The distribution pattern of mire specialist butterflies in raised bogs of the northern lowlands of Central Europe

Raised bogs are extreme and azonal ecosystems with a characteristic hydrological balance, microclimatic conditions and a specific flora and fauna. Recently, these ecosystems have increasingly become the focus of scientific and general attention because of their important ecosystem roles in the face of global warming and providing biodiversity refuges. From a biogeographical and evolutionary context, the peat bogs of the European Lowlands serve as palaeorefugia, acting as cold, edaphic island habitats for arcto-alpine or boreo-montane insect species in temperate biomes. Analysing 105 peat bog sites in the northern lowlands of Central Europe, we compare the diversity and geographic distribution pattern of a subset of six butterfly species, which appear to be tyrphobiontic or tyrphophile mire specialists. We demonstrate a decrease in mean species number in the European Lowlands on a gradient from the east (Northern Belarus, about 4 species) to the west (Northern Germany, about 1 species), and suggest that the decreasing species number may be mainly caused by human impact in the past. The individual distribution pattern shows a nearly complete gap in occurrence of the sensitive bog specialist species Colias palaeno and Boloria eunomia in Northern Germany and an increasing presence of those species in peat bogs of eastern Europe. Boloria aquilonaris shows a different pattern, which, in contrast to C. palaeno, is continuously distributed in all sampled regions and seems to be the more tolerant of tyrphobiontic butterflies in the face of human impact on peat bogs. In the light of other recent findings our results also suggest that Boloria aquilonaris and Plebejus optilete may serve as target species reflecting success in ecological restoration of peat bog ecosystems.

Pinus mugo shrubs on peat bogs in the Tatra National Park

Pinus mugo shrubs on peat bogs in the Tatra National Park (TNP) were for the first time described as a separated plant association by Obidowicz (1975) from only two mires. Since then, there have been no studies on peat bogs in the TNP and they have not been mentioned in the list of vegetation types of the Park. The research regarding the dwarf pine shrubs on mires in the Tatra Mountains was carried out in 2019. We mapped all patches of such vegetation (total – ~2 ha) on which we made 26 relevés. P. mugo shrubs on peat bogs occur within the complex of mire habitats, such as Norway spruce bog woodlands, raised bogs and poor fens. The shrub layer is dominated by Pinus mugo with admixture of dwarfish Picea abies. Typical plants of the herb layer are Vaccinium myrtillus, V. vitis-idaea, Eriophorum vaginatum and Oxycoccus palustris, whereas the most common mosses are Sphagnum magellanicum, S. capillifolium, S. russowi, Pleurozium schreberi. P. mugo shrubs on peat bogs in the TNP belong to the association Sphagno magellanici-Pinetum mugo.

Greenhouse gas emission fluxes from peat bogs in the Arak Lake Basin in 2021

Climate change has an important impact on greenhouse gas emissions from wetland ecosystems. The static box-meteorological chromatography method was used to determine the CO2 and CH4 emission fluxes of hummocky and hollow in the peat bogs in the Arak Lake Basin during the growing season in 2021. The results showed that the peaks of the CO2 and CH4 emission fluxes in the growing seasons of the hummocky and hollow appeared in July, and their value in May is the lowest. The average C02 emission flux (376.39±56.14 mg-m-2-h-1) during the growing season of hummocky is higher than that of hollow (167.36 mg-m-2-h-1), while the average emission flux of CH4 during the growing season of hummocky (2.00±0.31 mg-m-2-h-1) is lower than that of hollow (3.04 mg-m-2-h-1). The climatic fluctuations have caused differences in the CO2 and CH4 emission fluxes of the same micro-topography in the study area during the growing season between 2020 and 2021.

Op onvruchtbare bodem?

On barren soil? Early nature reserves of Natuurmonumenten and the Dutch landscape In 1905, Natuurmonumenten (Natural Monuments Society), a Dutch NGO for nature conservation, was founded. The society aimed to preserve some uncultivated lands, such as heathlands, fens, peat bogs but also forests, which were under threat of cultivation and reclamation. Natuurmonumenten managed to acquire a number of nature reserves in the years 1905-1940 for scientific, recreational and aesthetic reasons. In this article, this collection is analyzed and compared to the reserves of other Dutch nature conservation organizations in the same period. Although Natuurmonumenten acquired mainly barren soils, it turned out to be a fruitful start of a nature preservation organization that operated nationwide, and established a strong network within Dutch society.

Relict populations of Lyonetia ledi Wocke, 1859 (Lepidoptera, Lyonetiidae) from the Alps indicate postglacial host-plant shift to the famous Alpenrose (Rhododendron ferrugineum L.)

Lyonetia ledi Wocke, 1859 (Lyonetiidae), was hitherto considered as a boreal species with a circumpolar distribution pattern and relict populations in isolated peat bogs north-east of the Alps (Austria, Czech Republic, Germany). In Europe it is known as a leaf-miner on Rhododendron tomentosum Stokes ex Harmaja (Ericaceae) as the primary host-plant and also Myrica gale L. (Myricaceae). The first record of L. ledi from the Swiss Alps on Rhododendron ferrugineum L., the famous Alpenrose, indicates an ancient host-plant switch during postglacial periods when R. tomentosum and R. ferrugineum shared habitat in the prealps. Conspecificity with northern populations is supported by the adult morphology and supplementing DNA barcodes (mtDNA COI gene). L. ledi is the first obligatory leaf-mining species on R. ferrugineum. Details of the life-history and habitat are described and figured. The record finally substantiates the probability of an autochthonous population in Carinthia (Austria), from where the species was recently published as new to the Alps.

