation is buried under ablanket of snow, soaks the vegetation in mineral-rich water.

A unique type of transition mire is the quaking bog (Schwingmoor). In thesemires, there are carpets of medium-sized or small sedges, associated withsphagnum and brown mosses, which float upon the water surface. Under normalconditions, the quaking bogs are connected to the terrestrial vegetation. However,parts can become disconnected and float freely on the water surface.

Mineral content and acidity: Oligo- to mesotrophic; basic to slightly acidic.

Peat characteristics: intermediate between 6SKDJQXP and brown moss peat. Inquaking bogs, the peat has a very high water content as it is largely suspended inthe water underneath.

Conservation issues: transition mires and quaking bog communities evolve into bogsor brook forests, depending on a number of ecological factors. In order to preservethe best examples, these habitats are being restored by recreating earlier successionstages.

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Habitats Directive code: 7210*

Vegetation characteristics and topography: &ODGLXP�PDULVFXV fens are flat, lawn-likemires on permanently waterlogged soils. They cannot tolerate variations in waterlevels and the water table is high (slightly above or below the substratum). Theyconsist of species-poor communities, dominated by &ODGLXP�PDULVFXV, often as aresult of terrestrialisation of shallow calcareous lakes and may occur next tocalcareous or acidic fens, reed beds or large-sedge communities... &DULFLRQGDYDOOLDQDH fen communities mostly occur as sloping fens in sub-montain tomountain areas, and in lowland areas as an early succession stage of mesotrophicand calcareous mires. They consist mostly of a very wet vegetation, since they areconstantly fed by run-off water and groundwater.

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Mineral content and acidity: minerotrophic and basic conditions.

Peat characteristics: generally on a shallow peat layer of sedge peat and brown moss.

Conservation issues: extensive &ODGLXP�PDULVFXV fens have become very rare and aremuch threatened by relatively minor changes in the water table. &DULFLRQGDYDOOLDQDH fen communities are under serious threat from demand for intensiveagricultural grasslands. They are also threatened by changes in water quality andthrough simple lack of management.

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Habitats Directive code:7240 *

Vegetation characteristics and topography: Low-sedge and rush communitiescolonising bare gravel, sand, stones, clay or peat substrates of cold water areasalong moraines, glaciers, edges of springs, etc. A long period with permanent orcontinuous soil frost is necessary.

Mineral content and acidity: mesotrophic, slightly acidic to neutral.

Peat characteristics: mineral soils enriched in organic matter as a result of the coldclimate and waterlogged conditions.

Conservation issues: very rare habitat type. The evolution and distribution of thesehabitat types may be a good indicator of increasing temperature worldwide. Foundin the Alps, the boreal countries and locally in the UK.

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Habitats Directive code: 7310 *

Vegetation characteristics and topography: These are mire complexes characterised byminerotrophic fen vegetation, mostly forming flat or slightly concave areas, so thatthe centre does not rise above the surrounding mineral ground (a major differencewith raised bogs). Since aapa mires are flooded in late spring, the characteristichummocks of raised bogs are not formed.

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Aapa mires have a characteristic pattern, which gradually changes as one moves upfrom the middle boreal region to the north. In the middle boreal region, the aapamires look like homogeneous lawn-forming fens. Towards the north, the patternbecomes clearer, showing a structure of pools and strings. This forms a parallel ora net-like structure. In raised bogs, ridges and pools can also occur, but these arealways concentric or eccentric. In the aapa mire margin, where the peat layer isthin, bog woodland types occur.

Mineral content and acidity: poorlyminerotrophic to slightly acidic.

Peat characteristics: sedge peat, mixed withpeatmoss peat and peat formed by brownmosses.

Conservation issues: Since aapa mires arerestricted to the middle and northernboreal region, they have a highconservation value.

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Vegetation characteristics and topography: As one moves north in the aapa region, theeffect of frost increases and palsa mires occur. Palsa mires are characterised by a‘palsa mound’.

