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NATURE PROTECTION
Main objectives of nature protection in Biebrza National Park
Natural environment of Biebrza Marshes was formatted as result of cooperation of natural processes and human activities. The influence of man on the environment concerned the transformation of hydrographical network as well as different kinds of land use, like agriculture, pasturage and forestry. The valuable ecosystems include not only natural areas of forests and peatlands, but also open areas of meadows which are the result of extensive agricultural use. Discontinuance of any land use forms may bring to disappearance of floristic and faunal values of these areas. In other words, most of areas within BNP require active protection.
Principles and main policies of protective activities were laid down according to basic aim of BNP establishment, which is protection of peatlands and wetlands that are found as unique and disappearing in Europe, also protection of rare and vanishing plant communities and species of fauna as well as landscape amenities and biotopes important from the avifauna protection point of view.
Protection of non-forest ecosystems
Discontinuance of extensive agriculture at Biebrza Marshes and changes in water conditions in the area caused scrub and forest vegetation succession upon non-forest ecosystems of peatland in BNP – the biggest threat to the area.
The consequence of succession processes is expansion of light–seed species of trees (birch, aspen), scrubs (willows) and reed onto non – forest areas of peatlands. The process of overgrowing of open marshlands causes real transformations to soil, flora and fauna, which brings to biodiversity decreasing of marshy ecosystems and disappearance of valuable biotopes.
On the grounds of main provisions of Biebrza National Park Management Plan, it is indispensable to conduct nature protection for the purpose of maintenance of non – forest ecosystems, because of succession occurrence on the whole area. According to BNP Management Plan about 32 000 hectares of Park’s area is scheduled for active protection.
Taking into consideration the present state of knowledge, the most effective method of counteracting the succession is mowing and cutting trees and bushes out of marshy meadows, and also grazing as a supporting action. These methods of protective activities imitate the activities used in extensive agriculture, which contributed to development and maintenance of non – forest ecosystems in Biebrza Valley through hundred of years. Other forms of activities (burning, chemicals) are contradictory to principles contained in nature conservation act.
Active protection of open marshlands is very important, because it allows to:
1. Maintain biotopes of many rare bird species unique for Poland and Europe, nesting or feeding on open areas of sedge meadows, such as: aquatic warbler, great snipe, ruff, jack snipe.
2. Maintain feeding grounds for birds of pray, such as: greater spotted eagle, lesser spotted eagle, white - tailed eagle, short – toed eagle, hen harrier. Marshy meadows in Biebrza Valley are reach of small rodents and amphibians, therefore they are very important feeding sites for birds of prey.
3. Resettle non – forest peatlands by waders bird species, like black – tailed godwit, redshank, ruff and jack snipe, which abandoned these sites after overgrowing with birch – willow brushwood.
4. Maintain big diversity of plant communities which occur on peatlands in Biebrza Valley. From the nature point of view, sedge – moss and moss communities are particularly valuable, as they include many rare plant species, which disappear in other parts of the country and Europe, such as: Carex chordorrhiza, Baeothryon alpinum, Pedicularis sceptrum-Carolinum, Saxifraga hirculus and others.
Conditions and scale of protective activities mostly depend on availability to financial support, which is indispensable to implementation of planed actions.
Some protective activities are realized at present in Biebrza NP. These actions are implemented within the framework of following projects concerning the protection of non –forest ecosystems:
• “Reconstruction of biotopes of valuable bird species occurring on open areas of sedge meadows in BNP” - The project was financed by EkoFundusz foundation. The implementation of the project ended in October 2002. The project included execution of protective activities on the area of about 730 hectares situated in the Podlaskie Marsh (Southern Basin in BNP). These actions included: brush and trees cutting and exportation of biomass – on the area of 400 hectares, mowing – on the area of 330 hectares. The effect on non-forest marsh ecosystems of protective activities was evaluated within the framework of nature monitoring. The monitoring research regarded changes in bird populations and plant communities.
● “The protection of open marshlands in the area of Southern Basin in BNP” - The project was financed by the National Environmental Found and Water Management. The implementation of the project started in 2001 and will end in 2004. The project included protective activities implemented in the area of Ławki Marsh (Southern Basin in BNP). These actions include: 2001 – brush and trees cutting, mowing and exportation of biomass on the area of 90 hectares; 08.2002-03.2003 – bush and trees cutting, mowing and exportation of biomass on the area of about 680 hectares; 08.2003-03.2004 – mowing and exportation of biomass on the area of about 700 hectares.
Technical possibilities of carrying out the protective activities may be various. Taking into consideration the scale of needs – necessity to execute protective activities on thousand of hectares of Biebrza Marshes - the most effective method is mechanical mowing of marshy meadows using special wetland cutter. These machines must be constructed taking into consideration specific character of wetlands in BNP – especially very weak carrying capacity of the soil and also difficult availability of peatlands, which is caused by big swamping of this area and specific structure of plant communities (occurrence of tussocks).
In the beginning of September 2002 Biebrza National Park purchased a wetland cutter for mowing marsh meadows and sedge communities. It was financed with support of the National Environmental Found and Water Management. The machine was produced by a Swedish company. It can be used for mowing as well as for exportation of cut biomass and it’s operation is very simple.
