peatlands taitto 2 06.indd - International Peat Society

PEATLANDS 

Finnish Mires 

under review 

Peatland Restoration 

Conference in 

Greifswald 

International 

New Journal 

Mires and Peat 

2/2006 

Fuel peat industry 

employs 16,000 in EU 

Case Study Ireland: 

Alternative After-Use 

in Practice 

1

Sun, Water, Klasmann! Your recipe for success. 

info@klasmann-deilmann.de www.klasmann-deilmann.com 

2 PEATLANDS International 2/2006

PEATLANDS 


2/2006 

Publisher 

International Peat Society 

Vapaudenkatu 12 

FIN-40100 Jyväskylä, Finland 

Phone: +358 14 3385 440 

Fax: +358 14 3385 410 

E-mail: ips@peatsociety.org 

Web: www.peatsociety.org 

Editor-in-Chief 

Jaakko Silpola, Secretary General 

Assistant to the 

Editor-in-Chief 

Susann Warnecke, 

Communications Manager 

Editorial Board 

Gerry Hood, Canada 

Karel B. Brezina, Czech Republic 

Juhani Päivänen, Finland 

J. D. Becker-Platen, Germany 

Donal Clarke, Ireland 

Jos Schouwenaars, Netherlands 

Tomasz Brandyk, Poland 

Lars-Erik Larsson, Sweden 

R. Allan Robertson, UK 

Thomas J. Malterer, USA 

Layout 

Susann Warnecke, IPS Secretariat 

Saarijärven Offset Oy 

Printed by 

Saarijärven Offset Oy, 

Finland, in December 2006 

Cover photo 

National Park Pyhä-Häkki in Central 

Finland, August 2006. Photo: 

Mika Pasanen 

ISSN 1455-8491 

In this issue 

Editorial 4 

From the Presidents’s Desk: IMCG Paid a Visit 5 

Information for Advertisers 58 

Peat, peatlands and culture 

Culture and Peatlands – What is the Connection? 7 

Peatland Culture Day in Rantsila 9 

IPS insights 

Wim Tonnis Peat Award 2007 10 

IPS and IMCG strengthen cooperation at Meripuisto 

meetings in Finland - CC-GAP continues work 12 

New Scientific Journal on the Internet: Mires and Peat 

welcomes its Readers 13 

Executive Board meets Canadians at the CSPMA 

Annual Assembly in Florida 16 

Russian Peat Industry becomes more important 

in National Energy Management 19 

Join the International Peat Society 34 

New IPS Members 43 

Peat News in your Inbox? 47 

Future IPS Meetings and Symposia 58 

Events of related organisations 58 

Conferences and symposia 

100 Peat Experts attend Symposium on 

“Peat in Horticulture” in Amsterdam 18 

Greifswald ecological restoration conference 

highlights global importance of peatlands 21 

Post-conference excursion: Wise Use and restoration 

of peatlands in Poland 23 

13th International Peat Congress: After Wise Use - 

The Future of Peatlands 30 

Conference on “Physical and chemical properties 

of organic soils” in Rajgród-Biebrza, Poland 38 

Research reports 

A touch of tropics in temperate mires: Of Alder 

Carrs and Carbon Cycles 26 

The Great Vasyugan Mire: Progress in achieving 

official protection for the largest wetland in the world 32 

Returning to the Wild - Lake Creation on 

Cutaway Peatlands in Ireland 35 

Book reviews 

A Fascinating Approach to the Function of 

Peatland Ecosystems 42 

Exploring the world’s largest wetlands 44 

Permanent Experiments on Drained Peatlands in Russia 45 

A Thorough Introduction to the Finnish Mires in 

Two Illustrative Volumes 46 

News from the industry 

New peat production method and successful 

rewetting at Aitoneva 49 

180 Years in the Moor – The departure of Hermann 

Wasser means the end of an era for Griendtsveen AG 51 

Fuel Peat Employs up to 16,000 People in the EU 53 

3

Dear Reader, 

There are currently many activities going 

on in the IPS, thanks to the efforts 

of our energetic members around the 

world. Please let me give you a short 

summary of some of the most topical 

items. 

The IPS Climate Change Working 

Group is currently compiling information 

on the role of peatlands and 

the peat life cycle in today’s context of 

global climate change. The results will 

be published as a book in 2008. As we 

can see from the newspapers every day, 

the topic is a matter of great importance 

and interest. 

The book will contain several 

chapters, describing the climatic effects 

of different peatland uses: Carbon 

accumulation in peatlands during the 

Holocene, interactions of pristine peatlands, 

agriculture, forestry, restoration 

of disturbed peatlands, tropical peatlands, 

climatic impacts of energy use 

of peat and land-use change and reporting 

principles for the international 

climate change conventions. Finally 

there will be a summary for policymakers 

called “Wise use recommendations”. 

The group started its work one 

year ago and is now half on its way. It 

is planned to launch the book at the 

International Peat Congress 2008 in 

Tullamore, Ireland. 

The organization of events is one 

of the main activities of IPS. The 

preparations of the International 

Peat Congress in Ireland on 8 - 14 

June 2008 are progressing at full speed. 

The fi rst circular for the conference 

entitled “After Wise Use – The Future 

of Peatlands” is now available and we 

invite all of you to attend the Congress 

as a speaker, a participant, or as 

a guest. 

Editorial 

4 PEATLANDS International 2/2006 

The Annual Assembly of the Society 

in 2007 will be held in Riga, Latvia. 

We welcome all our members to enjoy 

the splendid program organized by the 

Latvian National Committee. 

IPS will again organize a joint horticultural 

peat seminar in cooperation 

with the International Society for 

Horticultural Science (ISHS), this time 

in Nottingham in August 2007. Professionals 

in this fi eld should not miss the 

event. 

Additionally, IPS Event Guidelines 

are under preparation. These 

instructions will be of assistance for 

anyone organizing a seminar, a symposium, 

a larger meeting or a congress. 

The booklet is available as an open 

document and can be downloaded at 

the IPS website. 

Also on the IPS website, a Scientifi 

c forum, to be opened in early 

2007, will be a new way of interactive 

communication among the IPS 

members. There are several issues we 

would like to have discussed there: the 

future of tropical peatlands, peatlands 

and climate change, peat extraction 

and biodiversity of peatlands, just to 

mention a few. We hope that this new 

forum will provide you with a good 

opportunity to use the network and to 

benefi t from IPS. 

Another new publication is the 

electronic Journal “Mires and Peat”, 

which publishes scientifi c full papers, 

short communications and review articles 

on all aspects of peatland science, 

technology and Wise Use. Mires and 

Peat is an open-access internet journal 

published jointly by the International 

Mire Conservation Group and IPS. 

Please visit the free pages at www. 

mires-and-peat.net. 

IPS has eight Commissions in different 

fi elds of peat and peatlands. 

Jaakko Silpola 

Now Commission VIII on Cultural 

Aspects of Peat and Peatlands has 

started posting more information on 

their activities on the IPS website. The 

page offers information on peat museums, 

books, poetry and peatland tourism 

with several links to other pages. 

The IPS Secretariat strongly supports 

this activity. Such pages can be created 

very easily, for example, by the commission 

secretary with the assistance 

of the Secretariat. 

The Wim Tonnis Peat Award will 

be conferred for the second time at the 

Annual Assembly in May. Nominations 

can be submitted until the end of January 

- so please hurry up and propose 

your candidate. When the Award was 

launched in spring 2006, IPS was glad 

to give the fi rst diplomas to two persons: 

Dr. Hans Joosten and Mr. Donal 

Clarke, both of whom made a remarkable 

contribution to the book on Wise 

Use of Mires and Peatlands. 

Furthermore, the IPS logo, which 

was designed and established some 40 

years ago, will be changed in the near 

future. IPS has invited all members to 

be creative and design a new logo for 

the Society. A prize of 500 Euro has 

been reserved for the winner. There is 

still time to submit your proposal until 

the end of January 2007. 

The examples mentioned above are 

just a few of the activities in which IPS 

is currently engaged. We welcome all 

our members to take part in them, enjoying 

the companionship of the other 

members and – also individually – to 

learn and benefi t from this experience. 

I wish you success and joy for 2007! 

Jaakko Silpola 

IPS Secretary General

Markku Mäkelä 

From the President’s Desk 

IMCG Paid a Visit 

The International Mire Conservation 

Group paid a good 

two weeks visit to Finland in 

July 2006. 

The Field symposium covering the 

country from Lapland to the southern 

coastal area culminated in the IMCG 

12 th biennial General Assembly in 

Tammela on 28 July. Both the fi eld 

symposium and especially the resolution 

to the Finnish local and national 

governments adopted by the IMCG in 

Tammela on 27 July, got a lot of publicity 

in the Finnish media. 

For a start, let me cite the introductory 

paragraph of the “Statement on the 

Wise Use of Peatlands” adopted by the 

International Peat Society and the International 

Mire Conservation Group 

in March 2002. The citation goes as 

follows; “This document highlights the 

nature and importance of peatlands 

and identifi es problems from their use. 

IPS and IMCG provide suggestions on 

how these problems may be resolved 

through application of the ‘wise use’ 

approach. The challenge is to develop 

mechanisms that can balance the confl 

icting demands on the global peatland 

heritage to ensure its continued wise 

use to meet the needs of humankind”. 

In the last paragraph of the Statement, 

a common belief of the parties 

is put forward that wise management 

of peatland ecosystems requires a 

change in approach. This must involve 

change from that of single sector 

priorities to an integrated, holistic planning 

strategy, involving all stakeholders, 

such that consideration is given 

to potential impacts on the ecosystem 

as a whole. In short what’s aimed at 

is integrated holistic management of 

peatlands in order to achieve a bal- 

Rehana Dada, IMCG member from South Africa, interviewing Riitta Korhonen, Chair of the IPS Finnish National Committee in the 

extraordinarily dried-out forest near Meripuisto, Espoo in July 2006. Photo: Susann Warnecke 

5

IPS members visiting a palsa mire in Finnish Lapland during the post-congress tour in summer 

2004. Photo: Susann Warnecke 

ance between different forms of their 

usage. The Resolution for Finland by 

the International Mire Conservation 

Group published after its 12 th biennial 

General Assembly in 2006 did not, in 

its bias, follow the common principles 

put forward afore. It’s clear and understandable 

that the focus of the 2006 

IMCG fi eld symposium in Finland was 

on conservation issues. 

For the sake of getting a balanced 

and objective picture of the condition 

of the peatlands in Finland, it would 

have been good to have given word 

to other Finnish stakeholders too. By 

looking through the list of the hosts 

and guides it’s diffi cult to avoid the 

impression of prejudice. 

The IMCG expresses its shock 

that so many Finnish mires have been 

irreversibly destroyed by drainage for 

forestry, agriculture and peat extraction. 

However, it is relative how many 

are “many”. 

According to the statistics in 2005 

by the Geological Survey of Finland, 

41,500 km 2 out of the total 90,600 km 2 

of peatlands in Finland are pristine 

mires. Of those, mires in nature 

conservation areas cover 11,000 km 2 . 

Thus, the remaining pristine mires, 

which are untouched, but not currently 

under conservation, cover an area of 

30,500 km 2 . The area of all pristine 

mires in Finland thus equals, just by 

chance, the total land area of the 


Netherlands. Out of the total Finnish 

peatland area 0.66%, i.e. 600 km 2 , is 

used for peat extraction and regulating 

reservoirs account for a similar area. 

A scant 0.8%, some 700 km 2 , is used 

for farming. Infrastructure, in this case 

roads, covers 300 km 2 . 

The IMCG is right to point out 

that there was a substantial increase 

in the total area of mires taken into 

man’s usage after the Second World 

War. During the last 60 years, 1945 

- 2005, the area of ditched mires has 

increased fi vefold from 10,000 km 2 to 

49,200 km 2 . Elsewhere in this issue of 

Peatlands International, Kirsi Laurén’s 

article “Culture and Peatlands – What 

is the Connection?” raises a doubt 

that the IMCG group obviously was 

not aware of the Finnish history and 

traditions, and the important cultural 

meanings that peatlands have had and 

still have in the country. 

The settlement of 400,000 Karelian 

evacuees – Finnish citizens – after the 

Second World War needed substantial 

clearing of pristine mires for agriculture. 

Quite a number of evacuees were 

farmers in Karelia. The Finnish paper 

and pulp industry had to take care of 

paying a considerable share of the war 

indemnities to the Soviet Union. This 

led to the need to increase considerably 

the annual increment of the Finnish 

forests. Our fathers and their fathers 

made their choices in circumstances 

where there were a lot less to select 

than in today’s Finland. One had to 

stand over poor times on wooden legs. 

An area equalling the size of Holland 

is still left undrained. You cannot eat 

and save the cake at the same time. 

However, “Nokia Finland’s” 

government might also wonder what 

IMCG is aiming at since, according to 

the present Finnish Group Certifi cation 

system, drainage of undrained 

mires is forbidden. Concern about 

clearing of present pristine mires for 

agriculture is gratuitous since there 

is practically no need for additional 

arable land in EU-Finland, which is 

located on latitudes not so favourable 

for agribusiness. 

To its amazement, the IMCG 

mission observed how groundwater 

extraction sites are situated or planned 

in or directly adjacent to groundwaterdependent 

peatland national parks or 

reserves. The IMCG resolution gives 

two locations as examples, Kauhaneva 

and Olvassuo. Thus, there is no reason 

to doubt, what they have seen and 

been told. Much to my astonishment 

as a geologist, I found it strange that in 

Finland where plenty of esker aquifers 

and bedrock groundwaters are available, 

one pumps groundwater at sites 

where there is a risk of contamination 

by acidic humus waters from peatlands. 

In its resolution, the IMCG states 

that mire and peatland destruction in 

Finland is facilitated by the misleading 

argument of peat being a “(slowly) 

renewable biofuel”. According to 

them, there is no scientifi c basis to the 

claim that burning peat contributes any 

less to climate change than other fossil 

fuels. Putting a scientifi cally complex 

issue in short, I just refer to the decision 

of the UN International Panel on 

Climate Change (IPCC) to take peat 

out of the list of fossil fuels. 

Last summer and especially July was 

one of the best in Finland, with regard 

to the weather. I hope that the participants 

of the IMCG fi eld symposium 

enjoined the days in Suomaa. � 

Prof. Ph.D. Markku Mäkelä 

IPS President 

Geological Survey of Finland 

e-mail: markku.makela@gtk.fi

Culture and Peatlands – 

What is the Connection? 

When we consider the 

meaning of the word culture, 

I suppose that most of 

us first think about works of 

art, literature, theatre and 

museums. These are cultural 

models that we all are familiar 

with. However, a closer 

inspection of the concept of 

culture reveals deeper and 

more complex meanings. 

In the widest sense of the word, culture 

refers to the human way of life, 

it “designates man-made artifacts, activities 

people perform, and ideas and 

feelings” (Honigmann 1963, 3). 

Hoebel and Frost (1976) defi ne culture 

as follows: Culture is the integrated 

system of learned behavior patterns 

which are characteristic of the members 

of a society and which are not the 

result of biological inheritance. Culture 

is not genetically predetermined; it is 

noninstinctive. It is the result of social 

invention and is transmitted and maintained 

solely through communication 

and learning. 

Thus, culture is something shared 

and social, although the distinction between 

cultural and social is fl exible (see 

Sevänen 2004, 4–9). Questions, such as 

what meanings people give to different 

environments, what they are allowed to 

do with these environments and how 

to do this, are culturally determined. 

In fact, all human activities are realized 

through culture. 

Furthermore, culturally and socially 

accepted values and attitudes vary 

between different countries and 

regions depending on their historical 

background, traditions and natural 

conditions, for instance. In this respect, 

one can easily understand the huge 

infl uence that our cultures have on our 

environments, including peatlands. 

IMCG statement on mires 

in Finland – an example of 

problematic interpretations 

This summer the International Mire 

Conservation Group, which mainly 

consists of ecologists and biologists, 

visited the peatlands of Finland. 

Because of media coverage, Finnish 

people were informed of the resolution 

that the group adopted after their 

excursion. 

The media reported that the international 

scientists were upset about 

the Finnish way of using peatlands in 

agriculture, forestry and peat mining. 

In various news reports the scientists 

urged Finns to stop peat mining as 

soon as possible. The group also commented 

positively on the plentiful and 

diversifi ed peatlands of Finland, but 

for some reason the positive comments 

appeared in few 

articles and newscasts. 

The local 

people reacted 

strongly against 

the report, and 

newspapers published 

numerous 

critical columns 

and letters to the 

editor written by 

indignant people. 

People had 

interpreted the 

resolution mainly 

as a complaint: 

peatlands in Finland 

are utilized 

in the wrong 

way. As one can 

understand, many 

Finnish people 

felt resentment 

and began to 

wonder whether 

it had really been 

Text: Kirsi Laurén 

wrong to ditch peatlands in the past in 

order for the families to survive in the 

middle of wilderness. 

People were irritated about the 

biased comments of the International 

Mire Conservation Group on the way 

Finnish people live in connection 

with their peatlands. They felt that the 

group obviously was not aware of the 

Finnish history and traditions, and 

the important cultural meanings that 

peatlands have had and still have in 

the country. The reasons for utilizing 

peatland for agricultural, forestry and 

mining purposes were neglected in the 

experts’ opinions. The reactions of 

the local people, on the other hand, 

highlighted the vital role that peatland 

agriculture had played in Finland after 

the Second World War; quite often it 

had been the only way of surviving in 

remote areas. 

Peatlands carry many kinds of imprints. Photo: Kirsi Laurén 

7

Kotaneva peatland at the Pyhä-Häkki National Park near Saarijärvi, Finland. Photo: Susann Warnecke 

The post-war times had required hard 

work and perseverance (sisu in Finnish). 

Peatland cornfi elds have a strong 

symbolic meaning in the Finnish tradition 

which still reverberates today. The 

peatlands have strongly infl uenced the 

national identity and work ethic and 

are imprinted on the Finnish people’s 

mentality. This is refl ected in literature, 

fi lms and other cultural artifacts as 

well. 