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A frozen peat core can be formed where the snow layer is thin; during thefollowing winters, the insulating snow layer remains thin because of the bulgingsurface so that the core increases in size. This can go on until the mound has aheight of 3-4 meters. As the mound increases, the peat layer on the top of themound dries up and the palsa begins to crack and eventually collapses to form acharacteristic ring.

Mineral content and acidity: : ombrotrophic and acidic

Peat characteristics: peat mosses

Conservation issues : locally common in the far north, but in a very restricted area.

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Vegetation characteristics and topography: coniferous and broad-leaved forests on ahumid to wet peaty substrate, with the water level permanently high or higher than thesurrounding water table. Bog woodlands are generally dominated by birch, alder,pine or spruce.

Mineral content and acidity: poor in nutrients and acidic.

Peat characteristics: often occur at the margin of raised bogs or in acid fens.

Conservation issues: same as raised acid bogs.

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A LONG HISTORY OF LAND USE

Throughout the European Union, the quality and quantity of mires has declinedsignificantly. This decline has been very gradual, beginning in western and centralEurope where demand for land and fuel was greatest, followed later by the borealregions and British Isles. Ironically, many of the labour-intensive mire drainageschemes for agriculture or forestry purposes were not entirely successful. Productionestimates were very often not achieved, leading to an abandonment of the ‘landimprovement schemes’, after which the mires, albeit seriously affected and reduced inbiological quality, were left to recover as far as natural processes would allow.

Considerable financial resources were sunk into such ‘land improvement’ projects.Today, financial investment is again needed, this time to repair the damage inflictedby these past schemes. Restoration of mires is an expensive endeavour and there isn’talways a guarantee that the outcome will be as expected. Therefore, preservation ofwhat remains of this important natural heritage should be the primary target.However, where damage has occurred, restoration becomes necessary.

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Austria * 84 3 3.60 0.3 10 ��Belgium * 31 1 3.30 0.01 1 ��

Denmark * 43 10 23.0 0.1 1 ��

Finland 338 96 28.0 19.2 20 ��

France * 544 1 0.2 0.01 1 ��

Germany * 357 15 4.2 0.15 1 ��

Greece * 132 2 1.5 0.02 1 ��

Ireland 70 14 20.0 2.1 15 ��

Italy * 301 1 0.3 0.01 1 ��

Luxembourg* 2.6 0.02 1.3 0.001 5 ��

Netherlands * 42 15 36.0 0.15 1 ��

Portugal * 92 0.2 0.2 0.002 1 ��

Sweden 450 67 15.0 43.55 65 ��

Spain * 505 0.5 0.1 0.005 1 ��

United Kingdom* 243 18 7.4 1.8 10 ��

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IDENTIFYING THE SOURCE OF THE THREATS

Because of their need for a relatively continuous and natural water supply, mires arehighly susceptible to any changes in hydrological conditions within their widerenvironment. Nevertheless, the integrity and biological diversity of mires can still bemaintained as long as these hydrological conditions are not changed drastically and aslong as land use is not intensive. For instance, a number of land uses have occurredon mires with little or no damaging effect on the nature values: hay production,grazing of mires, small-scale peat harvesting, and berry picking. In several instances,low-intensity agricultural practices such as mowing or grazing even increased speciesrichness locally and maintainedmires in a particular successional stage, therebypreventing them from developing into other mire types.

More often than not though, the hydrological condition of the mires has beendisrupted by more destructive modes of land use. In these cases, it is essential tounderstand the source of the problem in order to be able to design the mostappropriate remedial actions to restore the habitat. Three questions can be asked inthis respect:

½ What has been the HIIHFW� RQ� WKH�PLUH fauna, flora or structure? Assessing andunderstanding the biological effects on the structure and function of a mire isimportant to determine its present conservation status and to be able to PRQLWRUthe impact of restoration works;

½ Which actions have caused damage in the past or cause damage at present or maycause damage in the future? This is important in order to know which non-recurring or recurring conservation actions to undertake to UHVWRUH�DQG�FRQVHUYHthe mires;

½ Which are the socio-economic sectors or VWDNHKROGHUV responsible for theseactions? This is important in order to know who to involve and negotiate with.

