Mires in Europe—Regional Diversity, Condition and Protection

Abstract

In spite of the worldwide largest proportional loss of mires, Europe is a continent with important mire diversity. This article analyses the condition and protection status of European mire ecosystems. The overview is based on the system of European mire regions, representing regional variety and ecosystem biodiversity. We combined peatland distribution data with land cover maps of the Copernicus Land Monitoring Service as well as with the World Database on Protected Areas to assess the extent of degraded peatlands and the proportion of peatlands located in protected areas in each European mire region. The total proportion of degraded peatlands in Europe is 25%; within the EU it is 50% (120,000 km2). The proportion of degradation clearly increases from north to south, as does the proportion of peatlands located within protected areas. In more than half of Europe’s mire regions, the target of at least 17% of the area located in protected areas is not met with respect to peatlands. Data quality is discussed and the lessons learned from Europe for peatland conservation are presented.

After Wildfires and Rewetting: Results of 15+ Years’ Monitoring of Vegetation and Environmental Factors in Cutover Peatland

“…In total, more than 9000 ha were rewetted by 2022, making the park a pioneer in large-scale rewetting of disturbed peatlands in Russia. [19] as simplified from [46]: II-palsa mire region, III-northern fen region, IV-typical raised bog region, V-Atlantic bog region, VI-continental fen and bog region, VII-nemoral-sub-meridional fen region.…”

“…Most peatlands in Russia are preserved in their natural state, but over 8 million hectares have been drained for agriculture, forestry and peat extraction [17]. Drained peatlands are mainly located in the European part of the country [18], and this territory is approaching the degree of disturbance of peatlands found in other European countries [19].…”

“…Location of Meshchera National Park in relation to the European mire regions, the administrative boundaries of the center of European Russia: its intact mires (light green), peatlands disturbed by peat extraction (dark green), being rewetted (blue), and the location of permanent monitoring plots, 1-10 -monitoring plot numbers. The European mire regions are given against[19] as simplified from[46]: II-palsa mire region, III-northern fen region, IV-typical raised bog region, V-Atlantic bog region, VI-continental fen and bog region, VII-nemoral-sub-meridional fen region.…”

Lead content in plant materials in the buffer zones of surface water bodies of Northwestern and Central regions of Lithuania

“…They are important components of watersheds and are vital for environmental, economic, social, and cultural reasons. Wetlands perform many environmental functions including helping to stabilise climatic conditions and flooding, storing carbon, maintaining good water quality in rivers, recharging groundwater, and acting as important sites for biodiversity (EC, 2019;Siddi, 2020;Tanneberger et al, 2021). They are estimated to contain ca.…”

Addressing Peatland Rewetting in Russian Federation Climate Reporting

“…Most peatlands are preserved in their natural state, but more than eight million hectares have been drained for agriculture, forestry and peat extraction [23]. Drained peatlands are mainly located in the European part of the country [24][25][26], in the south of Western Siberia and in the Far East [23]. Peat extraction has been the main driver of peatland drainage and degradation, especially milled peat extraction with intensive drainage, which is the dominant industrial method in Russia and many other countries.…”