From whose point of view? 

Global concern about the environment 

has encouraged ecocentric attitudes at 

the expense of anthropocentric views. 

There is no doubt that this has had a 

positive impact on the responsible use 

of natural resources, but is it possible 

that we have at the same time already 

forgotten the people who live in peatlands? 

In Finland, peatlands are still 

part of many people’s everyday life 

both in economical and recreational 

sense. There are protected peatland areas 

that serve the constantly increasing 

recreational needs of hikers. In addition 

to immaterial values, many people, 

particularly in the sparsely populated 

countryside, are still economically 


dependent on peatlands for their livelihood. 

As my example above hopefully 

points out, there is a general need to 

expand perspectives. In Finland people 

are aware of the mistakes that have 

been made in peatland nature, and it 

does not harm to remind them of this. 

I am sure that many nature lovers in 

Finland are delighted at and agree with 

the comments of the International 

Mire Conservation Group. It is quite 

understandable for ecologists to disregard 

humanistic viewpoints when they 

focus on peatlands and report on their 

conditions. Similarly, it is quite usual 

for the media to brush aside details and 

different viewpoints in their news. 

Still, it is obvious that researchers 

across different disciplines and countries 

should collaborate more and try 

to take into account both the human 

and natural viewpoints in their studies 

and research reports. In this sense, the 

International Peat Society and especially 

the Commission VIII (Cultural 

Aspects of Peat and Peatlands) has an 

important role in improving the situation. 

Literature 

Honigmann, John F. 1963: Understanding 

culture. Westport, Connecticut: 

Greenwood Press. 

Hoebel, E. Adamson & Frost, 

Everett L. 1976: Cultural and social 

anthropology. New York: McGraw-Hill 

Book Company. 

Sevänen, Erkki 2004: Introduction. 

– Jari Kupiainen & Erkki Sevänen 

& John A. Stotesbury (ed.), Cultural 

Identity in Transition. Contemporary 

Conditions, Practices and Politics of 

a Global Phenomenon. New Delhi: 

Atlantic Publishers and Distributors. � 

Kirsi Laurén 

Finnish Language and Cultural 

Research 

Faculty of Humanities 

University of Joensuu 

PO Box 111, 80101 Joensuu 

Finland

Peatland Culture Day in Rantsila 

Rantsila is a municipality 

in Finland which is heavily 

influenced by the surrounding 

peatlands. Peat plays an 

important role for many of 

the inhabitants of the area. 

The Bird Waters of Kurunneva in the 

municipality of Rantsila comprise a 50 

ha lake which was built in 1997. The 

lake is located on a peatland where 

peat had been harvested previously. 

At its greatest, the utilization area was 

over 350 ha. 

Nowadays, a large part of the area 

is dedicated to nature tourism. As services 

in Pylsynsaari, a hut for 50 people, 

Kids making bark ships on Peatland Culture 

Day. 

a lean-to shelter, a sauna made of peat 

and clay and a fi replace are provided, 

as well as turf-roofed shelters and a 

bird watching tower along the route. 

There are also three walking routes 

that lead to farm holiday inns around 

the village. 

Peatland activities 

Because of the long history of peat 

utilization, there has been a lot of 

activity dealing with peat, peatlands 

and culture in Rantsila recently, including 

seminars, art installations, peat 

balneology 

courses etc. 

A Peatland 

Culture Day 

is arranged in 

Kurunneva 

every summer 

in the middle 

of July. The 

meaning of 

the day is to 

give an introduction 

to 

the variety of 

opportunities 

dealing with 

peatlands and 

peat. 

Turpeinen and peat 

volleyball 

During the Peatland Culture Day, many 

activities have been arranged. In summer 

2006, children were able to learn 

about nature in a guided tour. The 

Path was organized by the local 4Horganisation. 

This summer, there was 

for example fi shing, canoeing and making 

handicrafts using cones and bark. 

Everybody also had an opportunity to 

meet Turpeinen, a friendly nature-lov- 

Peat volleyball, challenging but not serious. 

Text and photos: Eeva 

Suonperä, Kaarina Konola 

The Bird Waters of Kurunneva provide a fi ne example of the after-use of 

peat mining areas. 

ing character who lives in a turf-roofed 

shelter. 

The main event of the day, the Peat 

Volleyball Tournament, has been very 

popular. The rules are a mixture of 

volleyball and beach volleyball and the 

fi eld is pure moist peat. It doesn’t matter 

if one doesn’t know how to play 

- the idea is to have fun. There is only 

one hobby division and a team can include 

men or women or both. Further 

information about peatland tourism activities 

in Rantsila are available on the 

Internet at www.suomaa.fi . 

9


Rantsila - the peat municipality 

The municipality of Rantsila was 

founded in 1867. It is situated in 

Ostrobothnia at the Siikajoki river about 

60 km south of Oulu. 

The area of the municipality covers 

about 740 km 2 , of which more than 70% 

comprises peatland. Therefore Rantsila 

is the municipality with most peatlands 

in Finland. Of these, a large part is 

ditched and used for forestry, for peat 

production and in agriculture, but also 

large pristine peatlands can be found. 

Additionally, there are many lakes 

surrounding Rantsila. The largest 

are Kurranjärvi, Järvitalonjärvi and 

Mankilanjärvi. A bird lake has been 

constructed on the Kurunneva peatland 

after peat production ceased. 

Rantsila is further characterized by the 

fi elds on the egde of the Siikajoki river. 

This old agricultural landscape creates 

a good contrast to the large forests 

and peatlands of the surrounding area. 

(source: www.rantsila.fi , map: www. 

expedia.com) 

Peat, clay and glass are used in this vase. 

Peat used in cosmetology can make you healthy and beautiful. 

Peat projects 

Rantsila has the largest peatland area 

of all Finnish municipalities. In Rantsila, 

we believe in the possibilities of 

peat. As peat is part of our almost 

every day life, 

we are working 

to explore its 

potential and develop 

its use in 

many directions. 

Peat in 

balneology 

and therapy 

Research is 

going on to 

explore the 

possibilities for 

harvesting peat 

for balneology 

and therapeutic purposes in Rantsila. 

These areas must be thoroughly studied 

as there are strict requirements for 

this kind of 

application. 

After being 

harvested, the 

peat has to be 

homogenized, 

if necessary, 

and packed in 

air-tight wrappers. 

The packing 

machines 

have also been 

designed and 

manufactured 

locally. 

“Turpeinen” our mascot is made of wool and cotton grass. 

Handicrafts 

Cotton grass 

is one of the 

common species 

in our 

peatlands. It 

is very light, 

warm and 

can hold very 

much water. 

Cotton grass 

fi bres can be 

used together 

with sheep 

wool for spinning drift, felting handicrafts 

like hats, felt shoes, textiles, and 

many other useful and beautiful products. 

Also saunas and other buildings can 

be made by using peat, clay and straw. 

In addition to this, peat is a good material 

for design and art. 

Travelling services 

In Rantsila, nature travelling (eco-tourism) 

might also be one of our future 

projects. According to previews and 

statistics, travelling in nature is going 

to grow within the coming years. Our 

nature, culture, stories of local people 

and other possibilities will be considered 

to educate visitors about our 

countryside. � 

Eeva Suonperä (o.s Väisänen) 

Kaarina Konola 

Development Centre Siikalatva 

e-mail: eeva.suonpera@rantsila.fi 

kaarina.konola@rantsila.fi 

11

IPS and IMCG strengthen cooperation 

at Meripuisto meetings in Finland 

CC-GAP continues work on peatland action plan 

Representatives of IPS and 

IMCG as well as the members 

of the Ramsar Coordination 

Committee on Global Action 

for Peatlands met on 28 and 

29 July 2006 at the Meripuisto 

Hotel in Espoo to exchange 

ideas and to consider 

items for further cooperation. 

Almost 30 representatives of IPS and 

IMCG, among them Secretary Generals 

Hans Joosten (IMCG) and Jaakko Silpola 

(IPS), IMCG Chair Jennie Whinam 

and the 1st Vice President of IPS, Donal 

Clarke, met at Hotel Meripuisto in Espoo, 

Finland on 28 July 2006 to decide 

on forthcoming cooperation projects 

and to intensify the relationship between 

both organisations. 

The peat and peatland experts used 

the last days of the IMCG Congress and 

Field trip to exchange ideas and agree 

on common goals for their future work, 

besides discussions during sauna, joint 

dinners and a walk at the Baltic Sea. 

Discussion items at the IPS-IMCG 

meeting included further steps in promoting 

the concept of Wise Use and 


its practical application, the state of 

the Imnati mire in Georgia, the 1997 

“shopping list”, the distribution of 

the brochure “Peatlands. Do you 

care?” as well as actions to avoid further 

peatland destruction in Southeast 

Asia and how IPS and IMCG should 

approach the Climate Change debate. 

Furthermore, the participants dealt 

with the outcome of the eco-labelling 

process 

for peatcontaining 

growing 

media and 

a resolution 

of 

IMCG regarding 

the 

state of the 

peatlands 

in Finland. 

Last, but 

not least, 

the attend- 

ants heard 

reports on 

peatland 

management in Estonia and an introduction 

to 

the European 

Rural 

Platform. 

IPS and 

IMCG will 

hold their 

next joint 

meeting in 

connection 

with a symposium 

on 

Wise Use in 

Sweden in 

June 2007. 

On 29 

Despite the inviting weather outside, the participants did a good job in 

evaluating the work of both organisations and defi ning future joint goals. 

July, the 

Ramsar 

Text and photos: Susann Warnecke 

Marcel Silvius drafting a cooperation model 

between CC-GAP, GPI and other bodies. 

Coordination Committee for Global 

Action on Peatlands (CC-GAP) 

held its meeting at the same venue to 

complete its implementation plan and 

to set up the necessary organisational 

bodies. The minutes of the meeting 

can be found on the IPS website at 

www.peatsociety.org/index.php?id=41. 

An extensive report on the history 

and tasks of Ramsar CC-GAP will be 

published in Peatlands International 

1/2007. � 

A joint walk at the Baltic Sea poured oil on the sometimes troubled waters.

New Scientifi c Journal on the Internet: 

Mires and Peat Welcomes its Readers 

The 28 July 2006 was an 

historic occasion for international 

peat-related research, 

as it marked the official 

launch of the open-access 

internet journal Mires and 

Peat. 

The journal, which began publication 

in January 2006, arises from the 

developing dialogue between the International 

Peat Society (IPS) and the International 

Mire Conservation Group 

(IMCG). 

It is a specifi c outcome of the joint 

meeting in Valencia (November 2002), 

which fi rst identifi ed a signifi cant 

overlap of interest between the two 

organisations in publishing high-quality 

research on all aspects of mires, 

peatlands and peat. As a result, Olivia 

Bragg was appointed as the fi rst Editor 

of a new joint publication, which has 

been developed in close collaboration 

with Jack Rieley (Deputy Editor) and 

Michael Trepel (Web Administrator). 

Mires and Peat is conspicuously linked 

to the IPS home page, and now welcomes 

all IPS members as readers and 

potential authors. 

Important tool for all 

peatland researchers 

For IPS, this is the start of an exciting 

new chapter in a long-standing commitment 

to the promotion and dissemination 

of research. The International 

Peat Journal (IPJ), until recently 

the Society’s ‘fl agship’ publication for 

scientifi c and technical papers relating 

to the fi elds of the IPS Commissions, 

Text: Olivia Bragg 

Photos: Susann Warnecke 

was launched 20 years ago and ran to 

12 issues under the editorship of Allan 

Robertson (1986-1996) and Jack Rieley 

(1996-2004). Throughout this time, the 

IPJ was the only international journal 

focusing on peatlands, and it provided 

a vital line of communication especially 

for researchers who would otherwise 

fi nd it very diffi cult to achieve international 

English-language exposure for 

their work. 

Mires and Peat is similar in that it 

publishes peat-focused research papers 

with international authorship for a 

global audience. It is radically different 

in that it breaks free of the restrictions 

set by the traditional printed-andbound 

journal format. As an electronic 

internet publication, it is instantaneously 

available worldwide at no cost to 

authors or readers, so that its distribu- 

Representatives of IPS and IMCG offi cially launched the journal Mires and Peat at their joint meeting in Espoo, Finland on 28 July 2006. 

13

tion is essentially unlimited. Each paper 

goes through rigorous peer review 

and editing, which may take several 

months. However, once the work is 

ready, it can be published immediately 

without the copy and printing delays 

that from time to time seriously 

disrupted the publication schedule of 

the IPJ. The advantages are already 

well illustrated by the publication and 

readership statistics for Mires and Peat 

up to the launch date in July, which are 

summarised in the Table. 

Scope of the Journal 

Mires and Peat will publish both research 

and review papers. Its scope 

encompasses not only the range of 

experimental investigations by physical 

and biological scientists that have always 

converged on peatlands, but also 

responds to a newly identifi ed need for 

largely descriptive papers focusing, for 

example, on the regional diversity of 

mires. Furthermore, it recognises the 

potential for wider cross-disciplinary 

collaboration – sometimes incorporating 

inputs from strictly non-scientifi c 

subject areas such as Economics and 

Law – that are inherent in the application 

of Wise Use principles. It is 

The future: Website of Mires and Peat at www.mires-and-peat.net. 


probably impossible to list all acceptable 

topics, but the latest attempt is as 

follows: 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

ecology, hydrology, survey, inventory, 

classifi cation, functions and 

values of mires and peatland; 

role of peatland in the biosphere; 

scientifi c, economic and human 

aspects of the management of 

peatland for agriculture, forestry, 

nature conservation, environmental 

protection, peat extraction and 

other industrial uses including 

after-use; 

biological, physical and chemical 

characteristics of peat; and 

climate change and peatland. 

International Editorial Board 

Such a wide-ranging journal obviously 

requires broad editorial input, 

and the recruitment of an Editorial 

Board equal to the task is now in its 

fi nal stages. In addition to the Editor, 

Deputy Editor and Web Administrator, 

this will include eminent Associate 

Editors drawn from the widest 

possible geographical area and range 

of relevant disciplines. Although the 

Boards of IPS and IMCG will jointly 

The past: All issues of the old International 

Peat Journal can still be bought at the IPS 

website. 

make appointments and receive annual 

editorial reports, the structure must 

allow a level of independence that is 

conducive to the unbiased reporting 

of the best academic research. To this 

end, the Editorial Board will take primary 

responsibility for all aspects of 

the day-to-day running of the journal, 

from the development of editorial 

policy and maintenance of publishing 

standards to the publication process 

itself, including the production of fi nal 

copy and management of the journal’s 

web site. The fi rst appointees are already 

assisting in the effort to actively 

promote the journal, and in particular 

to stimulate the submission of new 

manuscripts from their respective 

spheres of operation. 

Commitment needed now 

Thus, we already have an effective new 

vehicle for the wide dissemination of 

high-quality research that focuses specifi 

cally on mires, peatlands and peat. 

But there is one further challenge to 

be addressed by the Editorial Board, 

which can be met only through the 

committed participation of the peatland 

research community as a whole. 

It is the intention that Mires and Peat 

should ultimately apply for admission 

to the Thomson ISI database, which 

provides the defi nitive index of the 

most important and infl uential international 

research and the coveted ‘im-

The editors of Mires and Peat, Olivia Bragg and Jack Rieley together with IPS 1st Vice President 

Donal Clarke and IMCG Chairman of the Bord Jennie Whinam. Photo: Susann Warnecke 

pact factors’ that provide the basis for 

evaluating individual performance. 

It covers less than 9,000 journals 

worldwide, and these are constantly 

monitored to ensure that quality and 

relevance are being maintained. Each 

year, some titles are deleted and around 

2,000 new journals are evaluated for 

addition, with a success 

rate of only 10-12%. 

For potential additions, 

basic quality 

indicators such as regular 

publication, international 

diversity, citation data, 

the rigour of peer review 

and the application of 

international editorial 

conventions are routinely 

checked. However, the 

real ‘acid test’ is for 

content and level of 

activity – the evaluators 

ask whether each 

journal covers a current 

“hot fi eld” or emerging 

research topic. 

So, could Mires and 

Peat qualify? Peatlands 

are the principal terrestrial 

carbon store, 

capable of emitting or 

sequestering quantities 

of greenhouse gases that 

could make a difference 

to global warming. They are an increasingly 

scarce habitat with consequently 

growing value for nature conservation. 

They provide energy, soil and water for 

mankind and perform a range of ‘unseen’ 

environmental functions. We are 

committed to using them wisely; but 

we do not even know how extensive 

Details of paper Date published Number of 

readers by 

July 2006 

Article 1: The distribution of peatland in 

Europeby L. Montanarella, R.J.A. Jones and 

R. Hiederer 

01 January 2006 375 

Article 2: Chemical characteristics of some 

peatlands in southern Polandby M. Malawska, 

A Ekonomiuk and B. Wiłkomirski 

Article 3: Increased decomposition of 

subsurface peat in Swedish raised bogs:are 

temperate peatlands still net sinks of carbon? 

by L.G. Franzén 

Article 4: Causes of degradation and erosion 

of a blanket mire in the southern Pennines, 

UK.by D.E. Yeloff, J.C. Labadz and C.O. Hunt 

Article 5: Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in 

peat cores from southern Poland: distribution 

in stratigraphic profi les as an indicator of PAH 

sourcesby M. Malawska, A. Ekonomiuk and B. 

Wiłkomirski 

they are, let alone completely understand 

how they work as ecosystems 

or which properties of their peat are 

absolutely non-substitutable in energy 

and horticultural applications. 

It seems rather obvious that peat-related 

research is not only important but 

also highly topical, and thus a potential 

candidate for identifi cation as an 

emerging “hot topic” in its own right. 

But of course, everything hinges upon 

the quantity and quality of the material 

that is published, and ultimately on the 

range of manuscripts offered to Mires 

and Peat. 