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• Agriculture• Forestry• Transport• Recreation• Tourism• Urbanisation• Construction• Peat extraction• Energy• Industry• Horticulture• Hunting• Mining

• Ditch digging• Afforestation• Tree felling• Water extraction• River diversion• Flooding• Fertilization• Lack of management• Removal of peat• Road construction• Building• Waste disposal• Trampling• Introduction of non-native

species

• Desiccation• Mineralisation• Habitat destruction• Fragmentation (size

reduction)• Nutrient input• Natural succession• Unwanted change in flora

and fauna (introducedspecies, simplification ofspecies composition)

• Pollution• Drowning (hydro-electric

power dams, pond creation)

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TYPES OF DAMAGING ACTION

The following is a description of the most important damaging actions as they wereidentified in the projects co-financed by the EU under its LIFE-Nature financialinstrument (the greater the number of flags, the more frequent and important thisthreat was to the sites concerned):

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M Threat: whether establishing new plantations or promoting natural tree growth,afforestation is a major problem for mires, in particular for blanket bogs, raisedbogs and aapa mires. In boreal regions, fens were selected for woodland becauseof their better mineral content and at these sites, forestry was successful. Later,

afforestation of ombrotrophicmires took place, but because ofthe poor and acidic conditions,this did not give the expectedtimber yields (slow growth rate,poor timber quality and highharvesting costs.)

✔ Response in LIFE projects:removal of trees, one-off com-pensation payments, ring-barking of trees.

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M Threat: Overall more mires havebeen drained for agriculture and forestrythan for peat extraction, but in bothcases this involved the digging of anextensive network of ditches – in thecase of peat extraction this wasfollowed by vegetation stripping aswell. Peat soils degrade rapidly andirreversibly after intensive drainage,especially in drier climates, resulting in adramatic drop in agriculturalproductivity. In large areas of CentralEurope, the costs of pumping and dikemaintenance can no longer be met fromagricultural revenues (Succow & Joosten1999).

✔ Response in LIFE projects: dammingand blocking ditches, filling in ditches.

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M Threat: Initially, tree felling was a means of creating agricultural land.Surprisingly, this locally led to an increase in water, which flowed to the wetlandsand stimulated peat production. At present, the situation is quite different,especially in boreal areas, where most mire sites with high conservation valuehave forests within or immediately surrounding them. This forest is of commercialvalue and is therefore at permanent risk of being chopped down for timber.Preparation of areas for tree felling on an industrial scale means that roads have tobe built to transport the timber, which adds to the severe disruption of thehydrology of the mires.

✔ Response in LIFE projects: compensation payments, land acquisition.

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M Threat: Several mires, having rivers flowing through them, were until recentlyused as extensively managed grasslands for hay production. However, in order toimprove grassland production and to control water levels (often with the aim ofpreventing flooding), water authorities have been re-diverting or canalising riversaway from the mires. Not only was the hydrology disrupted, but also thechemistry of the run-off water changed drastically, often affecting the riversdownstream. Peat mineralisation also meant that soil levels dropped, leading tothe formation of polders.

✔ Response in LIFE projects: restoration of former river bed, rehumidification ofthe mire.

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M Threat: Flooding of mires is a recent problem. Mires situated in river basins areunder threat of being used as water retention basins to prevent flooding of urbanor industrial areas downstream. In other areas, riverine mires are beingtransformed into fishing ponds or lakes for recreational purposes. A recentinventory, undertaken as part of the French LIFE project “Tourbières de France”,of the mires of the Haute-Saône and the Territoire de Belfort showed thatconstruction of ponds was the first cause of decline in 61% of the 107 studiedmires in France (Dupieux, 1998).

✔ Response in LIFE projects: compensation payments, land acquisition.

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M Threat: In boreal mires, fertilisers (NPK) were often used in the past to encouragetree growth. Fertilisation of fens and bogs also occurs as a result of increasedfarming in the mires’ catchment areas. This problem is particularly acute in theLow Countries, though the problem is widespread and is of major conservationconcern.

