Peatlands are among the most endangered habitats in the whole country
Peat bogs, i.e. swamp ecosystems that are home to water-loving plants, are among the most endangered habitats in the Czech Republic. Biologists from Masaryk University in Brno found this out during preparation of the Red List of Endangered Habitats in the Czech Republic. While people are generally aware that animal and plant species are under threat, many fail to realise that their habitats may also be endangered.
For more on this article, see deník Právo for 31 August 2020.
The team of Professor Milan Chytrý from the Institute of Botany and Zoology evaluated around 160 sites for the Agency for Nature and Landscape Protection, ranging from peat bogs, which scientists believe need special protection, through forests, meadows and habitats with rocks, rubble and shrubs. Fourteen of these were classified by the team as critically endangered.
Of these 14 sites, the most frequently recorded were peat bogs. Many bogs have already disappeared due to land reclamation, while others have been lost due to peat extraction. The situation is now being further complicated by drought and farming around peat bogs, which results in the leaching of pesticides and fertilizers from fields into the wetlands.
According to scientists, a number of peat bogs now need more strict protection than previously, including the Radostinské peat bog in Žďárské vrchy and Soběslavská blata near Tábor. Above all, it is necessary to retain water in the wetlands by damming the drainage channels, which might then be allowed to become overgrown in the best case. Flooding the landscape in this way could encourage the return of some typical wetland plant species.
The Pannonian sandy steppes, for which needle grass is a typical plant, are also among the endangered habitats registered. These sandy steppe habitats, which are primarily comprised of sandy subsoil, are only found in the Bzenec region. The region has long been known as the Moravian Sahara, and sandstorms were still raging in the area in the 19th century.