The submission procedure is 

straightforward, and full instructions 

can be found on the journal’s website 

at www.mires-and-peat.net. So if you 

are in contact with a potential author, 

please pass on the fl yer distributed with 

this issue of Peatlands International or 

refer him/her directly to the website. 

If you are a researcher, the Editor is 

waiting now for your contribution! � 

Dr. Olivia Bragg 

Editor Mires and Peat 

Department of Geography 

University of Dundee 

Dundee DD1 4HN, UK 

e-mail: o.m.bragg@dundee.ac.uk 

01 January 2006 196 

14 February 2006 161 

14 February 2006 137 

21 June 2006 11 

So far, Mires and Peat has published fi ve papers and the total number of downloads (‘readers’) in the six 

months leading up to the launch in July was 880. The publication and download statistics clearly indicate the 

advantages of publishing each paper as it becomes ready. In the traditional ‘bound paper’ format, all of these 

manuscripts would still be awaiting the arrival of suffi cient material to make up a fi rst issue. 

15

Executive Board meets Canadians at 

the CSPMA Annual Assembly in Florida 

Presentations raised great interest in European peat business 

On 8 - 11 November 2006, 

the Canadian Sphagnum Peat 

Moss Association (CSPMA) 

held its annual meetings in 

Deerfield Beach, Florida. 

This time, the IPS Executive 

Board was also invited. 

The warm sandy beaches of Florida, 

but also the small hotel swimming pool 

surrounded by fresh green palm trees 

naturally attracted most of the attention 

of the Canadian and European 

guests who were used to much colder 

temperatures at this time of the year 

- but there was also much work on 

the agenda: The IPS Executive Board 

meeting on 8 November, a number of 

interesting presentations on different 

peat and peatland issues on 9 November, 

a peat producer’s meeting and a 

fi re prevention workshop on 10 and 

the Annual Assembly of CSPMA on 

11 November. 

IPS Executive Board met 

At the Executive Board meeting, important 

decisions were made with regard 

to the framework for the budget, 

plan of 

activities and 

membership 

fees 2007 as 

well as other 

membership 

issues. 

The 

Board also 

reviewed 

the fi nancial 

status of 

IPS as of 

September, 

confi rmed 

the guidelines 

for 

The IPS defi nition of casual clothing: the Executive Board. 


organizing IPS events as an open 

document, endorsed appointments to 

the Editorial Board of Mires and Peat 

as proposed by the Scientifi c Advisory 

Board and approved a list of events 

to be held under the auspices of IPS. 

In addition, it was decided to start a 

competition for a new IPS logo and to 

open the nomination process for the 

Wim Tonnis Peat Award 2007. 

Furthermore, the Board discussed 

the preparations for the International 

Peat Congress 2008 in Tullamore, 

Ireland, 

continued its 

work on the 

guidelines for 

the practical 

application 

of Wise Use, 

initiated a 

review of the 

IPS Statutes 

and Internal 

Regulations 

and confi rmed 

its decision to 

open a scien- 

tifi c forum on 


All meetings were well attended; here we record the presentations on 

Thursday. 

the IPS website. Last, but not least, the 

Board noted the minutes of the meetings 

of IPS/IMCG and the Ramsar 

CC-GAP at Meripuisto in Finland and 

of the Climate Change Working Group 

in Frankfurt, all of which had been 

held during the summer. A summary 

of the decisions “in a nutshell” was 

sent to all IPS members by e-mail. The 

next Executive Board meeting will be 

held in Tullamore in March 2007. 

Interesting presentations 

On the second day of the meetings, 

the participants had the chance to 

hear presentations on a wide range of 

peat-related subjects, including peat 

production in different European 

countries, both present and past, Wise 

Use, peatland restoration, legal requirements 

and insurance issues and many 

other topics. 

For most Canadians, this was 

a unique opportunity to view the 

European peat industry as a whole, 

without travelling and in just one day. 

Later during the week, the attendants 

could learn, in a special workshop, how

Thanks to Doris Reeve (left), here with Håkan Bjur and Nick van de 

Griendt, for her many years of work for CSPMA. 

to prevent fi res on production sites 

and to avoid damage in the case of an 

accident. Some companies depicted 

very clearly things that had gone wrong 

in the past and helped the attendants 

to collect ideas for a checklist for fi re 

prevention training and other measures. 

In this respect, the CSPMA is 

really encouraging its members to work 

together to reduce fi nancial losses. 

The last highlight of the annual 

meetings was the Annual Assembly of 

the CSPMA, at which, among others, 

the members decided to continue to 

fund the Industrial Research Chair for 

Wise After-use of harvested peatlands 

to 2013. The Chair, which was 

established in 2003, is led by Dr. Line 

Rochefort and her colleagues of the 

Peatland Ecology Research Group at 

Université Laval. 

Finally, we warmly thank our Canadian 

hosts for their hospitality and for 

good company during the meetings, 

Something you usually see only on TV: cruising the channels of Fort 

Lauderdale. 

on the Boat cruise, at numerous dinner 

receptions and on the golf course. 

Special thanks go to all who took care 

of Håkan after his encounter with a 

grouper fi sh and to at least eight airlines 

for delivering our luggage - better 

late than never! � 

Susann Warnecke 

IPS Communications Manager 

susann.warnecke@peatsociety.org 

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100 Peat Experts attend Symposium on 

“Peat in Horticulture” in Amsterdam 

At the end of October, the 

IPS Scientific Advisory Board 

and Commission II combined 

their meetings with the traditional 

horticultural peat 

symposium in Amsterdam. 

Leo Schipper, Chair of the IPS Dutch National 

Committee, opened the conference. 

The International Symposium on “Peat 

in Horticulture – Peat in the Stranglehold 

of Interest Groups” at Novotel 

Amsterdam on 30 October 2006 was 

attended by about 100 participants 

from a broad range of IPS member 

countries and other areas. 

Once again, there was much to learn for both IPS and non-IPS attendants. 


Due to the current 

climate 

change debate 

in the media, 

the presentation 

by Bas van Geel 

on the infl uence 

of solar activity 

on climate 

change and the 

introduction on 

the activities of 

the IPS Climate 

Change Working 

Group by 

IPS Secretary 

General Jaakko 

Silpola raised 

special interest among the attendants. 

For the users of peat, but also for 

members from peat harvesting companies, 

the presentations on legal requirements 

for peat production in Germany, 

Finland, Sweden, the United Kingdom, 

the Baltic States and Canada gave very 

useful insights. 

Other topics dealt with were the 

objectives for and achievements of the 

restoration of peatlands, the question 

as to whether or not the horticultural 

use of peat is Wise Use, the EU-Ecolabel 

for Growing Media and the “peatering 

out” 

campaign 

in the 

UK. The 

proceedings 

of the 

conference 

can be 

obtained 

from the 

Dutch 

National 

Committee, 

e-mail: leo. 

schipper 

@nevema. 

nl. 


Erki Niitlaan from Estonia, Hartmut Falkenberg from Germany and 

Magnus Brandel from Sweden at the Commission II meeting. 

The symposium was accompanied by 

the 5th meeting of the IPS Scientifi c 

Advisory Board in Badhoevedorp near 

Amsterdam on 29 October 2006. At 

the meeting, the SAB approved, among 

others, the new guidelines for organizing 

IPS events as an open document 

(available at www.peatsociety.org), as 

well as proposals for membership of 

the Editorial Board of the journal 

Mires and Peat and for a number of 

future symposia to be organized under 

the auspices of IPS. 

The SAB also dealt with peatland 

terminology, the IMCG resolution 

on Finland and the preparations for 

the 13th International Peat Congress 

in Tullamore, Ireland in 2008. It was 

agreed that SAB will meet the organizers 

of the 2008 Congress in Tullamore 

in early March 2007 to get to know the 

location and to fi ne-tune the cooperation 

between Irish and international 

members of the Scientifi c Committee. 

In the afternoon of 29 October, 

Commission II on the industrial use 

of peat and peatlands and its Working 

Groups on Energy and Horticultural 

Peat held their meetings, among others, 

to discuss future goals and activities. 

The minutes of the meetings were circulated 

to the members concerned. �

Russian Peat Industry becomes 

more important in National Energy 

Management Text and photos: Jaakko Silpola 

The Russian peat industry 

used to produce some 50 

million tons of peat annually 

until the 1980s. When the 

Soviet time ended, the use of 

peat decreased, being today 

2.5 to 3 million tons annually. 

Now there is a belief that 

the use of peat and other 

local fuels will grow when 

Russia is exporting more and 

more oil and gas because of 

good world market prices. 

I had the pleasant opportunity to visit 

Russia last August, being invited by the 

IPS Russian National Committee and 

the company Rostopprom. 

The open JS Company “Russian 

Fuel Company” - “Rostopprom” was 

founded in 1994. Predecessors of the 

company were the Ministry of Fuel Industry 

- “Mintopprom” RSFSR (1965 

- 1990) and the Russian Public Fuel 

Association - “Rostopprom” (1990 

- 1993). The company produces, processes 

and delivers local fuels like peat, 

wood, coal and oil. Today, Rostopprom 

is mainly owned by the government. 

The company is run by General 

Director Dmitriy Gogin, who is also a 

member of the IPS Executive Board. 

The headquarter of the company is 

located in Moscow. Mr. Gogin, Director 

of the Peat Department Nikolay 

Pentin and Specialist Anya Sycheva- 

Mikhailova from the same company 

were my kind hosts during the visit. 

According to the book Global Peat 

Resources, the total area of peatlands 

in Russia is some 568,000 km 2 ; 

the deposits are widely but unevenly 

distributed throughout the Russian 

Federation. The principal peat areas 

are located in the north-western parts 

of European Russian, in West Siberia, 

near the western coast of Kamchatka 

and in several other far-eastern regions. 

The Siberian peatlands account for 

Our group at Mezherskoe (left to right): Jaakko Silpola, Vladimir Egorov, Anya Sycheva- 

Mikhailova, Aleksei Evsenkin, Sergey Mitruzaev, Ivan Isaev, Mikhail Akimov and Nikolay 

Krilov. 

nearly 75% of the total. Only Canada 

has greater peat resources than Russia. 

The majority of the current peat 

production is used for agricultural/ 

horticultural purposes. Peat deposits 

have been exploited in Russia as a 

source of industrial fuel for well over a 

hundred years. 

JSC Shaturtorf among the 

biggest peat companies in 

Russia 

The town of Shatura with some 30,000 

inhabitants is situated about 160 km 

east of Moscow. The town is famous 

for its furniture industry but also well 

known 

because of 

the peat 

company 

Shaturtorf. 

The company 

was 

founded in 

1932 which 

means that 

the 75th anniversary 

will 

be celebrated next year. There are 

1,000 employees in the company, 

which is owned 90% privately and 10% 

by the government. 

Currently, the company is producing 

about 500,000 tons of peat annually, 

which is about 15 to 20% of the total 

production of Russia, explained Director 

Egorov from Shaturtorf. Only 

twenty years ago, the company produced 

about four million tons per annum. 

Most of the production is sold to 

the local power plant and about 30,000 

tons are delivered to local farms as 

growing media. The total production 

area of the company is now 3,400 ha 

compared to 45,000 - 50,000 ha during 

Peat production in the federal states of the former USSR in million tons from 

1928 to 2002 . There is a rapid decline at the end of the 1980s. 

19

Director Nikolay Krilov from JSC Shaturtorf 

showed the wet conditions at the Mezherskoe 

production area. 

the 1970s and 1980s. The power plant 

of Shatura was originally designed for 

fuel peat but lately switched to oil and 

gas, peat having a share of only 10% 

today. Peat is delivered by train from 

several production sites, including the 

city of Jaroslav which is about 500 km 

away. 

At the Mezherskoe production 

area of Shaturtorf, it was easy to see 

why local peat producers were not too 

happy with the summer: the fi elds were 

very wet and rain-water had fl ooded 

the fi elds again and again for several 

weeks. The target moisture content 

for fuel peat in this area is about 40% 

and the peat contains about 5% ash. 

Despite the bad weather, at the time of 

my visit, 75% of the target was already 


harvested, as mentioned by Director 

Aleksei Evsenkin who has had a very 

long experience within the industry. 

The Russian National Committee of IPS publishes a magazine called 

“Peat and Business”, which is edited by employees of Rostopprom. 

From left to right: Nina Nekrasova, Anya Sycheva-Mikhailova, Evgeny 

Demin and Olga Vorobjeva. 

Lack of demand and land 

ownership biggest problems 

There are two main problems within 

the peat industry in Russia. First of 

all, demand has almost disappeared 

since the demise of the Soviet Union. 

During the 1920s, the use of peat for 

power generation expanded rapidly, 

such that by 1928, over 40% of the 

Soviet electric power was derived from 

peat. Peat’s share of power generation 

has declined 

in the long-term, 

and since 1980 it 

amounts to less 

than 1%. 

According to 

Director Dmitriy 

Gogin from 

Rostopprom, the 

peat industry now 

believes that the 

Russian government 

will aim to 

increase the use 

of local fuels such 

as peat and wood. 

This will be done 

in order to replace oil and gas, which 

could then be exported for a good 

world market price. 

The second problem within the 

industry is the land ownership. There 

used to be about 

100,000 ha of 

peat production 

sites in the 

country. Now 

only 15,000 

ha are under 

production, the 

remaining area 

being owned by 

the government. 

Local authorities 

lack uniform 

guidelines on the 

acquisition and 

management of 

these peatlands. 

The main question 

is whether 

former peat 

production sites 

should be used for farming or for the 

peat industry. 

Other problems are the lack of 

suitable and modern production 

equipment because of the lack of a 

specialized metal industry which would 

be able to manufacture peat machines. 

Another concern is the lack of educated 

young people willing to work for 

the industry. 

The environmental management 

of peat production has basically the 

same elements as in other countries. 

The production has to have offi cial 

permission and, after production, the 

site must be made suitable for farm- 

Dmitriy Gogin, Nikolay Pentin and Anya Sycheva-Mikhailova from 

Rostopprom at the IPS Executive Board meeting in St. Petersburg 

in February 2006. Photo: Susann Warnecke 

ing. The environment must not be 

harmed. Offi cials supervise the actions 

by visiting the sites. Also the quality of 

drainage water quality is supervised. 

National Committee 

important player 

The Russian National Committee of 

IPS, locally called “Peat Society of 

the Russian Federation”, has become 

very active in representing all peatland 

stakeholders in the fi eld. There are 

now 48 peat companies in the association, 

as well as several universities 

and some individuals. The offi ce of 

the association is run by Rostopprom. 

Chairman of the Board is Mr. Alexander 

Beliakov. The Director of the IPS 

National Committee is Mr. Dmitriy 

Gogin. 

I would like to thank my Russian 

hosts at Rostopprom and Shaturtorf 

who kindly gave their time and efforts 

in order to introduce me to the Russian 

peat industry. �

Greifswald ecological restoration 

conference highlights global importance 

of peatlands Text: Franziska Tanneberger 

and Hans Joosten 

The 5th European Conference 

on Ecological Restoration 

was held in Greifswald, 

Germany on 21-25 August 

2006. It was hosted by the 

European Chapter of the 

Society for Ecological Restoration 

(SER) and organized 

by the Ernst Moritz Arndt 

University of Greifswald, 

that celebrates its 550th 

anniversary as the second 

oldest university of Northern 

Europe this year. 

The conference convened to exchange 

knowledge and experience on the 

ecological, economical, and ethical 

dimensions of Ecological Restoration 

in order to meet the challenges of land 

use changes in and outside Europe. 

Over 400 representatives of universities, 

governments, research institutes, 

administrations of protected areas, and 

non-governmental organizations from 

47 nations and 5 continents took part. 

After the informal welcome at Griebenow 

Castle, a unique example of the 

Swedish cultural heritage of the region, 

the conference was formally opened 

on 22 August in Greifswald Cathedral. 

The burning peatlands in Southeast Asia cause more emissions 

annually than the goals of the Kyoto protocol aim to reduce. Photo: 

Marcel Silvius 

Opening of the conference at the Greifswald Cathedral. Photo: Ralf Grunewald 

Participants were welcomed by Rudy 

van Diggelen, Chair of SER Europe, 

Wolfgang Methling, Minister for the 

environment and vice prime minister 

of the federal State of Mecklenburg- 

Vorpommern, university and parish 

representatives. The opening keynote 

“Restoring the Earth: Global crisis and 

regional opportunities” was presented 

by Michael Succow, upon whom in 

1997 the Alternative Nobel prize, the 

Right Livelihood Award, had been 

conferred for his 

efforts in conserving 

and restoring nature 

in Eastern Germany 

and all over Eastern 

Europe and North 

and Central Asia. 

Succow stressed 

that without intact 

nature no economy 

can prosper and no 

righteous society can 

sustain. He demanded 

to allow space 

and time for nature 

and to preserve, 

restore and value 

ecosystem services. 

A variety of other inspiring keynotes 

were presented during the morning 

plenary meetings in Greifswald Cathedral: 

Gary Varner (University of Texas) 

asked “Restoring what?” and discussed 

scales and values in restoration, Jan 

Roelofs (University of Nijmegen) presented 

physico-chemical key processes 

in restoration ecology especially with 

respect to peatlands. James Blignaut 

(University of Pretoria) discussed the 

economic necessity of restoring natural 

capital. He stressed that more and 

more the factor restraining economic 

development is remaining natural 

capital, not manufactured capital as 

it used to be. Economic logic says to 

invest in the limiting factor. Marcel 

Silvius (Wetlands International) offered 

a “Win4all through peatlands restoration” 

and Wolfgang Haber (University 

of Munich) summarized concluding 

refl ections on “restoration under the 

time arrow”. 

