Vol. 75, No. 2: 157-163, 2006 ACTA SOCIETATIS BOTANICORUM POLONIAE 157 NON-DESTRUCTIVE METHODS FOR PEAT LAYER ASSESSMENT IN OLIGOTROPHIC PEAT BOGS: A CASE STUDY FROM POIANA ªTAMPEI, ROMANIA IULIANA FLORENTINA GHEORGHE1, CRISTINA-MARIA VÂLCU2, ION BARBU3, SORANA ÞOPA4 1 Department of Systems Ecology, University of Bucharest Splaiul Independenþei 91-95, 76201 Bucureºti, Romania 2 Department of Forest Genetics, Technical University of Munich Am Hochanger 13, 85354 Freising, Germany e-mail:
[email protected] 3 Research Station for Norway Spruce Sylviculture Câmpulung Moldovenesc Calea Bucovinei 73 bis, Câmpulung Moldovenesc Ro-5950, Romania 4 Petroleum and Gas University of Ploieºti, Environmental Engineering Department B-dul Bucureºti 39, Ploieºti, Romania (Received: July 16, 2005. Accepted: September 28, 2005) ABSTRACT Practices currently employed in the investigation and characterisation of peat deposits are destructive and may irremediable perturb peat bog development even in cases when exploitation is not carried out. We investigated the correlation between vegetation characteristics in the active area of Poiana ªtampei peat bog, Romania, and the underlying peat layer depth, aiming at establishing a non-destructive method of peat layer depth estimation. The presence of the Sphagneto-Eriophoretum vaginati association, dominated by Sphagnum fimbriatum, Eriophorum vaginatum, Andromeda polifolia, Vaccinium oxycoccos, V. myrtillus, V. vitis-idaea, Polytrichum commune, Picea excelsa, Pinus sylvestris and Betula verrucosa was found to predict the existence of the peat layer but not its depth. Out of the seven identified vegetation types, one type was associated with a very thin or no peat layer, one type was characterised by the presence of a thick (over 100 cm) peat layer and five types indicated the presence of variable average depths of the peat layer.