✔ Response in LIFE projects: A difficult problem to deal with. In most borealprotected mires, fertilisation no longer occurs but the effects are still visible. Inthe Low Countries, the creation of buffer zones and the installation of watertreatment plants has been the best option to deal with this problem.

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M Threat: Water extraction in or near a mire may affect the hydrology of the mireand therefore have a detrimental effect on the vegetation and mire topography.

✔ Response in LIFE projects: movement of the borehole to a safe distance.

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M Threat: Being made up of mosses and small plants, mire vegetation is verysensitive to trampling. Trampling occurs on hiking trails through mires, oroccasionally takes place when too many cattle graze the mires. Another recentthreat to mires is cross-country skiing as ski-tracks are prepared by heavyequipment.

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M Threat: even though far fewer mires have been destroyed by peat extraction thanby agriculture and forestry, this practice is, without a doubt, the most damagingthing that can be done to a mire, in particular to bogs. Peat extraction is stillongoing today and remains a serious threat as it is usually the pristine bogecosystems that are selected for the extraction of peat.

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✔ Response in LIFE projects: compensation payments, placing areas under strictprotection, experiments to re-establish vegetation.

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M Threat: Garden plants eventually escape into the wild and start affecting the localfauna and flora. For instance, the plant $URQLD� PHODQRFDUSD, a small bushspecies, escaped from gardens around several mire areas and is now a strongcompetitor for the typical mire species in calcareous mires in western Europe(Belgium, Netherlands, also UK and France). 5KRGRGHQGURQ� SRQWLFXP is asignificant invader of raised bogs in UK and Ireland.

✔ Response in LIFE projects: physical removal of invasive species but techniques toget rid of these plants and animals have to be developed on a case-by-case basis.

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M Threat: Road construction near or through mires may have a detrimental effect onthe sites, as heavy equipment is used and the mire hydrology is changed. Forexample, in the narrow valleys of the Alps, mires are being increasingly squeezedbetween road infrastructures.

✔ Response in LIFE projects: compensatory measures: diversion or re-routing of theroads or infrastructures.

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Apart from these damaging actions, one natural event is also of major conservationconcern to many site managers and this is QDWXUDO� VXFFHVVLRQ. Natural successioninvolves a series of stages, one after the other, by which one plant communityreplaces the previous plant community, until a final stage (climax) is reached. Forinstance, brown-moss sedge communities in the early fen stages may be replacedeither by bog communities where peat mosses are dominant, or by a brook-forestcommunity. How this evolution occurs depends on several ecological factors.

If succession is a natural process, why should it be a problem? Some of the earlystages in the development of mires, such as certain fen plant communities, havebecome very rare as there are too few ‘starting points’ in today’s man-madelandscape. The only possible means to protect these early succession stages is to ‘turnthe ecological clock back’. In most cases this is done by mowing, sod cutting, orremoving trees so that the initial open phases of the fens can develop again. In LIFE-Nature projects, which are dealing with fen or intermediate fen-bog communities,turning back the ecological clock of natural succession is an important andappropriate conservation action.

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LIFE: THE EU’S FINANCIAL INSTRUMENT FOR NATURE

The European Union has had a financial instrument to support nature conservationprojects since 1984. At the start, only relatively small pilot projects could be fundedbut in 1992, when the Habitats Directive was adopted and the concept of Natura 2000launched, Member States recognised the need for a more substantial budget to assistin the establishment of this ecological network. This was not intended to pay for itsimplementation wholesale but rather to promote practical examples and demonstrationmodels of how Natura 2000 could work in practice.

As a result, nature conservation became a major component of LIFE, the EU’sfinancial instrument for the environment. Since 1992, some 40-50 million euro hasbeen made available on an annual basis to co-finance actions targeting theconservation of:

♦ sites proposed under the Habitats Directive (pSCIs)♦ sites classified under the Birds Directive (SPAs)♦ listed species, where their survival is dependent on more than just protecting and

conserving their existing habitats.