In six parallel morning and afternoon 

sessions, the conference covered 

a wide range of restoration issues from 

abandonment to salt marshes, from 

concepts to synergies. As important 

as the 200 talks were the coffee breaks 

21

Participants of the conference during the restoration work for the carbon credits project in the 

Trollblumenwiese. Photo: Heike Koall 

with lively discussions and reunions in 

the historical and modern conference 

buildings. Greifswald is situated in a 

region where land use changes have 

inspired the implementation of many 

large restoration projects. Since 1993, 

some 300 million Euro have been 

invested in restoring degraded lands, 

mainly peatlands and other wetlands. 

Half-day excursions presented some of 

those ecosystems released from devastating 

land use such as Peene Valley, 

Anklamer Stadtbruch, Galenbecker See 

and Karrendorfer Wiesen. 

An extensive session cluster convened 

by Line Rochefort (IPS) and 

Hans Joosten (IMCG) was dedicated 

to peatlands and peatland restoration. 

With more than 50 talks, it was by far 

the largest topic of the conference 

and attracted peatland scientists and 

practitioners from Canada to Vietnam 

and from Ireland to Indonesia. Next to 

classical “restoration for biodiversity“, 

much attention was paid to restoring 

peatlands for their climate and water 

regulation functions and for sustainable 

production of biofuels and raw 

materials (Sphagnum cultivation!). 

The Tropical peatlands session 

chaired by Susan Page (University of 

Leicester, UK) paid particular attention 

to climate effects of degraded peatlands 

in SE Asia. The most disturbing 

warning came from Marcel Silvius of 

Wetlands International, who pointed 

out that single fi re seasons in degraded 

peatlands in Southeast Asia nullify 

20-50 years of successful implementation 

of the Kyoto Protocol, and 

that degraded peatlands in Indonesia 


• 

cycle of social-environmental 

degradation. 

In view of the gigantic carbon 

emissions from degraded peatland 

and the lack of resources 

to address this urgent issue, an 

immediate eligibility under the 

Clean Development Mechanism 

for support to peatland restoration 

measures is crucial. 

• To address one of the biggest 

and most burning environmental 

disasters of our age in terms of 

Carbon emission, land degradation, 

biodiversity loss and poverty, 

particularly in relation to peatland 

degradation in Southeast Asia, a 

Global Peatlands Fund should be 

annually emit almost 10 times more established. 

than the whole global Kyoto goals. He • EU member states should take 

concluded that even if all countries de- positive advantage of the land 

crease their CO emissions from fossil 

2 freed up by the decline in land 

fuels to 1990 levels, atmospheric CO2 needed for intensive farming 

will keep rising dramatically because of through the restoration and 

emissions from degraded peatlands. rehabilitation of river systems, 

In view of the scale and urgency wetlands, peatlands, forests, and 

of the matter, participants offered 

eco-systems created by traditional 

practical proposals for reversing the farming methods. 

catastrophic deterioration of the envi- • Ecologists need to learn from 

ronment and called for massive and ur- economists, and economists from 

gent investment in “the restoration of ecologists, as we strive for nature 

natural capital”. Main conclusions of conservation, sustainable eco- 

the Greifswald Statement (www.imcg. nomic development and ecological 

net/docum/seri06/greifswald06.htm) restoration. The future should 

presented at the closing ceremony are: be built upon twin principles: 

• Investments in ecological res- 

“Economics in which nature mattoration 

will lead away from the ters and ecology in which people 

deepening crisis of ecosystem collapse. 

Ecological restoration is an 

essential but neglected element in 

matter”. � 

achieving the interrelated goals of 

nature conservation, sustainable 

economic development, and en- 

Franziska Tanneberger & 

Hans Joosten 

Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-Universität 

Greifswald, Germany 

hancing the well-being of peoples 

throughout the world. 

e-mail: tanne@uni-greifswald.de 

joosten@uni-greifswald.de 

• Human communities suffering 

from acute poverty 

are the fi rst victims Think globally, act locally! 

of environmental 

degradation, and 

yet often intensify 

The Greifswald conference included a Carbon 

Credits project to compensate for the carbon 

dioxide emissions caused by the conference due 

it because of lack to travelling. A heavily degraded peatland, the 

of resources to 

invest in sustainable 

production. A “pro- 

Trollblumenwiese near Dargezin (20 km south of 

Greifswald) was re-wetted and re-activated as 

a long-term carbon store and sink. Conference 

participants supported the project by actively 

poor approach” is 

needed in developing 

countries to break 

through the vicious 

fi lling ditches during a mid-conference excursion 

(see foto) or by donations. We hope that many 

participants will spread this idea and implement 

such schemes at future meetings and conferences!

Post-conference excursion: Wise Use 

and restoration of peatlands in Poland 

As a sweet ending to the 

5th European Conference 

on Ecological Restoration 

in Greifwald, Germany, 

31 international scientists 

boarded a bus and headed 

east, towards the peatlands 

of Poland. 

We crossed Poland in fi ve days observing 

a gamut of peatlands from the pristine 

Rospuda Valley fen to fi sh ponds 

created by peat extraction. 

Bogs in a country of fens 

The fi rst stop was the Słowiński Błota 

reserve in north-western Poland where 

a member of the local nature club 

guided us through an impressive Baltic 

bog, a landscape characterized by 

dwarf pine trees (Pinus sylvestris) (Photo 

1). Despite slight perturbation by the 

creation of two large drainage canals 

through the bog, this site remains one 

of the best preserved Baltic bogs in 

Poland. It was recognized as a nature 

reserve in 2005 and has been suggested 

as a Natura 2000 site. The slight drainage 

has created some changes in the 

vegetation, such as the encroachment 

of the pine trees, cotton grass (Eriophorum 

vaginatum) and heather (Calluna 

vulgaris). The local nature club members 

have taken action to try to restore 

the natural hydrology by blocking the 

drainage ditches. Through a series 

of wooden dams, it is hoped that the 

natural bog vegetation communities 

will return. 

The not-so-wise use of 

peatlands 

The next day the group headed south 

to the upper Notec river valleys in the 

Wielkopolskie Lakeland region. The 

fens of this area were greatly altered by 

Text and photos: Martha Graf, Roxane 

Anderson, Mireille Bellemare, Jacinthe 

Letendre, François Quinty and Line Rochefort 

the construction, 

in the 

18th century, 

of the BydgoskiChannel 

to enable 

water outfl ow 

from the 

drained peatlands 

of this 

area. There is 

a long history 

of agriculturallanduse, 

mainly 

mowing and 

grazing. The 

centuries of 

management 

and intensive land reclamation, along 

with the dry conditions prevailing in 

this area, led to an increased degradation 

of the peatlands. This caused the 

transformation of fens into wet or 

moist meadows, pasture lands or even 

grasslands. Not only are the ecosys- 

Map of the excursion. Source: Paulina Dzierza 

tems degraded, but the soil conditions 

have also been greatly altered through 

intense mineralization of the peat into 

moorsh (Photo 2). 

Another use of the intensively used 

peatlands is the creation of fi sh ponds 

(Photo 3). These fi sh ponds result 

Photo 1: Taking samples from a peatland: Line Rochefort, Francois Quinty and their 

colleagues. 

23

Photo 2: Example of mineralization: peat-moorsh soil profi le 

from an extensively and intensively used grassland in the Notec 

River Valley. 

from the extraction of peat below the 

groundwater level over large areas, 

creating large basins of open water 

surrounded by wetland vegetation. 

The fi sh ponds can generate important 

revenue for the landowner and can 

serve for recreational and commercial 

fi shing. They also attract rare and 

endangered bird species by providing 

readily available food and habitat. 

However, their possible effect on the 

water quality is hardly questioned and 

the illegal utilization of land for fi sh 

pond creation can represent a problem 

in certain areas. 

The peatland scientists take 

action 

The next stop was the Rospuda Valley 

fen, located in the north-eastern corner 

of Poland. This valley harbours a vast 

undisturbed mire complex north of 


Augustow. It is probably 

the last river valley 

fen system still in a 

completely natural state 

in Europe. Not only 

are these fens unique 

and pristine, but they 

are also very sensitive: 

they are groundwater 

fed and rely on fragile 

water relations with the 

surrounding landscape. 

The Rospuda valley 

mires are composed of 

a mix of rich and poor 

fen habitats characterized 

by sedge-moss 

communities and the presence of bog 

islands. Many rare plant and bird species 

occur in the mires which have a 

high value as reference ecosystems for 

fen restoration elsewhere in Europe. 

(Photo 4) 

Photo 3b: Fish pond creation with surrounding vegetation in the Bydgoski Channel valley. 

Although the Rospuda Valley is recognized 

at the EU level, these mires have 

received no protection status from the 

Polish government. Currently, the fens 

are threatened by the construction of 

the Via Baltica Highway which will 

cross through the fens. The projected 

road would cross the Rospuda river at 

a narrow section of the valley north 

of Augustow because shallow peat and 

absence of houses would lower construction 

costs. Construction of the 

road would undoubtedly alter the water 

regime either directly or from drainage 

of surrounding land. This congregation 

of scientists might very well have 

been the last to see the European fen 

valley intact. 

But the courageous scientists did 

not take this sad news sitting down! 

Through a series of brain-storming 

sessions, a letter to the Polish government 

was drafted, stating the desire to 

Photo 3a: Discussion on the use of abandoned peatlands for fi sh pond creation. From left to 

right: Dr. Leszek Labedzki, Paulina Dzierza and Dr. Wiktor Kotowski. 

see the road replaced a few kilometres 

to the north to spare this gem of 

Polish natural heritage. 

Cultural Landscapes 

Just a few kilometres to the south of 

the Rospuda Valley is the Bierbza national 

park which contains one of the 

last wild rivers in Europe, including a 

huge fen complex. Most of these fens 

are cultural landscapes, dependent on 

mowing for the protection of rare species. 

Due to socio-economic changes, 

mowing has greatly decreased in the 

valley over the last several decades. 

Without mowing, the natural succession 

leads to the encroachment of

Photo 4: A hint of the biological splendour of 

the Rospuda Valley fen. 

shrubs and eventually trees, shading 

out the rare plants. Forty-two percent 

of the park area is still under private 

ownership and many communities are 

included within the park limits. This 

makes creating and implementing management 

plans a diffi cult task. 

From the wild fens of the Bierbrza 

valley we made our way to the cultivated 

Calowanie fens just 50 km outside 

of Warsaw. Agata Klimkowska gave us 

a tour of her restoration experiments: 

topsoil removal and hay transfer plant 

reintroduction. Topsoil removal is a 

technique where between 20 and 40 

cm of top soil is removed with the aim 

of getting rid of the decomposed top 

layers of peat along with the weedy 

seed bank. She also introduced fen 

plants to these plots by transferring hay 

from natural fens (just like the hay that 

is made in the Bierbrza National Park) 

to the bare peat surfaces. She found 

that a greater number of the desired 

Photo 5b: Peatland experts at Lipsk. 

Photo 5a: View over a peatland at Lipsk. 

fen species were established where fen 

plants were introduced and the topsoil 

was removed. 

A die-hard peatland 

ecologist goes it alone 

On the last day of the Polish excursion, 

an optional tour was offered to 

visit the inter-dunal ombrogenic peat- 

(Photo 6), where seven natural peatlands 

within the Celestynowskie forest 

were visited. - Very pleasant to her eyes 

after several days of visiting peatlands 

drained for agriculture. - Filip is a 

Master’s student who has evaluated the 

ecological integrity status of nearby 90 

peatlands that are located in between 

the post-glacial dunes stretching for 

about 100 km along the Wisla (Vistula 

Photo 6: Filip Jarzombkowski in the peatland of Czarci Dol, 50 km from Warsaw. 

lands of the Mazowiecki Landscape 

Park. The other option was an historical 

tour of Warsaw. The only person 

of the 31 scientists who had not had 

enough of peatlands was Line Rochefort. 

Is she crazy? Not at all! After the 

farewell banquet and an evening of 

singing and drinking Polish vodka, the 

fresh air of the sunny and windy day 

was most welcome. In her opinion, the 

others missed out on an interesting 

tour guided by Filip Jarzombkowski 

River) only 50 km from Warsaw. He 

is now pursuing a Ph.D. degree which 

will aim at understanding the development 

of Sphagnum hummocks in the 

rich fens of Rospuda. We wish him 

success. � 

Martha Graf 

GRET 

Université Laval 

Quebec, Canada 

e-mail: martha-darling.graf.1@ulaval.ca 

25

A touch of tropics in temperate mires: 

Of Alder Carrs and Carbon Cycles 

In contrast to what is often 

thought, Alder forests in the 

temperate zone may accumulate 

large amounts of 

peat. Similar to tropical peat 

swamps, their peat is strongly 

decomposed and largely 

consists of root wood and its 

decomposition products. 

Rewetting combined with Alder forestry 

is a promising and profi table way of 

restoring degraded fenlands, certainly 

when the carbon balance is taken into 

account. 

For one reason or another, many 

classical models of peat accumulation 

are based on mosses, on Bryophytes. 

Mosses form peat when older parts are 

buried by their continuously upward 

growing tops. Because they lack waterconducting 

organs, mosses cannot 

transport large volumes of water. To 

grow and form peat they require – next 

to a high water level which is always 

a precondition for peat formation – a 

climate in which water losses by evapotranspiration 

are restricted. Therefore 

mosses determine peat growth 

only in cold (e.g. boreal and subarctic) 

and wet-and-cool (e.g. oceanic) places 

(Table 1). In these areas, where most 

peatlands are concentrated, peatland 

science came into being. No wonder 

that moss growth has become the 

paradigm for peatland development, to 

the extent that the same words refer to 

tiny Bryophytes and to the extensive 

Climatic 

zones and 

sections 

Arctic / Boreal/ 

Oceanic 

Temperate / 

Subtropic 

Dominant 

peat formers 

(physiognomy) 


mire landscapes of e.g. Flanders Moss, 

Komosse, Lille Vild Mose, the Murnauer 

Moos, and Katin Moch. 

Sedge and wood peats 

Mire ecologists working in more temperate 

and continental parts of Europe, 

like Russia, Belarus, Poland and 

Eastern Germany, noticed, however, 

that their peat largely consists of roots. 

It has not formed from upward striving 

stems and leaves of mosses, but 

from downward growing rhizomes and 

rootlets of particularly Grasses (Poaceae) 

and Sedges (Cyperaceae). The 

inimical drier climate apparently forces 

peat formation to “go underground” 

and the roots of vascular plants make 

that possible. Peat accumulates in the 

Table 1: Characteristic peat forming plants in different parts of the Earth. 

Text: Anja Prager, Alexandra 

Barthelmes and Hans Joosten 

Fig. 1: Vegetation types in the peatland near Biwak (Sumatra), as drawn in 1891 by Koorders 

(Potonié 1907). 

Dominant peat formers 

(taxonomy) 

Associated tree 

groups 

Mosses Sphagnaceae, Hypnales Gymnospermae: 

Pinus, Larix, Picea 

Reeds Poaceae, Cyperaceae, 

Equisetaceae 

Tropic Trees Angiospermae/ 

Dicotyledoneae 

Angiospermae/ 

Dicotyledoneae 

Angiospermae/ 

Monocotyledoneae 

fi rst decimetres below the surface as 

new root material is injected into and 

partly replaces the old matrix. 

The warm conditions that incite 

decomposition were also the reason 

that the tropics were generally thought 

to be devoid of peat. This lasted until 

around 1800 when the fi rst peat in 

the tropics was described (Wichmann 

1909). In 1891, the Dutch botanist Sijfert 

Koorders discovered a large peatland, 

covering over 800 km 2 and more 

than 6 m thick, in the eastern part of 

Sumatra (Potonié 1907). The drawing 

that illustrated his discovery (Fig. 1) 

indeed shows roots of tall forest trees 

penetrating the peat. Potonié (1909) directly 

saw parallels between these modern 

tropical peat swamp forests and 

the huge clubmoss, horsetail and fern 

Dominant 

peat forming 

plant organs 

Stems, branches, 

leaves 

Rhizomes, rootlets 

Roots

forests that in the Carboniferous period 

(354 to 290 million years ago) had 

been forming the cradle of coal (Fig. 

2). The lignite-producing (sub)tropical 

peat swamps of the Tertiary (65 – 2 

million years ago) already harboured 

Angiosperm tree species, similar to the 

peat swamp forests of today. 

Alder Peat? 

The idea that thick roots of Angiosperm 

trees can produce peat thus 

came to Europe via a tropical detour. 

In Europe, Black Alder (Alnus glutinosa 

L. Gaertn.) is widespread on peatlands, 

but Alder was (and still is) generally 

regarded as an indication of peat degradation. 

Alnus carrs are, for example, 

excluded from the Swedish “myr” 

concept, because they are considered 

not to produce peat (Rydin et al. 1999). 

The observed thick layers of Alder 

wood containing peat were ascribed to 

“replacement”: Alder roots that – in 

later, drier and stagnating phases – had 

penetrated into a peat that previously 

had been formed in treeless sedge mire 

(Grosse-Brauckmann 2006, cf. Fig. 3). 

Such drier conditions would also explain 

the extremely humifi ed character 

of these peats that supposedly had 

been caused by secondary decomposition. 

Palaeo-ecology 

Its extremely poor conservation has 

always discouraged palaeo-ecologists 

from studying Alder wood peats. As a 

result little was known about peat accumulation 

in Alder forests. 

In a recent research project, we 

tested the hypothesis that – similar to 

Fig. 2: Carbonifereous peat swamp forest (after Potonié 1909). 

tropical peat swamps – Alder swamp 

forests also accumulate peat. Indeed 

we found that micro- and macrofossils 

in Alder wood peat are often corroded 

beyond recognition. This is not surprising 

because forested peatlands are 

generally subject to fl uctuating water 

levels that enhance decomposition, 

even more so in Alder carrs because of 

the high nutrient availability resulting 

from N 2 -fi xation by symbiotic fungi. 

Furthermore pollen is rare, because 

many herbaceous plants hardly blossom 

in the shade of the trees. 

Next to the “normal” pollen, spores 

and macrofossils, we therefore paid 

extra attention to the analysis of socalled 

Non-Pollen Palynomorphs (NPPs), 

i.e. all other microfossils that are found 

in pollen samples (Barthelmes et al. 