Water protection
The marshy ecosystems were formatted as a result of stable ground water inundation or every year spring flooding. That is why building of canals and drainage ditch network caused drastic changes in water supply conditions and successively this brought peat-forming processes to a stop and degradation of wetland ecosystems. These disadvantageous changes increase, especially in the area of big canals.
Therefore one of the biggest problems concerning the nature protection in Biebrza Valley is reconstruction of water conditions, which is extraordinarily important to protection of marshy soils and natural environment in this area.
From the water protection point of view in Biebrza Valley the most important is reconstruction of hydrographical network on partly drained peatlands in the Middle Basin of Biebrza Valley.
Within the period 1994-1997 eight stone-fascine weirs were built on the Woznawiejski Canal. These constructions limited lowering of the water level on the territory of around 2500 hectares in the area called “Trójkąt”, especially during summer droughts.
In 2000 there was realized a project entitled “Building of small damming structures on drainage ditches and canals in BNP”. This undertaking comprised construction of six wooden weirs and two stone-fascine wires on ditches and canals of the Middle Basin, which apart from the main canals, considerably influence decreasing water resources within the Park’s area. The effect of this investment concerns the stoppage of spring thaw flow and increasing the groundwater level on the territory of around 2 500 hectares in the area of the forests called “Brzeziny Ciszewskie” and “Brzeziny Kapickie” and to the south of reserve called “Czerwone Bagno”.
The most significant changes in the natural environment of the Middle Basin of Biebrza Valley were caused by rebuilding of hydrographical network of lower Jegrznia and Ełk rivers catchments. Therefore it is necessary to protect the peatlands in this area. The most important are following protective activities:
- building damming structures on the Woznawiejski Canal (dam, six stone-fascine weirs)
- modernization of the 10 kilometers length lower Jegrznia river
- hydrotechnical system reconstruction in the area called “Modzelkówka”
- revitalization of 37 kilometers length part of Ełk river-bed (among other things – reconstruction of 12 kilometers length part of overgrown “dead” Ełk river-bed)
- building damming structures on the Rudzki Canal
- plant consolidation of the Rudzki Canal.
Above-mentioned elements of water conditions reconstruction are determined by the necessity of adaptation the protective activities to range and forms of agricultural use of this area.
According to the strategy of water resources protection in Biebrza NP very important is also building small stone-fascine weirs on old drainage ditches in the area of Ławki Marsh and “Brzeziny Ciszewskie” Forest. The main objective of these actions is to stop the spring flow of floodwater in the Lower and Middle Basin of Biebrza Valley as well as to increase water retention on the wetland area of around 2500 hectares.
Faunal protection
Biebrza Marshes are one of the largest, best preserved slightly transformed by the human lowland bogs in the Middle Europe. A unique value of this area concerns, among other, animal populations occurring on vast wetlands. Disappearance of these biotopes in the European scale seriously threatens with extinction many species occurring in Biebrza Valley.
Faunal protection in Biebrza National Park is realized for the purposes of:
- biodiversity and its favorable processes protection,
- provision of continuity of all native animal species,
- provision of correct animal existence conditions through protection, reconstruction and management of biotopes,
- maintenance of rare on regional and global scale animal populations and provision of conditions to increase numerical force of rare and endangered species,
- protection of wetlands and valuable vertebrates and invertebrates species occurring on these biotopes,
- inadmission of introduction and expansion of alien species,
- reconstruction of numerical force and structure of specific for particular biotopes animal populations, which as a result of environmental changes don’t undergo natural control mechanisms – such as big mammals, insect species causing gradation,
- creating the proper conditions to using the faunal resources for scientific and educational needs.
In the spring 2003 a new Animal Rehabilitation Center started its operation in the Grzędy Protective District in Biebrza National Park.
Every year many people apply to the Park for giving wild animals found orphaned or wounded, such as young elks, deers, wild boars, nestlings of white-tailed eagle or lesser spotted eagle, as well as owls, storks and swans. In many cases the Park couldn’t take care of these animals, because of lack of adequate lodgings and financial support. Therefore these animals mostly are given to the zoo, or some Park’s employees take care of these animals in private.
In 1996 Biebrza NP built the homestead for orphaned elks, which was 9,81 hectares large and was situated in the Grzędy Protective District.
Taking into consideration the opinions of people, which regard the national park as the institution obliged to protect wounded, sick or orphaned animals, and also for the purpose of increasing the active faunal protection in the Park, new Animal Rehabilitation Center was established. This center was built in the period of 2002-2003 in the place of earlier built homestead, and owing to the financial support from the National Environmental Found and Water Management.
The homestead is situated in the area overgrown by various and all-aged stand with regard to the biotopes, which assure the excellent protect and almost natural living conditions for animals. Inside the homestead many different lodgings were built, such as: two big lodgings for the predatory mammals (wolf, badger), isolation for new received animals, and also four lodgings for various bird species. The Park is going to assure the universal care for animals, such as: food, artificial and natural watering places and veterinary help. After convalescence, once the animals become independent they will be set free. There will stay only the animals which are too much domesticated or invalid and could not survive at liberty.
We also would like to appeal to everyone not to take the young, healthy and orphaned animals from their natural environment. Mostly these animals seem orphaned, because very often the parents leave their offspring without the temporary protection, but always they come back. In such cases our intervention may be harmful - the young yield may be abandoned.
I.Naliwajek, BPN
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