The Community’s financial contribution is up to a maximum of 50% of the total costor in exceptional cases, 75% for priority species and habitats. Most often it is publicauthorities, having a responsibility for implementing EU conservation legislation,particularly municipalities, regional authorities and park administrations, who applyfor LIFE funds. But non-governmental organisations also represent a significantproportion of the recipients as they often have the grass-roots expertise required toundertake on-site actions. Also, in recent years, partnership projects, involvingconservation authorities, NGOs and stakeholders, have become increasingly popular.

During LIFE I (1992-1995), the Habitats Directive was in its early stages ofimplementation. It was therefore important not only to support site-related emergencyactions for species and habitat types listed in the Directive, but also to assist MemberStates in the onerous task of drawing up the national lists of sites to be proposed forinclusion in the Natura 2000 Network.

By LIFE II (1996-1999) Member States were entering the next stage ofimplementation. Consequently, the emphasis shifted and priority was now given toprojects involving practical on-site actions ZLWKLQ proposed Natura 2000 areas.

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The overall objective of LIFE-Nature is to fund projects that will make a significantcontribution to the conservation of Natura 2000 sites either by pump-priming initialheavy investment costs that will make long-term management more affordable, orproviding high-profile models of how conservation objectives for particular habitatsand species can be achieved in practice and LQWHU� DOLD within the interest groups’support – i.e. demonstration projects.

On the whole, LIFE projects follow the logical framework approach wherebysuccessful applicants identified and quantified the problems affecting their site beforeproposing a suite of actions to address these under LIFE-Nature. The type of actionsfunded can be broadly grouped into five main categories. In subsequent chapters, eachof these actions will be described in detail and illustrations given of the kind ofpractical examples funded.

• SUHSDUDWRU\� PHDVXUHV� Actions preparing the ground for on-site conservationwork, e.g. administrative preparation (permit procedures, meetings betweenproject partners), negotiations with stakeholders, preparation of managementplans, site surveys, technical blueprints etc..

• ODQG� OHDVH� RU� DFTXLVLWLRQ� Long-term conservation of mires can often only beachieved if an effective long-term control over the land use is assured.Acquisition or long-term lease is not always an end in itself, but can also act as afirst step in paving the way for restoration or biotope management work, whichalways affects other land uses. Compensations for restricting existing rights, orending them altogether, also come under this heading, as do land swaps, wherebyland is bought outside the project area and exchanged for a section of valuableland within the site.

• QRQ�UHFXUULQJ�DFWLRQV� (one-off restoration actions): this often means investmentworks to kick-start the restoration or improvement of mires and mire hydrology,e.g. closing ditches, tree felling or removing scrub vegetation, fencing to allow thegrazing of peat meadows, etc.

• UHFXUULQJ�DFWLRQV�� (biotope management)� this involves actions that have to beundertaken on a regular basis to maintain or improve the habitat conditions of themire. For instance, a fair number of mires are used for agricultural purposes(grazing and hay-making) and rely on these low-intensity farming practices fortheir maintenance. Recurring actions can also include the development of specialmowing equipment to be used on the soft and wet mire soils, contracts andmanagement agreements with third parties to mow or graze conservation land, etc.

• UDLVLQJ�SXEOLF�DZDUHQHVV� aimed either at visitors, thelocal community or relevant stakeholders, this includesquite a heterogeneous range of measures from theinstallation of footpaths and bird observation towers tothe preparation and publication of brochures, theorganisation of workshops and public hearings, mediawork, and so on.

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PROJECTS FUNDED FOR MIRE CONSERVATION

Altogether, between 1992 and 1998, some 347 LIFE-Nature projects were financed,committing over 283 million euro to nature conservation within the European Union.Although a very large number of these projects in some way involve mire habitats, 66(20%) of them can be considered to be ‘genuine mire projects’ in that they made asignificant contribution to the conservation of these particular habitats in the differentMember States.