2006, cf. Fig. 4). The largest group 

of NPPs are of fungal origin but the 

group further includes remnants of 

Algae, wood, and animals (testate 

Amoebae, Cladocera, Chironomidae, 

Fig. 3: The origin of Alder wood peat as “replacement peat” (after Grosse-Brauckmann 2006). 

Rotatoria, etc.). NPPs are often more 

resistant than pollen and can be highly 

indicative. Fossil testate amoebae, for 

example, sharply indicate former water 

levels, whereas ascospores of Sordariaceae, 

fungi that grow on animal 

excrements, refl ect animal grazing in 

the past. The large amount of NPPs in 

Alder wood peat was astonishing: we 

found 10 times more NPP types than 

pollen types. To assess their indication 

value, surface samples of NPPs were 

taken from modern Alder carrs in 

which the present-day vegetation, fauna 

and site conditions were thoroughly 

studied (Prager et al. 2006). By comparison, 

we were able to reconstruct 

the vegetation types that had formed 

the Alder wood peats in the past. 

Peat Forming Alder Forests 

As Alder cannot endure prolonged 

fl ooding, the trees in very wet Alder carrs 

(with a mean annual water level of 15- 

0 cm above the 

surface) grow on 

hummocks with 

permanently or 

periodically waterfi 

lled hollows in 

between (Fig. 5). 

The higher the water 

level, the higher 

the humps. Also 

the sedges (Carex 

elongata, C. elata) 

grow in tussocks. 

This small-scaled 

vegetation mosaic 

27

Fig. 4: Some Non-Pollen-Palynomorphs 

typical for Alder carr peat (from Prager et al. 

2006). a-c) EMA-9: probably highly corroded 

hardwood periderm, single cells or piece of 

tissue, e.g. Alnus, Betula (×1000); d) EMA-3: 

conidia of the Melanconium state of Melanconis 

alni, an Ascomycetes fungus growing on Alder 

wood (×1500); e-g) EMA-2: fungal spores, 

fragments of conidiophores (thalloconidia) of 

Taeniolella alta, a saprobiontic Hyphomycetes, 

known from wood and bark (e ×1000; f x 

2000; g ×500); h-i) TYPE 114: wooden remain, 

scalariform perforation plate occurring in 

vessels of e.g. Betula and Alnus (×500); jl) 

EMA-8: unknown origin, possibly highly 

corroded remnants of wood, j-k possibly single 

cells, l cluster (j ×1000; k ×500, l ×200), typical 

aspect of lignicolous fungi in cells of infected 

wood; bubbles result from decomposition of 

lignin. 

allows the co-existence of species of 

drier and wetter conditions, such as 

Berula erecta, Hottonia palustris, and Lemna-species 

in the hollows and Dryopteris, 

Athyrium, Urtica, and Impatiens parvifl ora 

on the hummocks. 

The somewhat drier wet Alder carrs 

(with a mean annual water level of 15- 

0 cm below the surface) often show a 

fl at surface (Fig. 6) with Carex acutiformis, 

Thelypteris palustris, Iris pseudacorus, 

and Cardamine amara. 

In the peat, a similar pattern was 

found. A moderately humifi ed peat 

containing many above-ground macrofossils 

and pollen of Alnus, abundant 

seeds and pollen from wetland plants, 

and algal remnants, was apparently 

produced by very wet Alder carr. 

In contrast, highly decomposed peat 

with many root fragments (of which 

the wood is largely destroyed to fi bres), 

fern spores (Dryopteris dilatata, Athy- 


rium, Thelypteris), and a large spectrum 

of wood-decaying fungi, points at the 

drier Alder carr type. The peat lacks 

above-ground Alder material, whereas 

pollen of Carex and water plants is 

only sporadically found. The fossils 

are poorly preserved and have suffered 

selective corrosion. 

Peat Accumulation Rates 

The bulk densities and a large series of 

14 C-AMS-dates showed that accumulation 

rates (LORCAs) of Central European 

Alder carr peats can be unexpectedly 

high, even higher than those of 

sedge, sedge-moss, and Sphagnum peats 

in the same area (Table 2). 

The somewhat drier Alder forests 

(cf. Fig. 6) even proved to have 

a higher peat accumulation rate than 

the very wet ones (Fig. 5, Table 2). 

This is attributable to the much higher 

primary production of the drier forests 

(Schäfer & Joosten 2005) that – although 

the rate of decomposition is 

also much higher – still leads to a higher 

net peat accumulation rate than that 

of very wet forests. That under such 

hostile conditions any organic material 

remains at all, must be due to the 

lignin, a highly resistant carbohydrate 

that is a major constituent of wood. 

Long-term accumulation rates of over 

1 ton Carbon per ha per year are also 

reached by tropical peat swamp forests 

(Table 2) that - like temperate Alder 

swamps - accumulate woody root peats 

under rather dry conditions. 

Adaptations Adaptations of Alnus 

Black alder is adapted to wet sites 

by the presence of 

• 

abundant horizontal roots 

close to the the surface surface to to absorb 

nutrients 

• 

vertical roots that anchor 

the tree into into the oxygen-free 

soil and provide the tree with 

water 

• 

adventive roots that rapidly 

grow out of the bark in case 

of fl oods (Fig. 7) 

• 

special air openings 

(lenticels) at the lower base of 

the stem 

• 

air transport tissue 

(aerenchyma) even in the 

deepest roots 

The Future of Alder Carrs 

A warming climate will probably lead 

to an expansion of Alder forests. As 

long as the water levels remain reasonably 

high, this will not necessarily be 

negative from a climate point of view. 

When, however, they become too dry, 

the carrs change into greenhouse gas 

bombs: they start emitting enormous 

volumes of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) and 

especially nitrous oxide (N 2 O) (Augustin 

2001). This also happens when 

agriculturally used fen peatlands are 

abandoned and become forested without 

rewetting. 

Rewetting of degraded peatlands 

and subsequent afforestation with Alder 

is not only an economically viable 

but also an environmentally friendly 

Fig. 5: Very wet Alder forest in Northeast Germany. Photo: Jörg Schröder

Fig. 6: Moist/wet Alder forest in NE Germany. Photo: Andreas Kaffke 

type of land use (Schäfer & Joosten 

2005). It may produce valuable wood 

for construction (furniture, veneer) or 

biofuel. It has a very positive effect on 

the greenhouse balance by stopping 

peat oxidation from drained peatland 

and by reinstalling peat accumulation 

(with Alder wood peat). It will increase 

the biomass carbon store because 

short vegetation is replaced by forest. 

It will substitute fossil fuels and raw 

materials and consequently avoid the 

emission of greenhouse gases from 

these sources. And with the variety of 

rare species that Alder swamp forests 

harbour, it will add a touch of tropics 

to our temperate world. 

Peat type Reconstructed 

mire type 

Table 2: Accumulation rates (LORCA) of different peats in the Holocene. 

Fig. 7: Alder with adventive roots. Photo: Jörg Schröder 

LORCA(t C 

ha -1 yr -1 ) 

References 

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und Klimarelevanz von Spurengasen. 

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Alder wood peat Very wet Alder carr 0.13 – 1.10 NE-Germany Barthelmes, unpubl. data 

Alder wood peat (very 

decomposed) 

Wet Alder carr 0.28 – 1.27 NE-Germany Barthelmes, unpubl. data 

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peat 

Brownmoss-Sedge 

fen 

0.22 – 1.64 NE-Germany Michaelis & Skriewe 

2004 

Sedge peat Sedge fen 0.24 – 0.38 NE-Germany Michaelis & Skriewe 

2004 

Reed peat Reed fen 0.75 Netherlands Tolonen et al. 1992 

Sphagnum peat Sphagnum bog 0.14 – 0.72 S-Sweden Belyea & Malmer 2004 

Wood peat Swamp forest 0.59 – 1.18 Indonesia Sorensen 1993 

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Wood peat Swamp forest 0.10 – 2.10 Kalimantan 

(Indonesia) 

Page et al. 2004 

29


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Fig. 8: Map of the recent distribution of Alnus glutinosa (after Meusel et al. 1965). Excluded are 

the disjunctive area of the Cape (South Africa) and areas with introduced occurrences. 

The Betulaceae family, to which Alnus belongs, probably originated during 

the Late Cretaceous period in East-Asia, where now the highest diversity 

of Betulaceae are found. ALNUS-like pollen (ALNIPOLLINITES with arci 

and vestibules, pentazonoporate) has been recorded already from the Late 

Cretaceaous Santonian (86 - 83 million years ago) of Japan (Miki 1977). 

East-Asia in that time had a Mediterranean-like climate, because it was strongly 

infl uenced by the Tethys Sea and the southern monsoons were weaker than 

today. Alnus as the earliest Betulaceae-genus shows adaptations to warmth 

throughout the year, precipitation in spring, and drought in summer. It has winter 

buds with only two scales, initiation and fl owering of infl orescences during the 

same season, a long period of new leaf initiation, and the phenomenon of heavy 

leaf fall during the summer (Chen et al. 1999). 

In the Oligocene (34 - 24 million years ago) Alnus reached Kalimantan whereas 

Central America was colonized in the following Miocene after the genus had 

expanded into North-America via the Bering land bridge. Currently the 30 

species of Alnus are widely distributed in the temperate regions of the Northern 

Hemisphere. Only the Andean Alder (Alnus acuminata) reaches as far south 

as NW Argentina. Alnus glutinosa occurs naturally in large parts of Europe, in 

Western Siberia and marginally in North Africa. 

tropical peatlands, Samara Publishing 

Limited, Cardigan, pp. 55–72. 

Page, S.E., Weust, R.A.J., Rieley, 

J.O., Shotyk, W. & Limin, S.A. 2004. 

A record of Late Pleistocene and 

Holocene carbon accumulation and 

climate change from an equatorial peat 

bog (Kalimantan, Indonesia): implications 

for past, present and future carbon 

dynamics. Journal of Quaternary 

Science 19: 625-635. 

Potonié, H. 1907. Ein von der Holländisch-IndischenSumatra-Expedition 

entdecktes Tropenmoor. Oesterreichische 

Moorzeitschrift 8: 161-173. 

Potonié, H. 1909. Die Tropensumpffl 

achmoornatur der Moore des 

produktiven Karbons. Jahrb. d. Kgl. 

Preuß. Geol. Landesanstalt 30, Teil I, 

Heft 3. Berlin. 

Prager, A., Barthelmes, A., 

Theuerkauf, M. & Joosten, H. 2006. 

Non-pollen palynomorphs from modern 

Alder carrs and their potential for 

interpreting microfossil data from peat. 

Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology 

141: 7-31. 

Rydin, H., Sjörs, H. & Löfroth, M. 

1999. Mires. In: Rydin, H., Snoeijs, P. 

& Diekmann, M. (eds.): Swedish Plant 

Geography. Acta Phytogeographica 

Suecica 84. Svenska Växtgeografi ska 

Sällskapet, pp. 91 - 112. 

Schäfer, A. & Joosten, H. (eds) 

2005. Erlenaufforstung auf wiedervernässten 

Niedermooren. Institut für 

Dauerhaft Umweltgerechte Entwicklung 

von Naturräumen der Erde 

(DUENE), Greifswald. 69 p. 

Sorensen, K.W., 1993. Indonesian 

peat swamp forests and their role 

as a carbon sink. Chemosphere 27: 

1065–1082. 

Tolonen, K., Vasander, H., Damman, 

A.W.H. & Clymo, R.S. 1992. Rate 

of apparent and true carbon accumulation 

in Boreal peatlands. Proc. Of 9th 

Int. Peat Congr., Uppsala, Sweden, 

Vol.1: 319-333. 

Wichmann, C.E.A 1909. Moore 

des indischen Archipel. (translated 

by H. Storch). Oesterreichische 

Moorzeitschrift 10: 139-142. � 

Hans Joosten 

Institute of Botany and Landscape 

Ecology 

Grimmer Strasse 88 

D-17487 Greifswald, Germany 

e-mail: joosten@uni-greifswald.de 

31

Progress in achieving offi cial protection 

for the largest wetland in the world 

The Great Vasyugan Mire, 

located in the southern part 

of the West Siberian Plain, 

is thought to be the largest 

wetland in the world. 

This single mire complex comprises almost 

2% of the total peatland area of 

the world: it covers about 57,000 km² 

and contains some 18,000 km² of open 

bog, 20,000 km² of open fen, and over 

19,000 km² of forested mire. It forms 

the water divide between the Ob and 

Irtysh Rivers and stretches east–west 

over more than 500 km, across the 

borders between the Tomsk, Novosibirsk, 

Omsk and Tyumen administrative 

regions (Figure 1, Figure 2). 

Within the Great Vasyugan Mire, 

large complexes of minerotrophic 

mires can still be found, which in the 

temperate forest zone of Eurasia have 

largely been destroyed by human activities. 

This mire is a particularly good 

representative example of the southern 

Figure 1: Location of the Great Vasyugan Mire (Western Siberia, Russia). 


Text: Natalya Semenova, Elena 

Lapshina, S.C. Shaw, B.D. Wheeler 

Great Vasyugan Mire: ombrotrophic mire landscape, with ridge-hollow complexes (right 

foreground), ridge-hollow-lake complex (in the centre) and pine-dwarf shrub-Sphagnum bogs 

(ryam) (on the left and in the background). Photo: Elena Lapshina 

taiga peatland landscapes and one of 

the best examples of wetland landscape 

macropatterns and biodiversity 

in the world. The Vasyugan Mire provides 

habitats for rare plant communities 

and species, in particular for some 

orchid species. 

The northern part of the Mire 

is mainly occupied by raised oligotrophic 

bogs. These include bogs of 

the so-called “Narym” type studied 

by A. Ya. Bronzov in the 1920s, the 

description of which has become 

classic for Russian mire science. At the 

Great Vasyugan Mire, it is possible to 

observe successive stages of raised bog 

development. The late-successional 

raised Sphagnum bogs are defi ned by a 

peat layer as thick as 9.5 m. 

Large complexes of minerotrophic 

mires occupy the southern part of 

the Great Vasyugan Mire. They are 

mainly covered by either forest or

Figure 2: The Great Vasyugan Mire is located in Western Siberia, at 

the junction of the Southern taiga and Small-leaved forest zones. 

sedge–brown moss vegetation types, 

and are species-rich. Some of the plant 

communities are globally-rare, with 

such species as slender sedge (Carex 

lasiocarpa), lesser tussock sedge (Carex 

diandrа), dwarf birch (Betula nana), 

water horsetail (Equisetum fl uviatile), and 

marsh cinquefoil (Comarum palustre), 

slender green feather-moss (Hamatocaulis 

vernicosus), Chalk Hook-moss 

(Drepanocladus sendtneri), and Hooked 

Scorpion-moss (Scorpidium scorpioides) 

and provide habitat for a number of 

threatened orchid species (е.g. Lady’s 

slipper orchid (Cypripedium calceolus), 

Yellow fen orchid (Liparis loeselii), Early 

marsh orchid (Dactylorhiza incarnata), 

Heath spotted orchid (Dactylorhiza 

maculata), and Marsh helleborine (Epipactis 

palustris). 

With a network of small rivers, 

creeks and lakes, the swamps and fen 

systems within the Vasyugan Mire also 

provide an ideal habitat for many birds 

and animals. The area sustains important 

populations of many rare and 

threatened birds, such as golden eagle 

(Aquila chrysaetos), peregrine falcon (Falco 

peregrinus), possibly the black stork 

(Ciconia nigra), and is a resting place for 

waterfowl and waders during migration 

periods. Species 

such as Eurasian 

curlew (Numenius 

arquata), whimbrel 

(Numenius phaeopus), 

black-tailed 

godwit (Limosa 

limosa), and common 

greenshank 

(Tringa nebularia) 

nest in some parts 

of the mire. 

Mammals in 

this region, including 

some species 

of high commercial 

value, occur at 

the site due to the 

rich diversity of 

habitats and the 

inaccessibility of 

some areas. Sable 

(Martes zibellina), 

American mink 

(Mustela vison) 

and Eurasian 

otter (Lutra lutra) 

are found in paludifi ed forest with 

rivers and streams on the fringes of 

open mires. High concentrations of 

capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus) and hazel 

grouse (Tetrastes bonasia) also occur 

there. Large numbers of elk (Alces alces) 

have been recorded in the vicinity of 

forested headwaters and major river 

valleys on the northern part of Great 

Vasyugan Mire during the winter grazing 

period. A local herd of reindeer 

(Rangifer tarandus) lives here, although 

completely unregulated hunting and 

large numbers of wolves have seriously 

undermined this population. 

In addition to the large populations 

of globally-rare animal and plant species, 

the mire complex is characterized 

by a large diversity of surface patterning. 

In this respect, and in its location 

on the junction between boreal forest 

and steppe, the Great Vasyugan Mire 

resembles the well-known, but much 

smaller, Red Lake Peatlands in Minnesota 

(USA). The vast extent of the 

mire has permitted the development 

of impressive macro-patterns on the 

surface, on a scale that can only be really 

appreciated from satellite images. 

With a maximum population density 

of 1 person per km 2 , the Great Vasyugan 

Mire occupies one of the least 

populated areas of Western Siberia. 

Peatlands form the main landscapetype 

in this region (over 50% of Western 

Siberia is covered with peat) and, 

perhaps not surprisingly despite their 

peat and rich biological resources, have 

largely been regarded as ‘wastelands’, 

with little economic value other than 

for traditional subsistence activities 

around the margins (e.g. hunting, fi shing, 

berry-gathering, timber). However, 

the realisation within the last 50 years 

that the area also has substantial mineral 

resources (including oil and gas) has 

led to a rapid exploitation of the ‘wilderness’ 

that was the Great Vasyugan 

Mire. Today all of the western part (up 

to about 78˚ longitude East) is under 

the infl uence of the gas/oil industries. 

