Roczniki Akademii Rolniczej w Poznaniu CCCLXXXVIII Botanika – Steciana , , - www.up.poznan.pl/steciana ISSN - RARE AND THREATENED PLANTS OF THE MIRES IN THE INTENSIVELY MANAGED LANDSCAPE OF THE GÓRY SUDAWSKIE REGION NORTH‐EASTERN POLAND PAWEŁ PAWLIKOWSKI, FILIP JARZOMBKOWSKI, DAN WOŁKOWYCKI, ŁUKASZ KOZUB, PIOTR ZANIEWSKI, OLGA BAKANOWSKA, ŁUKASZ BANASIAK, KATARZYNA BARAŃSKA, ANNA BIELSKA, URSZULA BIEREŻNOJ, MAGDALENA GALUS, MARLENA GRZYBOWSKA, ADAM KAPLER, JUSTYNA KARPOWICZ, IWONA SADOWSKA, RAFAŁ ZARZECKI P. Pawlikowski, Department of Plant Ecology and Environmental Conservation, University of Warsaw, Al. Ujazdowskie , - Warsaw, Poland, e-mail: [email protected] F. Jarzombkowski, Department of Nature Protection and Rural Landscape, Institute of Technology and Life Sciences, Falenty, al. Hrabska , - Raszyn, Poland, e-mail: fj [email protected] D. Wołkowycki, Department of Environmental Conservation and Management, Białystok Technical University, Wiejska A, - Białystok, Poland, e-mail: [email protected] Ł. Kozub, Department of Plant Ecology and Environmental Conservation, University of Warsaw, Al. Ujazdowskie , - Warsaw, Poland, e-mail: [email protected] P. Zaniewski, Department of Molecular Plant Physiology, University of Warsaw, Miecznikowa , - Warsaw, Poland, e-mail: [email protected] O. Bakanowska, Student Scientifi c Circle of Inter-Faculty Study Programme in Environmental Protection, Żwirki i Wigury , - Warsaw, Poland, e-mail: [email protected] Ł. Banasiak, Department of Systematics and Plant Geography, University of Warsaw, Al. Ujazdowskie , - Warsaw, Poland, e-mail: [email protected] K. Barańska, Naturalists’ Club, Maja , - Świebodzin, Poland, e-mail: [email protected] A. Bielska, Student Scientifi c Circle of Environmental Conservation, Białystok Technical University, Wiejska A, - Białystok, Poland U. Biereżnoj, Naturalists’ Club, Maja , - Świebodzin, Poland, e-mail: [email protected] M. Galus, Student Scientifi c Circle of Inter-Faculty Study Programme in Environmental Protection, Żwirki i Wigury , - Warsaw, Poland, e-mail: [email protected] M. Grzybowska, Student Scientifi c Circle of Environmental Conservation, Białystok Technical University, Wiejska A, - Białystok, Poland A. Kapler, Department of the Evaluation and Plant-Biodiversity Conservation, Botanical Garden – Center for Biological Diversity Conservation of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Prawdziwka , - Warsaw, Poland, e-mail: [email protected] J. Karpowicz, Student Scientifi c Circle of Environmental Conservation, Białystok Technical University, Wiejska A, - Białystok, Poland I. Sadowska, Student Scientifi c Circle of Environmental Conservation, Białystok Technical University, Wiejska A, - Białystok, Poland R. Zarzecki, Student Scientifi c Circle of Environmental Conservation, Białystok Technical University, Wiejska A, - Białystok, Poland (Received: March , . Accepted: September , ) ABSTRACT. During the fi eld survey of small, predominantly Sphagnum-dominated mires, occupying de- pressions in the intensively managed landscape of the Góry Sudawskie region (NE Poland, Lithuanian Lake District), the localities of rare and threatened plant species were recorded. The most valuable of them were: Baeothryon alpinum, Carex chordorrhiza, C. paucifl ora, Cinclidium stygium, Dactylorhiza bal- tica, D. ruthei, Eriophorum gracile, Hammarbya paludosa, Lycopodiella inundata, Oxycoccus microcarpus, Pseudocalliergon trifarium and Salix lapponum. Several red-listed species (like Carex chordorrhiza, C. li- mosa, Drosera rotundifolia, Epipactis palustris, Scheuchzeria palustris and Utricularia minor) were quite common and should not be considered threatened in the studied area. A striking feature was an abundant presence of species that are considered calciphilous (like E. palustris, Carex dioica and Dactylorhiza spp.). Species-rich fl ora of the mires is threatened fi rst of all due to non-forest vegetation being overgrown with shrubs. It needs conservation measures (removal of shrubs). The presence of such species-rich ecosystems in highly transformed landscape is hard to explain and puts a new light on the importance of key habitats protection even in typical agricultural areas. Mechanisms protecting the mire ecosystems from external disturbances (e.g. eutrophication) are very important in this case and need detailed studies. The unique natural values of the studied area have remained undiscovered until now and are revealed for the fi rst time. KEY WORDS: red list species, threatened species, mire plants, distribution, eutrophication P. Pawlikowski ... INTRODUCTION majority of them used to be extensively managed in the past. Traditional, handheld peat extraction had the During recent decades, the intensifi cation of land most