The total amount of money allocated to mire conservation through these projects ishowever rather difficult to assess, as some are part of much bigger projects coveringother habitats as well. Nevertheless, it is estimated that between 25-35 million eurohas been disbursed, specifically for mire conservation work, over the last seven yearssince 1992.

A list of the 66 projects is given in Annex to this report, together with the contactnames and addresses in case those interested wish to have further information on theprojects or their results.

For the purposes of this report, three types of project have been distinguished:

8 Horizontal projects

The term covers two kinds of projects: the first covers the preparation ofnational lists of endangered habitat types and species listed in theDirectives. Such projects were financed between 1992 and 1995 (LIFE-I).Their value lay in building up knowledge on the presence and status ofmire biotopes in countries such as Ireland, Portugal, Spain and Greece. Thesecond type of project involved the preparation of management plans andstrategies for a wide array of biotopes, including mires (but not involvingon-site implementation actions).

31 “Key” mire projects

These are projects which focus primarily on mire habitats, i.e. where morethan 25% of the project site targeted consists of mires.

29 “Relevant” mire projects

Projects where the conservation of mire habitats is also targeted, but to afar lesser extent and in addition to other habitats. Such projects have beenincluded in the report if large mire areas are involved (>100ha), if small butunique mire habitat types (e.g. unique for the Member State in question)were targeted or whenever notable incentive or demonstrative actions fortheir conservation took place.

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Projects where many small but important mire sites are included

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Not all mire projects funded under LIFE-Nature are single-site initiatives. Some havetaken a more generic approach and covered several sites at once. As can be seen fromthe distribution map, site-related mire projects took place in 10 of the 15 MemberStates. In Greece, Portugal and Spain, only horizontal projects focusing oninventories or management plans for threatened habitat types (Annex I of HabitatsDirective) took place. There were no mire projects in Denmark and Luxemburg.

In most cases, the EU LIFE funding complements national efforts within the MemberStates. For example, many projects have used EU LIFE support to finance theexpensive investment in land acquisition as the ‘first step’ in the conservation of themire, but rely on their own financial means to restore or manage the habitat. This isthe case in Finland and Sweden where most LIFE finance was used to acquire andsafeguard mires, many of which were in relatively pristine condition (subsequentmanagement being a fairly low key affair). On the other hand, the UK, beingconfronted with degraded mires, focused its LIFE projects on hydrologicalrestoration. Some countries, like Germany and France, needed a wide range ofconservation actions and so used EU support for measures across the board:acquisition, land lease, restoration and management of degraded mires.

The differences in mire conservation needs amongst Member States has an effect onthe kind of actions needed, which in turn means differences in the way financialsupport is allocated among the five major action types distinguished previously. Thiscan be illustrated by comparing the provisional budgets of projects in five MemberStates (Finland, France, Germany, Sweden, and the United Kingdom). These figures,and those given in the country-by-country review, are indicative only as it is difficultto establish the exact amounts earmarked for mire conservation within projects withonly a partial mire conservation effect.

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COUNTRY BY COUNTRY OVERVIEW

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In this Alpine country, agriculture, residential areas, industry and infrastructure aresqueezed into the valleys, where the intense demand for land poses a great threat tothe lowland mires. Hence, two important projects focus on the conservation of suchintra-montane mires: the Ennstal mires in Styria and the Hörfeld Moor on the borderbetween Styria and Carinthia. The third project, in the Rhine delta, is quite different.The delta has been an important riverine fen area in the past, but, as a result of riverembankment works and drainage of these mires, the wetland area has been muchreduced. The objective of the LIFE-project here is to restore the hydrology of the wetmeadows and remaining small fen sites in the delta.

As the Ennstal project illustrated, if partnership between competent authorities,landowners and private conservation bodies is not secured, the success of therestoration actions and the long-term conservation of the site cannot be guaranteed. Apartnership which is proving more successful is the conservation of the Hörfeld Moor.Here, the partnership has already led to an exemplary involvement of the localfarming community in the conservation of the mire and a number of potential spin-offs for the economic development within the valley.