Figure 3: Protection of the Great Vasyugan Mire: the location of the declared protected area 

within Tomsk Province and the planned protected area within Novosibirsk Province. 

33

Great Vasyugan Mire: minerotrophic birch-willow-sedge-moss string-hollow complex with 

lake. Photo: Elena Lapshina 

About 10% of the area of Western 

Siberia is currently under some form 

of protection. This includes different 

types of protected areas, for protection 

of typical and rare landscapes, and for 

plant and animal species, but there are 

currently no large protected areas specifi 

cally for peatland, and in the south 

of the forest zone of Western Siberia 

there are still no special protection 

areas for mires. Therefore, the Great 

Vasyugan Mire has recently become a 

prime candidate for protection. 

Since 1998, work has continued on 

the preparation of offi cial documentation 

to create a special protected 

area within the Great Vasyugan Mire 

in Tomsk Province and Novosibirsk 

Province. We are delighted to report 

that offi cial agreements in Tomsk 

Oblast have at last been completed 

and the special protected area (regional 

landscape Zakaznik) was declared 

in March 2006 with a total area of 

509,045 ha (Fig. 3). 

About 10% of the Great Vasyugan 

Mire was nominated as a special 

protected area of regional value. The 

agreements include many restrictions 

on the use of resources by the 

many user-groups, including hunters 

and foresters, as well as on its use for 

scientifi c research. No prospecting or 

exploitation of mineral resources will 

be permitted in the area. 

Whilst this designation is of course 

welcomed, it is just a start – the wetland 

is recognised to be of federal 


and international conservation importance 

and requires further protection 

measures. The next objective is the 

designation of a special protected area 

in Novosibirsk Province (Fig. 3). The 

Departments of Nature Resources in 

the Administrations of Tomsk and 

Novosibirsk Oblasts will also continue 

the preparation of documentation for 

the designation of the area as a special 

protected area at the federal level. Part 

of the Great Vasyugan Mire was included 

in the Russian Tentative List of 

Ramsar Sites of international value. 

In addition, in collaboration with 

scientists at Tomsk University, offi cials 

at the Department of Nature Resources 

at the Administration of Tomsk 

Oblast are preparing documents for 

inclusion of the Great Vasyugan Mire 

on the Tentative List of World Heritage 

Sites. Together, these designations 

will confer upon the Great Vasyugan 

Mire the offi cial status of what it truly 

is: the greatest mire on Earth. � 

Dr. Natalya Semenova 

Tomsk State University, Russia 

e-mail: green@res.tsu.ru 

Professor Elena Lapshina 

University of Khanty Mansinsk & 

Tomsk State University, Russia 

e-mail: ed@fl ora.tsu.tomsk.ru 

Dr. S.C. Shaw, Dr. B.D. Wheeler 

University of Sheffi eld, UK 

e-mail: s.shaw@sheffi eld.ac.uk 

b.d.wheeler@sheffi eld.ac.uk 

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Returning to the Wild - Lake Creation 

on Cutaway Peatlands in Ireland 

The story begins 

The large-scale harvesting of Ireland’s 

boglands for fuel began with the 

founding of the Peat Development 

Board, Bord na Móna, in 1946. The 

country will be home to in excess of 

80,000 hectares of worked-out or cutaway 

peatland by 2030. Bord na Móna 

fi rst began investigating after-uses for 

this ‘wasteland’ in the 1950s and 1960s, 

focusing on commercial forestry and 

agricultural grassland production. A 

number of serious problems were encountered, 

including water-logging, nutrient 

defi ciencies, weed invasion and 

soil subsidence (Egan, 1999). 

In recent years, the focus in Ireland 

has shifted towards rehabilitating cutaway 

peatlands for wildlife conservation 

and public amenity uses. Now, Bord na 

Móna proposes to fl ood and revegetate 

40,000 ha of cutaway peatlands, resulting 

in the formation of a semi-natural 

wilderness extending throughout the 

Irish Midlands (Egan, 1998). A diverse 

range of habitats will ensue, including 

stands of shallow open water, large 

areas of marsh and fen, tracts of naturally 

regenerating grassland, smaller 

pockets of scrub woodland and localised 

nuclei of regenerating Sphagnum 

bog (Rowlands & Feehan, 2000). The 

scale of the proposal is vast, representing 

one of the largest habitat creation 

opportunities to emerge in Europe in 

modern times. 

Lough Boora Parklands 

project 

A taste of what is to come in Ireland 

can be seen in a pilot scheme called 

the Lough Boora Parklands. This rehabilitation 

project, covering 2,000 ha 

of the Irish Midlands, is being viewed 

as a blueprint for the future large-scale 

development of integrated land-uses 

on Ireland’s cutaway peatlands. 

Within the Lough Boora Parklands, 

Bord na Móna has created 400 ha of 

experimental waterbodies since 1991, 

using a variety of construction approaches 

(Egan, 1998). Some lake 

creation projects involve a considerable 

level of on-site development work. 

Prior to fl ooding, most of the residual 

peat deposit is removed to create a 

lake basin, in the process exposing the 

underlying mineral sub-soils. Embankments 

are formed using the excavated 

peat and artifi cial drainage channels are 

in-fi lled. The basin is allowed to fl ood 

to a depth of 1-2 m from a combination 

of precipitation, groundwater 

seepage and surface drainage (McNally, 

1999). Water levels may be supplemented 

with a piped infl ow diverted 

from a nearby natural stream. In deeper 

angling lakes, pioneering aquatic 

plants and macroinvertebrate species 

are introduced to assist natural colonisation. 

The areas surrounding the lake 

are landscaped, seeded and planted 

with trees, and pubic facilities, such 

as bird hides, are provided (Fig. 2a). 

Fig. 1: Aerial photograph of a fl ooded cutaway peatland in Ireland. 

Text and figures: Tara Higgins 

and Heather Lally 

Examples of lakes constructed using 

thses approaches include the angling 

lake Finnamore and the conservation 

lakes Tumduff Mor, Tumduff Beag 

and Turraun (Table 1). 

In more recent years, less site 

preparation has been conducted prior 

to fl ooding and lake creation projects 

have been concentrated on sites that 

are naturally low-lying. Peat excavation 

is minimal and sites are fl ooded to 

depths of about 1 m by simply blocking 

the network of drainage ditches 

that was constructed prior to the commencement 

of peat harvesting (Fig. 

2b-c). Lakes created using this strategy, 

such as Drinagh and Clongawny, are 

allowed to recolonise naturally with 

minimum human interference (Table 1). 

Water quality characteristics 

Individual cutaway lakes differ markedly 

in their water chemistry and 

trophic states, as Table 2 illustrates. 

The current data were gathered during 

studies conducted since 2001 at the 

35

Fig. 2: �(a) artifi cial lake created on cutaway peatland in Ireland; (b) an industrial peat fi eld, pre-fl ooding; (c) a 

cutaway peatland that has been recently inundated. 

National University of Ireland, Galway 

under the supervision of Prof Emer 

Colleran. Physicochemical differences 

refl ect, to a large extent, the strategy 

adopted during the lake construction 

process, which determines the degree 

of peat removal, basin construction, 

hydrological manipulation and postfl 

ooding management carried out. 

The exposure of minerotrophic 

sediments such as alkaline fen peats, 

blue silty clays, and calcareous marls at 

Turraun, Tumduff Beag, Finnammore, 

Tumduff Mor and Drinagh, coupled 

with the presence at these sites of 

telluric hardwater infl uxes, resulted in 

high to moderate pH and conductivity 

values. Clongawny, in contrast, was an 

acidic lake with a low ionic content. 

The latter’s properties refl ect the peaty 

nature of the lake substratum coupled 

with the absence of hardwater infl ows 

at the site, which was fed exclusively 

by precipitation and associated runoff 

from the surrounding actively-milled 

peatfi elds. 


Nutrient concentrations in cutaway 

lakes are strongly infl uenced by catchment 

land-uses (Higgins & Colleran, 

2006). In Finnamore and Tumduff 

Mor, for example, the elevated inorganic 

nitrogen concentrations in Table 

2 refl ect the presence of nitrate runoff 

from the agricultural catchments of 

Year 

created 

Size 

(ha) 

Turraun 1991 60 Peat (reed), 

marl 

Tumduff 

Beag 

these lakes. Such 

trends give a clear 

indication of the 

effect of incoming 

water quality and 

catchment land-uses 

on the nutrient status 

of cutaway lakes. 

Based on their 

mean total phosphorus 

and chlorophylla 

data, Finnamore, 

Tumduff Mor, 

Tumduff Beag and 

Drinagh are mesotrophic, 

Turraun 

is mesotrophic-eutrophic, 

and Clongawny 

is eutrophichypertrophic. 

The 

latter was strongly 

affected by phosphate-richfertiliser 

runoff from 

adjacent coniferous 

forestry plantations. 

Many industrial 

cutaway peatlands 

are particularly 

susceptible to phosphorus 

leaching due 

to their low content 

of chelating ions, high erosion rates 

and lack of buffering vegetation. These 

abiotic and biotic characteristics make 

lakes created on bare, unconsolidated 

cutaway peatland extremely vulnerable 

to receiving nutrient runoff. The very 

strong response of the algal population 

in Clongawny to the increased 

Sediments Infl ows Post-fl ooding 

management 

G/w springs, 

inlet drains 

Area 

reseeded & 

planted 

1995 6 Peat (reed) Piped infl ow Area 

reseeded & 

planted 

Finnamore 1996 5 Silty clays, 

glacial tills 

Tumduff 

Mor 

Piped 

infl ow,G/w 

seepage, 

Aquatic plants, 

insects & 

fi sh introduced 

1997 40 Peat (reed) Inlet drain Area 

reseeded & 

planted 

Drinagh 1999 186 Peat 

(sphagnum 

& woody 

fen) 

Precipitation, 

surface 

runoff 

None 

Table 1: Characteristics of six artifi cial lakes created on cutaway peatlands in Ireland.

phosphorus input was enhanced by a 

lack of top-down control. Low levels 

of invertebrate grazing refl ect both 

the young age of the lake and also the 

paucity of vegetation at the site, which 

provides essential refugia and food for 

recolonising invertebrates (O Connor 

et al., 2000). 

Lessons learned 

Lake creation is a major post-harvesting 

land-use option for cutaway peatlands, 

both in Ireland and elsewhere. 

Several simple, cost-effective lessons 

can be learned from the Lough Boora 

Parklands experience. 

• Re-vegetate cutaway peatland prior 

to fl ooding. Higher vegetation is 

directly and indirectly benefi cial 

for water quality, by: (i) increasing 

the sediment stability, thus reducing 

water column turbidity and 

sediment nutrient recycling; (ii) 

fi ltering nutrients from catchment 

runoff; (iii) competing directly 

with algae for nutrients, thereby 

reducing algal biomass; (iv) providing 

habitat, refuge and food 

for recolonising invertebrates, 

thereby increasing algal losses by 

grazing. Natural plant recolonisation 

should be expedited by active 

management (e.g. seeding) and by 

improving the harsh physical environment 

of cutaway peat-fi elds 

in order to encourage natural plant 

establishment. 

• Maximise habitat diversity. 

Cutaway peatland lakes should be 

designed with an irregular, gently 

sloping shoreline, involving bays, 

inlets and islands, to encourage the 

establishment of littoral aquatic 

plants and create a diversity of 

microhabitats, in turn promoting 

higher biological diversity and species 

richness. Removing suffi cient 

peat to expose the inorganic 

subsoils is desirable, both increase 

physicochemical variability and 

to enhance phosphorus losses by 

carbonate co-precipitation. 

• Adopt an integrated, holistic approach 

to planning. Economic, 

practical and technical concerns 

need to be balanced if the conservation 

value of cutaway peatlands 

is to be maximised. For example, 

Table 2: Water chemistry and trophic status of cutaway lakes. 

• 

vegetation buffer zones should 

be established between existing, 

intensively cultivated terrestrial areas 

and the new waterbodies. The 

vulnerability of particular sediments 

to nutrient leaching, based 

on soil sorption properties and the 

extent of revegetation should be 

identifi ed so that post-harvesting 

landuses of cutaway peatlands can 

be designated in an appropriate, 

site-specifi c manner. 

Continue monitoring. Lakes created 

by refl ooding areas of industrial 

cutaway peatland are new, essentially 

artifi cial phenomena and 

no true basis in experience exists 

on which to predict their development. 

In view of the considerable 

timescale involved in ecosystem 

establishment and stabilisation, it 

is essential that monitoring of the 

existing cutaway peatland lakes 

continues in order for long-term 

trends to be assessed. 

Acknowledgements 

This research was made possible 

through funding from Bord na Móna 

(the Irish Peat Development Board) 

and assistance from the Environmental 

Change Institute at the National University 

of Ireland, Galway. 

References 

pH 

Cond a 

(μS cm -1 ) 

TP b 

(μg l -1 ) 

Egan, T. 1998. A pilot project for the 

utilization of cutaway boglands in West 

Offaly. In: O’Leary, G. and Gormley, 

F. (eds.) Towards a Conservation 

DIN c 

(mg l -1 ) 

Chl-a d 

(μg l -1 ) 

Trophic 

status e 

Turraun1 8.2 299 26.7 0.15 12.7 Mesotrophiceutrophic 

Tumduff 

Beag1 8.1 365 15.6 0.24 3.3 Mesotrophic 

Finnamore1 8.1 429 12.2 1.56 5.2 Mesotrophic 

Tumduff 

Mor2 7.8 402 26.8 2.11 - Mesotrophic 

Drinagh2 6.7 412 24.5 0.83 - Mesotrophic 

Clongawny1 4.6 72 39.1 0.09 52.5 Eutrophichypertrophic 

Values shown are mean ( 1n=54 from Aug. 2001-Sept. 2004; 2n=7 from Feb. 

2006-Aug. 2006). aCond: conductivity; bTP: total phosphorus; cDIN: dissolved 

inorganic nitrogen; dChl-a: chlorophyll-a; eBased on OECD (1982) classifi cation. 

Strategy for the Bogs of Ireland; pp. 

119-126. Irish Peatland Conservation 

Council: Dublin, Ireland. 

Rowlands, R.G. and Feehan, J. 2000. 

The ecological future of industrially 

milled cutaway peatlands in Ireland. 

Aspects Appl. Biol. 58: 263-270. 

McNally, G. 1999. Peatlands, power 

and post-industrial use. In: Parkyn, L., 

Stoneman, R.E. and Ingram, H.A.P. 

(eds.) Conserving Peatlands; pp. 245- 

251. CAB International: Wallingford, 

UK. 

Higgins, T. and Colleran, E. (2006) 

Trophic status of experimental cutaway 

peatland lakes in Ireland and implications 

for future lake creation. J. Environ. 

Sci. Health, Part A. 41: 849-863. 

O’Connor, Á, Kavanagh B & Reynolds 

JD (2000) Corixidae (Hemiptera 

Heteroptera) in two artifi cial lakes on 

Irish cutaway raised bog. Verh. Internat. 

Verein. Limnol. 27: 1670-1674. 

Related web resources 

www.nuigalway.ie/eci/report/higginsreport.pdf 

(non-technical research 

report) 

www.loughbooraparklands.com (Lough 

Boora Parklands offi cial website) � 

Tara Higgins and Heather Lally 

Department of Microbiology 

National University of Ireland 

Galway, Ireland 

e-mail: taramhiggins@yahoo.co.uk 

heather.lally@nuigalway.ie 

37

Conference on “Physical and chemical 

properties of organic soils” in Rajgród- 

Biebrza, Poland Text: Lech Szajdak 

The Polish National Committee 

of IPS along with several 

universities and scientific 

institutes organized the first 

Polish conference on “Physical 

and Chemical Properties 

of Organic Soils” in Rajgród- 

Biebrza, North-East Poland 

on 27 - 30 June 2005. 

The idea to organize such a conference 

arose during the meeting of the Polish 

National Committee of IPS in the 

beginning of 2005. Several enthusiasts, 

representing the Polish “peat family”, 

responded with great optimism, and 

were willing to realize this project. 

The Department of Environmental 

Improvement, Warsaw Agricultural 

University; the Research Centre for 

Agricultural and Forest Environment 

of the Polish Academy of Sciences 

in Poznań; the Institute for Land 

Reclamation and Grassland Farming, 

Research Department in Biebrza; the 

Polish National Committee of IPS as 

well as the Chair of Soil Science and 

Soil Protection, University of Warmia 

and Mazury in Olsztyn together convened 

this meeting. The conference 

took place in Rajgród-Biebrza, located 

in the Biebrza National Park, on 27 - 

30 June 2005. 

Biebrza National Park was chosen 

as the conference venue because many 

long-term studies have been conducted 

in the Biebrza Valley. The goal of 

these studies was to learn more about 

the processes and mechanisms, which 

proceed in organic soils. Heterogenic 

humus in organic soils contains chemical 

compounds characterized by both 

undefi ned and well-defi ned structures 

that impact on the physico-chemical 

processes in these soils. 

There had never been a separate 

conference on physical and chemical 


The participants at the venue of the fi rst Polish conference on physical and chemical properties 

of organic soils in Rajgród-Biebrza during a break. Photo: Lech Szajdak 

properties of organic soils in Poland 

before. However, the topic had frequently 

been mentioned during many 

Polish conferences on agrochemistry, 

ecology, organic growing media, humic 

substances, landscape ecology and soil 

science. Its purpose was to advance 

research on peat, to deepen our knowledge 

of it and to provide a forum for 

scientists interested in this subject. 

Moreover, the organizing committee 

intended to encourage chemists who 

study the conversions and transformations 

of organic matter in organic soils 

to communicate and cooperate with 

each other. By applying information on 

the chemical composition and molecular 

structure of humic substances, 

we should improve our understanding 

of the physical properties of this raw 

material. 