important impact on the plant cover. The mires use (including fertilization and drainage) has increas- used to be irregularly aff ected by mowing, grazing and ingly threatened the remnants of natural and semi- cranberry-picking. The last activity still takes place at natural ecosystems in agricultural landscapes (AGGER some sites, as well as occasional grazing of mire margins and BRANDT , BOERS , WALDHARDT et AL. by cows. Some of the peatlands are (or were in the past) ). The leaching of fertilizers (including phospho- aff ected by direct or non-direct draining. Apart from rus, nitrogen and potassium) from agricultural fi elds anthropogenic impacts, beaver activity is an important into groundwater results in the shift in vegetation of natural factor infl uencing mire ecosystems. On the one groundwater-fed mires. This includes the replacement hand, beavers inhibit the development of trees and wil- of species-rich, low-productive vegetation with highly low shrubs, but on the other hand, they dig canals or productive, rare species-poor patches (OLDE VENTERINK dam outfl ows which results in hydrological changes and et AL. ), especially when eutrophication is accom- alteration of vegetation. panied by hydrological disturbances (ENDLER and DZIE- Surrounded by agricultural land, the mires of the DZIC , BOLLENS et AL. , KOŁOS , WILHELM Góry Sudawskie region range in size from ca. to ). In Poland, dozens of wetland species are decreas- a dozen of hectares. They have diverse stratigraphy and ing and consequently included in the Polish red data thickness of organic deposits. The majority of them book (POLSKA CZERWONA KSIĘGA... ). developed in the place of former lakes overgrown with The Góry Sudawskie (the Sudawskie Mountains), peat-forming vegetation. Thus, in peat profi les lake which are situated in the north-easternmost Poland gyttjas (usually: detritus-rich) are common. At several near the Lithuanian border, is an agricultural, inten- sites, the remnants of natural or man-made reservoirs sively managed area. An abundance of small peatlands (small lakes or peat cuttings with an open water) still due to a landscape that is geomorphologically very di- persist. Topogenous character and usually very limited verse is a typical characteristic of the north-easternmost catchment area are the common features of these peat- part of Poland (ŻUREK ). Peatlands in the studied lands. Many of them are hydrologically disturbed and area are scattered among arable fi elds and pastures. Ag- overgrown entirely with forest or shrub vegetation. In ricultural management of the area includes fertilization, some places, non-forest mire vegetation persists, which drainage by drains and ditches, as well as pasture grass includes fi rst of all Sphagnum-dominated communities. sawing. Thus, the Góry Sudawskie region gives an excel- Poor fens predominate, but Sphagnum teres-dominated lent opportunity to observe the impact of intensive land moderately rich fens are present as well. Extremely rich management on the fl ora of mires. fens and ombrotrophic bogs are very rare in the studied The plant cover of the Góry Sudawskie region is very area. Other vegetation types include forest, shrub, rush, poorly recognised although the fi rst information on the tall-sedge and aquatic phytocoenoses. In the marginal fl ora of the area was published as early as in XIX century zone of almost all the peatlands, a willow and birch- (ROSTAFIŃSKI ). Some data on the fl ora and vegeta- covered belt is developed (PAWLIKOWSKI and JARZOMB- tion of several sites are found in the papers of KAWECKA KOWSKI, unpublished data). () and KAWECKA and KARCZMARZ (). The aim of the study is to determine the role of the Field survey mires in the intensively managed landscape of the Góry Floristic data from the peatlands of the Góry Sudaw- Sudawskie region for conservation and maintenance skie area and neighbouring regions to the south-east of rare and threatened species of vascular plants and were collected during the student scientifi c camp of the bryophytes. Student Scientifi c Circle of Geobotany, the Student Sci- entifi c Circle of Inter-Faculty Study Programme in Envi- ronmental Protection (both at the University of Warsaw) MATERIAL AND METHODS and the Student Scientifi c Circle of Environmental Conservation (the Białystok Technical University). The Description of the study area fi eld survey took place in July . Additionally, un- According to the division of the territory of Poland published data of Paweł Pawlikowski and Filip Jarzomb- into physico-geographical regions by KONDRACKI (), kowski from the years - were used. the Góry Sudawskie area is defi ned as Wiżajny Elevation The attention was paid only to species from the microregion, where numerous glacial landforms (espe-