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Belgium is a mixture of often incompatible land uses, in which conservation workrequires patience and piece-by-piece tactics. Building upon the experience of fenconservation gained during the last decades, two regional conservation organisationsproposed a “key” mire project to safeguard the last calcareous mires in the country,which had been brought to the brink of extinction by the abandonment of traditionalagricultural methods and the lack of effective conservation. Through land acquisition,one-off restoration measures and regular mowing, LIFE-Nature gave a significantboost to the conservation of these mires and raised public awareness of mireconservation. Two other projects included, amongst others, the restoration of smalltransition mires and relicts of bog woodland, while the largest and best developed5K\QFKRVSRULRQ communities in Flanders were protected via a third project.

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Finland is, together with Sweden, the Member State with the most extensive mires. Inone mega-project in Lapland and Ostrobothnia, 29 aapa mires, ranging from 50 toover 10,000 ha each, are being protected with LIFE-Nature support. Althoughdrainage for forestry purposes and occasional peat digging have taken their toll, thestructure and function of the aapa mires included in this project are still veryrepresentative. A second LIFE-Nature project in central and southern Finland focuseson the restoration of 17 degraded aapa mires and raised bogs, for, as one heads south,relatively more mires have been degraded or have disappeared as a result of humanintervention.

Among the “relevant” mire projects, natural old-growth forests in the Kuusamo areaare the prime target of a LIFE-Nature project targeting another 13,780 ha. In thisproject area old-growth forest occurs next to important mires, primarily aapa mires.Since the long-term conservation of these mires can only be guaranteed if they areincluded in the conservation of the forest habitats, the acquisition of 40% of the miresis foreseen in this project. In so doing, this otherwise forest-related project should alsomake a significant contribution to the conservation of mires.

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France is the only Member State which straddles 4 biogeographic regions (Atlantic,Continental, Alpine and Mediterranean), as a result it has a great diversity and numberof relatively small bogs and fens.

One project in particular, “Tourbières de France”, aimed to develop a nation-widestrategy for the conservation and sustainable use of the French mires, andimplemented this policy on 40 sub-sites in urgent need of conservation. The projectrelied on partnership between three non-governmental organisations and the publicauthorities for nature protection, forests (ONF) and water management (OfficeNational de l’Eau). A national committee for the protection of mires was set up andprovided the site managers and stakeholders with sound scientific and technicaladvice.

The project “Tourbières de Midi-Pyrénées” adopted a similar approach for theconservation of mires on its patch.

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Altogether, the French LIFE mires projects covered a great diversity of habitat types,ranging from extensive wetlands dominated by lakes over typical fens and bogs tounique mire sites such as the pozzines in the mountains of Corsica. The land useissues (agriculture, forestry, recreation, hunting, ...) were equally diverse and resultedin the involvement of a wide range of local authorities and stakeholders. This in turnenabled demonstrative restoration actions, such as the restoration of the former riverbeds in the valley of the Drugeon in the Jura (eastern France), to take place.

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It is characteristic for Germany that the regional conservation authorities are heavilyinvolved in the preparation and implementation of LIFE-Nature projects. Only onemire project has been put forward by a non-governmental organisation. Because thecompetent authorities of the different Länder have been the main beneficiaries ofLIFE-Nature projects, this has enabled the development of large-scale projects whichset ambitious targets, for instance to restore entire degraded mire ecosystems.

Examples of such projects concern the riverine fen ecosystems in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the reduced, but once large, fen areas formed by the glacial lakes of theChiemgau and Federsee in the Bavarian and Swabian foothills of the Alps, and theSchaalsee on the border between Lower Saxony and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.

Other LIFE-Nature projects, without an overriding focus on mire conservation,contributed to the conservation of raised bogs and fens as one measure among many.A particularly interesting biotope is the unique calcareous tufa formation of theJohannisfelsen in the Isarauen LIFE project, or the calcareous fen of the BenningerRied LIFE project, which is the only place in the world where the plant $UPHULDSXUSXUHD occurs (both are in Bavaria).