The conference was also targeted 

at young scientists who have been involved 

in this problem recently. The 40 

Polish scientists who took part in the 

conference, included representatives of 

the following Polish Universities and 

scientifi c institutions: Warsaw Agricultural 

University, Research Centre for 


of the Polish Academy of Sciences in 

Poznań, Institute for Land Reclamation 

and Grassland Farming in Bydgoszcz 

and the Research Department in 

Biebrza, University of Warmia and Mazury 

in Olsztyn, Poznań University of 

Medical Sciences, University of Podlasie 

in Siedlce, Agricultural University 

of Cracow, University of Agriculture 

in Szczecin, Agricultural University of 

Wrocław, Research Institute of Pomology 

and Floriculture in Skierniewice 

and Białystok Technical University, as 

well as Maria Curie-Skłodowska University 

in Lublin. During the sessions, 

distinguished leading scientists, young 

researchers and students presented 25 

papers, including 4 keynote lectures, 14 

oral papers, and 7 posters. 

The opening speeches were given by 

Prof. Tomasz Brandyk, Vice President 

of IPS and Vice Chairman of the 

Polish National Committee of IPS, and 

by Doc. Lech Szajdak, the host of the

conference. The program of the conference 

included the following sessions 

and two fi eld trips: 

Physical and chemical 

properties of organic soils 

During this session, the most recent 

progress and advancements in the soil 

physics, soil chemistry, soil biochemistry, 

and soil microbiology of organic 

soils and their interactions with various 

components were extensively discussed. 

Important properties of humic 

substances promote an ability to constitute 

water-soluble and water insoluble 

complexes with hydrous oxides and 

metal ions and to interact with organic 

substances such as free amino acids, 

amines, fatty acids, alkaloids etc. 

The fi rst session was opened by 

Romulda Bejger’s (University of Agriculture 

in Szczecin), lecture concerning 

the transformation of the organic 

matter of mountain fen peat. The 

results showed that the yield of humic 

substances following extraction and the 

quantity of the low-molecular fraction 

of the fulvic acids obtained depend on 

the type of mountain fen peats. 

The next paper was presented 

by Justyna Migała-Zawada (Poznań 

University of Medical Sciences) who 

discussed antioxidant functions of peat 

and peloids. Poland has a long tradition 

of these studies, e.g. Prof. Maria Szmyt 

started her research in the sixties of 

the XXth century at Poznań University 

of Medical Sciences. Justyna Migała- 

Zawada mentioned that the antioxidant 

properties of peat are associated with 

the content of ferric ions and humic 

acids. 

Subsequently, Marcin Becher 

(University of Podlasie in Siedlce) described 

numerous physicochemical and 

chemical properties of muck-peat soils 

located in the Liwiec Valley in high 

Upland Siedlce. The mucking process 

showed different stages of development 

in the muck layers including an 

increase in ash content, an accumulation 

of nitrogen, a decrease in C:N 

values and in the amount of magnesium 

cation in the sorption complex as 

well as the accumulation of phosphorus, 

potassium, calcium, aluminium, 

cobalt, lithium, titanium, barium, lead, 

cadmium, copper and zinc. 

Dr. Oleszczuk describes a study on soil water condition and deformation of a deep peat soil 

with a low degree of decomposition. Photo: Marek Szczepański 

Tomasz Gnatowski (Warsaw Agricultural 

University) dealt with the impact 

of physical and chemical properties 

of fen peat on its moisture retention. 

He postulated a satisfactory fi tting of 

retention time estimated by the van 

Genuchten’s analytical model. 

During the last presentation, Piotr 

Sowinski (University of Warmia and 

Mazury in Olsztyn) postulated that 

peat formations of the Vistula delta, 

represented by alder-wood, reed and 

sedge, are characterized by the highest 

volumetric density and the lowest 

total porosity. The reed and sedge peat 

showed better retention capabilities 

at pF 2.0 and a more readily available 

water content than alder-wood peat. 

Hydrophobicity of organic 

soils 

The hydrophobic and hydrophilic 

properties of peat soils are infl uenced 

by a number of factors, including oscillation 

of ground water level, changes 

of aerobic conditions, different plant 

communities, root exudates and degradation 

products of plant remains. 

These factors are responsible for the 

viscosity, solubility, fi ltration, conformation, 

surfactant-like character and a 

variety of physicochemical properties 

of considerable signifi cance in organic 

soils. 

The second session was opened 

by Lech Szajdak (Research Centre for 


of the Polish Academy of Sciences 

in Poznań) who reviewed the chemical 

basis of hydrophobicity in soils 

and proved that peat has a lower 

hydrophobicity than muck soils. The 

most chemically mature peat humic 

acids fraction was shown to contain 

the highest proportion of hydrophilic 

components, which are characterized 

by the highest content of carboxyl 

groups and the lowest proportion 

of saturated aliphatic structures. It 

was also suggested that peat fulvic 

acids were mainly represented by 

the hydrophilic fraction. Moreover a 

relationship between nitrogen organic 

compounds and water holding capacity 

in mucks was found. 

Jan Szatyłowicz (Warsaw Agricultural 

University) described the estimation 

of hydrophobicity of moorsh and peat 

layers using the soil-water contact angle 

method. He concluded that soil-water 

contact angle values in peat and moorsh 

layers depend on ash content. When 

the ash content is increasing the value 

of this parameter is decreasing. Among 

the selected peat layers, the highest 

hydrophobicity was in sedge-reed 

peat and the lowest value in willow 

peat. The hydrophobicity was lower in 

moorsh layers than in peat layers. During 

Jan Szatyłowicz’s second presentation, 

he described the infl uence of 

hydrophobicity on moisture distribution 

in a peat-moorsh soil profi le. This 

phenomenon plays an important role 

in moisture distribution in soil profi les 

39

Dr. Szatyłowicz demonstrates the stratigraphy levels of a peat deposit. Photo: Marek Szczepański 

and is responsible for “fi nger fl ow”. In 

the peat-moorsh soil profi le considered, 

the highest variation of moisture 

content occurred at preferential fl ow, 

just after high precipitation values. This 

was caused by hydrophobicity with 

decreased capillary rise of water from 

deeper layers of the soil profi le. 

Andrzej Łachacz (University of 

Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn) dealt 

with the topic of hydrophobicity of 

surface soil formations with various 

contents of organic matter. He 

analyzed hydrogenic soil formations 

(moorsh, mud, peat and humose), 

semihydrogenic and forest autogenic 

soil materials (forest humus), and suggested 

that soil formation of hydrogenic 

and semihydrogenic soils displays 

a higher degree of hydrophobicity than 

surface formations of autogenic soils. 

Physical properties of 

organic soils 

The chemical composition and physical 

structure of humic substances are 

responsible for the water-retention 

character of organic soils. Water management 

of organic soils is strongly 

infl uenced by the following two processes: 

humifi cation and micro-pore 

formation. 


The third session was opened by Henryk 

Jaros (Białystok Technical University) 

who presented a comparative study 

on hydraulic properties of hydrogenic 

soils. He postulated that hydraulic conductivity 

values for peat deposits obtained 

by the Pamex method are higher 

than those recorded by piezometer 

fl ooding, and that hydraulic conductivity 

in the surface layers of the peat 

deposit determined by Ostromęcki’s, 

Erkin’s and Ernst’s fi eld methods as 

well as by the Slug test, display similar 

values. However, it was suggested that 

the results of laboratory determination 

in soil monoliths of 2000 cm 3 volume 

are some few times higher than those 

obtained by fi eld methods. 

Jacek Nowak (Research Institute of 

Pomology and Floriculture in Skierniewice) 

pointed out that the standardization 

status works towards the unifi cation 

of methods of physical analyses 

of horticultural substrates in the 

European Union. Standardization and 

characterization of quality of horticultural 

substrates became a very important 

issue when modern technologies 

of plant cultivation in greenhouses 

were introduced. Moreover, physical 

properties of those substrates seem to 

be fundamental criteria of quality determination. 

Those methods are widely 

applied and accepted by the majority 

of substrate producers 

and laboratories 

controlling the quality 

of substrates. 

Marek Ryczek 

(Agricultural University 

of Cracow) gave 

a presentation about 

water permeability of 

peat-moorsh soils on 

after-use peatlands in 

southern Poland. He 

compared the hydraulic 

conductivities of 

peat-moorsh soils of 

raised bogs and fens. 

Wojciech Sas 

(Warsaw Agricultural 

University) described 

the lab and fi eld methods 

for the estimation 

of physical and 

mechanical parameters 

of organic soils, which 

play a key role for the 

construction of buildings on such 

soils. 

At the end of the session, Ryszard 

Oleszczuk (Warsaw Agricultural 

University) dealt with the processes of 

swelling and shrinkage of peat-moorsh 

soils located in the Biebrza Basin. He 

concluded that the surface level of the 

fen peat soil depends on the groundwater 

level and the amount of water 

stored, with a maximum fl uctuation 

of about 176 mm during the entire 

period. 

Land use and the properties 

of organic soils 

The lectures given in this session dealt 

with the impact of the long-term 

intensive cultivation and agricultural 

use of organic soils on the biological, 

chemical, physical and biochemical 

changes in peat. Mineralization leads 

to a decrease in organic matter content 

until the peat stock is fully exhausted. 

Janusz Turbiak (Institute for Land 

Reclamation and Grassland Farming, 

Bydgoszcz) described the effect of 

a deep and long-lasting drainage of 

peat-muck soil on the mineral nitrogen 

content, the mineralization of nitrogen 

organic compounds and mineral nitrogen 

losses during the non-growing seasons. 

The study shows, that the deep

drainage of a peat-muck soil resulted 

in a signifi cant increase in nitrate. The 

bottom layer of the soil profi le became 

almost biologically inactive directly 

after the drainage. In the beginning, 

an increase in nitrate concentrations 

in these layers was a result of leaching 

of the most active biologically surface 

layers. 

Paweł Nicia (Agricultural University 

of Cracow) presented investigations 

on fourteen soil profi les in the Podhale 

region and at Beskid Wyspowy. It 

seems that the morphological properties 

of these soils are associated with 

land confi guration, where the depth of 

peat horizons depends on the slope of 

the land on which the fens have been 

formed. Physical and chemical properties 

are infl uenced by oxygenation of 

the water feeding the fen. 

Subsequently, Ryszard Mazurek 

(Agricultural University of Cracow) 

described the results of the infl uence 

of soil properties on zooedaphon in 

the Biebrza National Park soils. He examined 

the quantity and quality of the 

mesofauna in the following 3 different 

elements of landscape: forest, meadow 

and dune. 

In the session’s closing paper, Adam 

Bogacz (Agricultural University of 

Wrocław) described how fi res affect 

soil structure, and its physical and 

chemical properties. He postulated that 

depletion of organic matter causes a 

Excursion group in the Biebrza River Valley. Photo: Lech Szajdak 

loss of water holding capacity, acceleration 

of soil erosion, poor retention 

of applied nutrients, and a reduction in 

enzymatic activities. Porosity causes a 

remarkable decrease in soil water retention 

in the post-fi re places, resulting in 

marked changes in the water permeability 

of the surface layers in comparison 

to the deeper ones. 

Field trips 

The symposium included two fi eld 

trips, during which the participants 

became acquainted with the investigations 

conducted by the Department of 

Environmental Improvement, Warsaw 

Agricultural University and by the 

Institute for Land Reclamation and 

Grassland Farming, Research Department 

in Biebrza. These institutes deal 

with the problems of water content, 

water movement and the mechanism 

of water fl ow in saturated and unsaturated 

peats. In addition, the impact of 

intensive agricultural use of peatland 

on the moorshing process, and the 

problem of protection of organic soils 

in Biebrza National Park were also 

presented. 

Conclusion 

The fi rst Polish conference on physical 

and chemical properties of organic 

soils was a great success. Before the 

meeting, a book of abstracts was prepared. 

All lectures given at the conference 

and the posters will be published 

in a monograph in 2006. 

The results presented at the conferences 

demonstrated that humic 

substances attract the attention of 

scientists from different disciplines 

and that several problems can only be 

solved through multidisciplinary work. 

Moreover, numerous studies on 

the chemical and physical properties 

of organic soils are still being carried 

out in order to understand their 

function in the environment. I am 

sure that the information presented 

will provide a stimulating background 

for further progress and development 

on the physical and chemical properties 

of organic soils in the future. We 

warmly thank Tołpa - Torf Corporation 

Pharmaceutical Factory for their 

support. � 

Lech Szajdak 

Research Centre for Agricultural and 

Forest Environment 

Polish Academy of Sciences 

Poznań, Poland 

e-mail: lszajdak@tlen.pl 

41

Book Reviews 

A Fascinating Approach to the Function 

of Peatland Ecosystems 

Håkan Rydin & John K. 

Jeglum: The Biology of 

Peatlands. Oxford University 

Press, Oxford- New York 

2006. 343 p. ISBN 0-19- 

852871-X. Price approx. 90 

Euro. 

“The book deals with the diverse, 

beautiful, and fascinating world of 

peatlands.” This very fi rst sentence of 

the book is a good start - and even tells 

the truth. 

The book is organized into 13 

chapters starting from the varying 

concepts connected to peat-forming 

wetlands. The three following chapters 

present an overview of the biodiversity 

in the framework of these habitats and 

the great adaptations the organisms 

need to possess to survive in these wet 

circumstances. As the most important 

species group, the peat mosses of 

the genus Sphagnum earn their own 

chapter. Peat as an organic soil material 

is described: how peat is formed and 

what its properties are. Even peat archives 

are dealt with. Change over time 

is a fundamental feature, especially in 

ecosystems like peatlands, where living 

organisms are forming the substrate 

for the next generation. The specifi c 

environmental conditions (hydrology, 

nutrients, temperature) are discussed 

thoroughly. 

Although the book focuses on the 

temperate and boreal peatlands in 

the northern hemisphere, the authors 

also give an overview on the peatlands 

around the world. This chapter 

(Chapter 11) includes three excellent 

contributions covering peatlands in 

Southeast Asia, New Zealand and Tierra 

del Fuego, Argentina and Chile. The 

importance of peatlands in the carbon 

balance and their share in the expected 

climate change are also discussed. 

Organizing the contents of a scientifi 

c monograph is always diffi cult; how 


to arrange the chapters 

in both a fl uid and 

logical manner while 

avoiding unnecessary 

repetition? Should peat 

be discussed before 

peatlands? Should 

peat formation, mire 

development and 

peatland landforms at 

the landscape level be 

discussed in the same 

or at least successive 

chapters? Peatlands 

seem to be such versatile 

ecosystems, having 

contact surface with 

several other ecosystems 

as well as environmental 

gradients, 

that there is evidently 

more than one correct 

approach. 

In most cases, the 

order of the contents 

of the book is quite 

justifi ed. However, 

another author could 

have linked the statistics 

dealing with peatland areas under 

specifi c forms of utilization (from 

Chapter 11) to operational applications 

(to Chapter 13). Peatland succession 

and development in specifi c climatic, 

hydrologic and topographic conditions 

lead to specifi c kinds of landform and 

mire complex types. Thus, the contents 

of Chapters 7 and 10 could have 

even been combined. However, these 

comments may refl ect only a matter of 

taste... 

When reading the fi rst chapter dealing 

with peatland-related terminology, 

it is pleasing to note that for several 

reasons (geographical regions, linguistic 

origin and etymology, tradition 

connected to vernacular words etc.) 

nomenclature in the English language 

is rather variable. Thus, it is under- 

Text: Juhani Päivänen 

standable that a universal nomenclature 

may only be an unrealizable vision. “A 

word of caution” (p. 12) is more than 

necessary and it could even have had 

more numerous examples. The word 

of caution has to be kept in mind 

when reading for instance Chapter 10. 

The authors defi ne the terms 

peatland and mire very correctly (p. 

3-4). However, they do not justify why 

they prefer using peatland instead of 

mire (even in the name of the book) 

although the focus is on mire ecosystem 

processes. Here I have to make the 

same comment as I did on the book by 

Charman (2002). “I am not criticising 

the supremacy of the term peatland, 

but I would be curious to know of a 

reasonable cause for this” (Päivänen 

2003).

Peatland succession and development 

is discussed and well presented. However, 

the term terrestrialization (e.g. 

Malmer 1985) does not seem to be 

characteristic enough for the authors 

to describe the development from a 

water ecosystem towards a mesic terrestrial 

ecosystem; they prefer the term 

infi lling. However, they justify their 

own choice and give the synonym in 

parentheses. 

In the book, sparsely forested mires 

are called wooded fens and wooded 

bogs (p. 14 and 121) instead of using 

the earlier terminology (treed fens, 

treed bogs) found at least in Canadian 

literature (Jeglum 1991) and even in 

this book in some graphs and tables 

(Fig. 7.1, Table 9.2), without a proper 

comparison or explanation. 

In several places the authors stress 

an agreeable fact which can be connected 

to any classifi cation: “A basic 

principle of classifi cation is that it is 

purposive; that is, it is done for a specifi 

c purpose or use” (p. 7 and 80). It is 

also very praiseworthy that as ecologists 

they are brave enough to support 

the classifi cation of a soil sample as 

peat if it contains a minimum 80-90% 

organic matter (p. 80). On the other 

hand in pedology and soil science, peat 

is considered a soil layer (horizon); 

thus peat has a thickness not a depth 

(e.g. p. 4). Perhaps, a mire can be said 

to be, for instance, seven metres deep 

(compare a seven metres deep lake), 

but the peat layer formed on the original 

subsoil is rather seven metres thick. 

When reading the book even a 

senior lecturer may every now and 

then become overwhelmed with new 

insights which may help him or her to 

explain ecological processes or mire 

site characteristics with clarity. Just a 

few examples of these: “...peatlands 

behave hydrologically like unregulated, 

shallow reservoirs” (p. 152) or 

the interdependent relationship in the 

complicated temperature regimes in 

the ecosystems of bogs (standing water), 

fens (moving water) and swamps 

(shading of the tree canopies)(p. 183). 

Differences between bogs and fens are 

seen also during winter: “...fens with 

upwelling of water from the mineral 

soil...have cold peat in the summer, 

but can remain frost free during the 

winter” (p. 186). 