Leptospermum repo (Myrtaceae), a new species from northern Aotearoa / New Zealand peat bog habitats, segregated from Leptospermum scoparium s. l.

Leptospermum repo de Lange & L.M.H.Schmid sp. nov. (Myrtaceae) is segregated from L. scoparium J.R.Forst. & G.Forst. (sensu lato). The new species is endemic to the peat bogs of the Waikato, Bay of Plenty, and adjacent eastern ranges of the northern portion of Te Ika a Maui / North Island, Aotearoa / New Zealand. The new species belongs to the northern Te Ika a Maui / North Island clade of L. scoparium s. l., from whose other members it is morphologically distinguished by its gracile, spindly, open-branched growth habit; widely divergent, longer, linear, linear-lanceolate (rarely filiform), shortly cuspidate leaves; flowers with white petals, stamens mostly with white filaments (very rarely tinged pink near base), and by the style and stigma which are usually green (very rarely pink). Leptospermum repo now occupies ca. 10% of its former peat bog habitat, where aside from a few protected peat bogs the species is still in decline through loss of its habitat. A more recent potential threat to L. repo is myrtle rust disease, caused by Austropuccinia psidii, an exotic rust first detected in Aotearoa / New Zealand in May 2017. This rust poses a serious threat to the Myrtaceae of Aotearoa / New Zealand, for which there is at present no known effective treatment to prevent the death of infected hosts. Therefore, due to the historic loss of habitat, a threat which is still ongoing, causing the decline of many L. repo populations; and the potential threat of Austropuccinia psidii to this species, the listing proposed for the species (as Leptospermum aff. scoparium (c) (AK191319; "Waikato peat bog") by the New Zealand Indigenous Vascular Plant Threat Listing Panel of "Threatened / Nationally Critical DP, De" is here upheld.

Effect of Corona Virus Pandemic Lockdown to Chemical Composition of Peat Mosses

Sphagnum mosses are used for biomonitoring of air pollution. In 2019, samples were taken from two peat bogs in Germany and two in Slovenia to determine differences in their levels of potentially toxic elements (PTE). The Corona Virus Disease (COVID-19) lockdown caused global decrease in air pollution. Therefore, we repeated the monitoring in 2020 to see if this was also reflected in moss composition. Despite the variability within bogs and the areas, it is possible to distinguish the degree of air pollution between the two countries. The Harz mosses have higher contents of almost all elements and Slovenian Cr and Hg in 2020. Comparison of the PTE contents, their ratios to Sc and the enrichment factors show that the COVID-19 lockdown led to a decrease in long-range pollutants bound to finest particles and increased the influence of local soil dusting. The effect prevailed over lower precipitation in 2020 compared to 2019. Transport and industry continued to contribute significantly to contamination. Sphagnum mosses proved to be good indicators of the spatial and temporal extent of pollution. Even relatively short periods of lower air pollution are reflected in moss PTE contents.

Long-Term Changes in Floristic Diversity as an Effect of Transforming the Lake into a Retention Reservoir

The Łęczna-Włodawa Lake District is one of the most valuable natural regions in Europe. It is an area of numerous lakes, peat bogs, swamps and forests, which has been undergoing intensive transformation for decades. Among the largest projects were the creation of the Wieprz Krzna Canal system along with the drainage system and the transformation of natural lakes into retention reservoirs. Among the transformed lakes is Lake Wytyckie. The land was used for analyses near the lake, and floristic and habitat analyses were carried out within the boundaries of the contemporary embankment. The studies were carried out from the 1950s, when the lake functioned as a natural reservoir, through to the 1980s (the transformation of the lake), to the 2020s. Lake Wytyckie was transformed into a retention reservoir by increasing its size and flooding the areas inhabited mainly by peat bog, meadow and forest vegetation, which contributed to the impoverishment of both species and habitat diversity of the area, while it increased the nutrient richness of the water. This was reflected both in the decline in the value of individual diversity indices as well as in the ecological index numbers. In the first period of the research, the area was dominated by wetlands, not drained, with a large variety of species that preferred good lighting conditions. Additionally, the habitat was characterized by low reaction, temperature and trophic values. In the following period, there was an increase in the depth of the water of the reservoir, characterized by high water visibility values, which contributed to the presence of protected species, as did the low moisture content of the areas within the embankment and a neutral pH. The factors currently influencing the formation of the vegetation structure are the high humidity of the entire embankment area, the increase in pH, and the significant increase in the share of built-up areas in the immediate vicinity.

Caution Is Needed When Using Niche Models to Infer Changes in Species Abundance: The Case of Two Sympatric Raptor Populations

Despite the mounting evidence supporting positive relationships between species abundance and habitat suitability, the capacity of ecological niche models (ENMs) to capture variations in population abundance remains largely unexplored. This study focuses on sympatric populations of hen harrier (Circus cyaneus) and Montagu’s harrier (Circus pygargus), surveyed in 1997 and 2017 in an upland moor area in northwestern Spain. The ENMs performed very well for both species (with area under the ROC curve and true skill statistic values of up to 0.9 and 0.75). The presence of both species was mainly correlated with heathlands, although the normalized difference water index derived from Landsat images was the most important for hen harrier, indicating a greater preference of this species for wet heaths and peat bogs. The findings showed that ENM-derived habitat suitability was significantly correlated with the species abundance, thus reinforcing the use of ENMs as a proxy for species abundance. However, the temporal variation in species abundance was not significantly explained by changes in habitat suitability predicted by the ENMs, indicating the need for caution when using these types of models to infer changes in population abundance.