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A precise picture of the distribution and conservation status of the habitat types andspecies listed in the Habitats Directive occurring in Greece, was needed to prepare thelist of potential Sites of Community Importance under this Directive. As over 40% ofall Annex I habitat types occur in Greece, two projects were approved to inventoryand analyse 296 sites covering approx 2.3 million hectares or 18% of the territory.

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Fens and bogs are represented in Greece by three habitat types: raised bogs, alkalineand calcareous fens. The conservation state of most of these mires is precarious,although the alkaline fens at high altitudes in the mountains of the Pindos range, wererecorded as still having an excellent structure and high conservation value. Calcareousfens with &ODGLXP� PDULVFXV and &DUH[� GDYDOOLDQD were found to occur as well-developed communities in lakes, lagoons and valleys in central Greece. A few raisedbogs were recorded as well, but they cover small areas in the Varos and ElatiaMountains and occur here at the southernmost range of their distribution.

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Apart from the Mediterranean coastal environment, Italy has a large Continental andAlpine element and so does harbour a surprising variety of mires. Out of the 2500 orso proposed Sites of Community Importance (pSCIs), there are 399 pSCIs with mirehabitats. Most LIFE projects in Italy however focus on other biotopes, although someof the project sites contain valuable mire biotopes in need of conservation. The miresites which were included in LIFE-Nature projects were located at the very edge oftheir natural distribution range, such as the mires of Massaciucolli near Pisa orAspromonte in the toe of Italy.

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About 10% of the world’s total area of blanket bogs is found in Ireland. In 1987, theIrish Government made a commitment to protect 10,000 ha of raised bog and 40,000ha of blanket bog, covering in total 4% of the original unmodified area of mires inIreland. However, protection measures for these and other habitat types of Europeanimportance were hampered by the fact that many of the site descriptions andboundaries were out of date at the time of adopting the Habitats Directive. It was therefore decided that a comprehensive nationwide re-survey of 1,600 sitesshould be carried out with co-financing from LIFE Nature. The ultimate objective wasto prepare Ireland’s submission of a national list of pSCIs. Blanket bogs, raised bogsand other priority habitat types received particular attention. A total of 1,225 sitescovering approximately 750,000 ha were finally identified through this process andtheir vital statistics (including ecology, threats, land use and maps) fed into a database. Around 200 of them involved priority habitats, such as blanket and raised bogs.

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As part of a continuing strategy to implement the Habitats Directive in Ireland, asecond horizontal LIFE-Nature project was launched to develop comprehensivemanagement plans for 214 sites containing priority habitats. Approximately 54 ofthese sites contain blanket bogs and 31 sites contain raised bogs. Finally, a comprehensive land acquisition strategy for blanket and raised bogs wasinitiated under all three projects, with approximately 12,000 ha of land being targetedfor purchase with LIFE-Nature funds.

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What is left of the once extensive areas of raised bog and minerotrophic fen in theNetherlands has already received national statutory protection. Despite this legalprotection, the minerotrophic mires, considered the largest and best developed of theirkind in western Europe, have, since the 1970s, been severely affected by diffusepollution from surrounding agricultural land. The mires, important habitats for plantand animal species, slowly acidify and evolve into species-poor brook forests. BothLIFE-Nature projects seek to create the necessary buffer zones for the hydrologicalrestoration of the mires and, where these have already evolved into brook forest, to re-create the appropriate conditions for natural fen re-establishment.

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A precise picture of the occurrence and conservation state of the mires in Portugalwas needed in order to prepare the list of potential Sites of Community Importanceunder the Habitats Directive. A nationwide project to inventory the habitat typeslisted in the Directive was therefore launched with LIFE co-financing. This was acollaborative effort between six university research groups, coordinated by thecompetent authorities for nature conservation. Because conservation was urgent inseveral of these sites, management prescriptions were also proposed for a subset ofsites.

A preliminary list identified around

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CONCERVING MIRES IN THE EUROPEAN UNION$&.12:/(’*(0(176 Just as small mosses, sedges and other...

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