The utilization of peatlands by man 

does not seem to have any essential 

share in the book. According to the 

short presentations (Chapter 13), one 

could even argue that the different 

forms of peatland utilization in different 

parts of the world are not perhaps 

in balance. This may depend on the 

fact that the authors have chosen an 

approach where the book concentrates 

on pristine mire and peatland ecosystems 

and that the socio-economical 

aspects are dealt with well-enough in 

earlier literature. Some operational issues 

(like forest fertilization) are also 

dealt with in the context of the basic 

characteristics of mire ecosystems 

(Chapter 9). 

The list of references is considerable 

including some 750 titles. However, 

compiling the list of references is 

always demanding: Are all of the references 

cited really necessary and are all 

of those mentioned in the text also in 

the list? I could not fi nd Heikurainen 

(1977) although cited in Fig. 5.1; 

this must be an annoying omission 

especially for the other author. The 

short glossary has to be acknowledged 

(p. 329-331). Probably, the concept 

for peat mosses (Sphagnum mosses) 

should also have been explained when 

feather mosses are included in the 

glossary. The nature of the book as a 

scientifi c monograph is strengthened 

with a proper index with relevant key 

words. 

As a teacher and non-fi ction author, 

I spent a good and interesting time 

reading the book. The authors have 

to be congratulated for the excellent 

work they have done. The book succeeds 

in providing a comprehensive 

overview of mire (peatland) structure 

and function. The deep, professional 

contents should have been supported 

by better-quality illustrations. The black 

and white photos, most of which have 

obviously been colour ones originally, 

have turned out quite fuzzy. With modern-day 

printing techniques, good-quality 

colour photos are not too expensive 

to reproduce. Attractive illustrations 

could even help the sale of the book! 

The book will serve well to familiarise 

students and scientists with the 

basic ecological principles associated 

with mire (peatland) development. The 

number of books focusing on north- 

ern boreal and hemiboreal mires and 

peatlands is scanty. University-level 

students in mire ecology and related 

fi elds can delight in getting a comprehensive 

reading package. 

References 

Charman, D. 2002. Peatlands and environmental 

change. John Wiley & Sons 

Ltd, Chichester. 312 p. 

Jeglum, J.K. 1991. Defi nition of 

trophic classes in wooded peatlands by 

means of vegetation types and plant 

indicators. Annales Botanici Fennici 

28: 175-192. 

Malmer, N. 1985. Remarks to the 

classifi cation of mires and mire vegetation 

- Scandinavian arguments. Aquilo 

Ser. Botanica 21: 9-17. 

Päivänen, J. 2003. Learning more 

about peatlands as dynamic parts of 

the landscape. Peatlands International 

1/2003: 43. � 

Prof. em. Juhani Päivänen 

Department of Forest Ecology 

University of Helsinki, Finland 

e-mail: juhani.paivanen@helsinki.fi 

New IPS Members 

We welcome the following persons 

and organisations as new 

members of the “peat family”: 

Corporate Members: 

Chile: Sociedad Minera Patagonia 

Peat Ltda. (Claudio Galdames) 

Uganda: Environmental Education 

Foundation (Nicholas Senyonjo) 

USA: Blue Valley Sod (Robert 

Weerts) 

Individual Members: 

Finland: Matti Komulainen, Leena 

Nieminen, Reija Haapanen, 

Ari Laurén, Mirva Leppälä, 

Irene Boreas-Pitkänen, Iida 

Heino, Harri Koivusalo, Matti 

Ruotsalainen 

Philippines: Amado Tolentino 

Swaziland: Mandhla Mehlo 

43

Book Reviews 

Exploring the world’s largest wetlands 

Fraser, L.H. and Keddy, P.A. 

2005: The world’s largest 

wetlands. Ecology and 

conservation. Cambridge 

University Press, Cambridge, 

488 p. ISBN 0-521-83404-X, 

Price: about 110 Euro. 

The few truly extensive global wetland 

regions have been recognized as signifi 

cant ecosystems both in the carbon 

cycle and for their biodiversity. Peatland 

and wetland research has been 

highly fragmented and not necessarily 

published in internationally recognized 

journals as the chief editors of the current 

book, Dr. Fraser, Canada and Dr. 

Keddy, USA quite appropriately state. 

Therefore, getting international scholars 

together to summarize research and 

evaluate the conservation signifi cance 

of globally important large wetlands is 

a valued task. 

Since 1980, the International Association 

for Ecology (INTECOL) has 

organized International Wetlands Conferences 

(www.intecol.net, www.bio. 


uu.nl/intecol). The fourth conference 

held in Ohio, 1992, entitled “Global 

Wetlands - Old World and New” had 

a symposium on the Classifi cation and 

Inventory of World’s Wetlands and the 

presentations appeared subsequently 

as review articles in a special issue of 

Vegetatio (Finlayson & van der Valk 

1995). In 2000, in the “Millennium 

Event” of four wetland societies 

- including the IPS, held in Quebec 

City, the INTECOL conference had 

a special symposium, and the outcome 

of these presentations appeared 

fi ve years later in the form of a book 

(Fraser & Keddy 2005) focusing on the 

ecology and conservation of the largest 

wetlands (actually wetland regions) 

of the earth. 

The wide wetland concept includes 

peat-forming ecosystems - bogs, 

fens, peat swamp forests - as well as 

non-peat wetlands - marshes, riverine 

swamps and fl oodplains, estuaries and 

mangroves (Keddy 2000). With such a 

variety of habitats, seasonality in their 

wetness and overlapping with forest 

ecosystems, it is not 

easy to delineate large 

wetlands and provide 

reliable or consistent 

estimates of the areas 

of the largest wetlands. 

For example, the West 

Siberian Lowland is 

ranked number one 

among the world’s 

wetlands, with an area 

of 2.745 mill. km 2 , containing 

“bogs, mires, 

fens” according to 

the summary table of 

Fraser & Keddy (2005, 

p. 6). The earlier documented 

estimate for the 

total peatland area for 

West Siberia is much 

smaller (although still 

great): 0.76 mill. km 2 

according to Markov 

et al. (in Lappalainen 

1996). Apparently, the 

Text: Pekka Pakarinen 

fi rst, higher fi gure refers to the whole 

lowland consisting of a mosaic of 

peatland-wetlands and the terrestrial 

“upland” habitats. 

In addition to West Siberia, representing 

solely Eurasia, ten major 

wetland regions are treated in the book 

of Fraser and Keddy (2005): 

• the Mackenzie River basin, Hudson 

Bay lowland, Mississippi River 

basin and Prairie potholes of 

North America 

• the Amazon River basin, Pantanal, 

and the Magellanic moorland in 

South America 

• the Congo River basin, Lake Chad 

basin, and River Nile basin in 

Africa 

One book based on a symposium 

can not generally give a regionally 

full coverage of the major wetlands 

of the Earth - for example northern 

Europe and southeastern Asia were 

left out from Fraser & Keddy (2005). 

Earlier treatments (incl. Gore 1983 and 

Whigham et al. 1992) are in this respect 

more comprehensive but without 

recent research contributions. 

In Fraser & Keddy (2005), the 

chapters dealing with northern, mostly 

boreal, mires of Russia and Canada are 

most interesting and deserve special 

attention by peatland ecologists. The 

approaches, terminology and research 

emphases expectedly vary among 

authors and refl ect regional research 

traditions. While biomes or bioclimatic 

zonation are used as a general framework 

for West Siberia (arctic->subarctic->northern-middle-southern 

boreal- 

>hemiboreal->forest-steppe->steppe), 

wetlands of Hudson Bay Lowland in 

Canada are described and analysed 

across a partly corresponding sequence 

of zones (high-subarctic->low-subarctic->high-boreal->mid-boreal). 

The climatic parameters to delimit 

the boreal bioclimatic zones across the 

continents (Eurasia/North America/ 

southern South America) and to fi nd 

geographical ecoclimatic counterparts 

were applied by Tuhkanen (1992). On

the other hand, European as well as 

North American studies have demonstrated 

the signifi cance of climate for 

the geographic distribution of major 

peatland complexes. 

Although the focus of the book is 

on wetlands (“wetland massifs”) covering 

vast expanses of landscape and 

often forming a mosaic of terrestrial, 

telmatic and aquatic habitats, the actual 

landscape-level illustrations of wetland 

complexes are rare in this book. The 

usage of land classifi cation maps, 

vegetation maps, color photos and air 

photos were the kinds of visualisations 

which the reader would welcome, especially 

when the fi nal chapter ends with 

an explicit hope that the book should 

particularly inspire and guide protection 

efforts of wetlands. The other, implicit 

objective is in any case, achieved: 

showing gaps and research needs in 

regional wetland ecology and directing 

future research to distant regions. 

References 

Finlayson, C.M. and van der Valk, A.G. 

(eds) 1995. Classifi cation and inventory 

of the world’s wetlands. Vegetatio 

118(1-2):1-192. 

Gore, A. 1983. Mires: swamp, bog, 

fen and moor. Regional studies. Ecosystems 

of the World 4B. 479 p. 

Keddy, P.A. 2000. Wetland ecology. 

Principles and conservation. Cambridge 

University Press, Cambridge, 

614 p. ISBN 0-521-78367-4. 

Lappalainen, E. 1996. Global peat 

resources. International Peat Society, 

Jyskä. 359 p. + 7 app. ISBN 952-90- 

7487-5. 

Tuhkanen, S. 1992. The climate of 

Tierra del Fuego from a vegetation 

geographical point of view and its ecoclimatic 

counterparts elsewhere. Acta 

Botanica Fennica 145:1-64. 

Whigham, D.F., Dykyjova, D. and 

Hejny, S. (eds) 1992. Wetlands of the 

world 1. Inventory, ecology and management. 

Kluwer Acad. Publ., 768 p. � 

Dr. Pekka Pakarinen 

Department of Biological and 

Environmental Sciences 


e-mail: pekka.pakarinen@helsinki.fi 

Permanent Experiments on 

Drained Peatlands in Russia 

Since the beginning of the 

1900’s, extensive and sophisticated 

wetland research 

has been conducted in Russia 

and the Soviet Union. 

Basic research as well as applied research 

within both agriculture and 

forestry was performed. Lately, especially 

since the beginning of the 

1990’s, the fi nancing 

of peatland 

research in Russia 

has drastically decreased, 

and many 

long-term series 

have been interrupted. 

Because 

of this regressive 

development, the 

documentation of 

Russian long-term 

experimentation 

was found 

important by 

prominent Russian 

scientists such as 

B.S. Maslov, V.K. 

Konstantinov and 

B.V. Babikov. 

The book 

on “Permanent 

experiments on 

drained peatlands 

in Russia” (398 

pages), written 

mainly in Russian, 

presents basic information on the 

peatland experiments, which were established 

at different times within the 

territory of the Russian Federation. 

The aims of the experiments were to 

study the peatland ecosystem as well 

as site transformation under the infl uence 

of drainage, forestry and agricultural 

use. The publication includes an 

English summary of 39 pages. 

Information obtained within the 

experimental sites records the results 

Text: Erkki Ahti 

of multidiscipline investigations, 

including peat soil properties, drainage 

system arrangements etc. that characterize 

wetlands in general. 

The editors are Acad. B.S. Maslov, 

Acad. V.K. Konstantinov, Prof. B.V. 

Babikov (Russia) and, as regards technical 

editing and part of the English 

text, Dr. For. Erkki Ahti (Finland). 

Many of the experiments have inter- 

Российская академия сельскохозяйственных наук 

Санкт-Петербургский научно-исследовательский 

институт лесного хозяйства 

Научно-исследовательский институт леса Финляндии 

МЕЛИОРАТИВНО-БОЛОТНЫЕ 

СТАЦИОНАРЫ РОССИИ 

PERMANENT EXPERIMENTS ON 

DRAINED PEATLANDS IN RUSSIA 

Составители: Edited by: 

Б.С. Маслов, В.К. Константинов, B.S. Maslov, V.K. Konstantinov, 

Б.В. Бабиков, Э. Ахти B.V. Babikov, E. Ahti 

national value, and could provide a 

valuable basis for cooperation between 

Russian and European (EU) researchers. 

The publication is available at the 

Finnish Forest Research Institute, 

e-mail erkki.ahti@metla.fi . � 

Erkki Ahti 

Finnish Forest Research Institute 

e-mail erkki.ahti@metla.fi 

45

Book Reviews 

A Thorough Introduction to the Finnish 

Mires in Two Illustrative Volumes 

In connection with the International 

Mire Conservation 

Group field symposium 

in Finland in July 2006, the 

Finnish organizers published 

two attractive books, which 

are briefly reviewed below: 

Tapio Lindholm & Raimo 

Heikkilä (eds.): Finland 

- land of mires. The Finnish 

Environment 23/2006, The 

Finnish Environment Institute. 

270 p. ISBN 952-11- 

2295. Price 35 Euro. 

The book consists of a preface and 

27 independent articles on different 


topics dealing with Finnish mires. The 

number of authors is 29. Each one is 

an indisputable expert in his/her own 

special fi eld (e.g. geology, geography, 

hydrology, limnology, botany, nature 

conservation and even in linguistics). 

The articles describing the bedrock, 

landforms, climate, and water systems 

give reasonable background information, 

which is necessary when trying to 

understand the initiation and development 

of mire ecosystems and peat 

formation in Finland. However, it is a 

pity that information on the development 

of peat deposits is restricted only 

to the height “increment” (p. 89-93), 

since results of studies concerning peat 

and carbon accumulation rates during 

different time periods following the 

last glacial period 

in different parts 

of the country 

are also available 

(e.g. Turunen 

2003). 

In the book, 

Ruuhijärvi and 

Lindholm discuss 

the diffi culties 

of establishing 

a uniform 

international 

mire classifi cation 

system in 

a creative way. 

The obstacles 

to reaching any 

agreeable system 

are due to different 

scientifi c 

schools, the high 

variability of 

mire ecosystems 

in different parts 

of the world, 

delimitation of 

mires from mineral 

soil forests, 

Text: Juhani Päivänen 

and Meeri Pearson 

and the use of vernacular words often 

associated with mires etc. Thus they 

come to the reasonable conclusion that 

“... the best common understanding 

of mire vegetation and classifi cation is 

reached by understanding the ecological 

continuums in mires” (p. 121). 

The editors state that they have 

wanted to give different schools of 

mire studies the possibility to meet 

together. However, peatland utilization 

and the research done to support the 

appropriate use of mires for the benefi 

t of mankind are not covered widely 

enough nor objectively. 

This is the main shortfall of the 

beautiful book, in that it also restricts 

its use as a text book for all people 

interested in boreal mires. Partly, 

the papers also refl ect a one-sided 

tendency not usually associated with 

articles written by scientists. Especially, 

the article “Destruction of mires in 

Finland” (p. 179-192) is biased and 

even contains some incorrect fi gures 

for mire areas under different kinds of 

utilization without a proper reference 

to the sources used. 

In the preface, the editors claim 

that the book is the fi rst one written 

in English covering the characteristics 

of mires in Finland. This may be true 

from the editors’ point of view, which 

seems to be quite narrow-minded. 

However, we have to recognise that 

there have also been earlier attempts to 

provide overviews in English of mires 

(and even their use) in Finland (e.g. 

Päivänen 1972, Laine 1982, Vasander 

1996). 

References 

Laine, J. 1982. (ed.) Peatlands and their 

utilization in Finland. Finnish Peatland 

Society and Finnish National Committee 

of the International Peat Society. 

Helsinki. 139 s.

Päivänen, J. 1972. (ed.) Finnish peatlands 

and their utilization. Suoseura ry. 

- Finnish Peatland Society. Lauttakylä. 

61 p. 

Turunen, J. 2003. Past and present 

carbon accumulation in undisturbed 

boreal and subartic mires: a review. Suo 

54(1): 15-28. 

Vasander, H. 1996 (ed.) Peatlands 

in Finland. Finnish Peatland Society. 

Helsinki. 168 p. 

Raimo Heikkilä, Tapio Lindholm 

& Teemu Tahvanainen 

(eds.): Mires of Finland 

- Daughters of the Baltic Sea. 

The Finnish Environment 

28/2006, The Finnish Environment 

Institute. 166 p. 

ISBN 952-11-2319-2. Price 30 

Euro. 

The book presents a transect of mire 

nature from Finnish Lapland in the 

north to the hemiboreal mires on the 

southern coast of Finland. The main 

aim of the book is to function as an 

excursion guide to the mire areas visited 

in connection with the international 

fi eld symposium of IMCG. 

The book is heavily illustrated with 

high-quality colour photos. Particularly 

demonstrative and at the same time attractive 

are those containing a specially 

detailed foreground (like Saxifraga 

hirculus, p. 19 or Vaccinium oxycoccos, p. 

89) with the site at landscape level in 

the background. Both are clear enough 

for recognition. 

Most of the mire areas are shown 

in parallel both on a topographic map 

(to scale) and in a false-colour infrared 

aerial photograph (almost on the same 

scale). But why is the information 

about the locality (exact coordinates 

or at least the name of the municipality) 

missing as this would have enabled 

readers to visit the real mire area 

without a personal guide? The oblique 

aerial views over the described mire 

areas reveal the beautiful surface patterns 

and water tracks. These almost 

give a better idea of the mire structure 

than walking through or fl ying over the 

terrain. Congratulations! 

The editors have not had time or 

energy to consider the terminology 

used by different 

authors. For example, 

the special 

phenomenon causing 

mire initiation 

and development in 

Fennoscandia, and 

especially on the 

coast of the Gulf 

of Bothnia, is called 

land uplift (p. 31, 

57, 67) also known 

as land upheaval (p. 

10) and rising land 

(p. 3, in the previous 

book reviewed). 

The correct term 

peat thickness (p. 

55) is replaced in 

several places by 

the term peat depth 

(p. 41, 87), which is 

not recommended 

for describing a soil 

horizon. 

Restoration of 

drained mires seems 

to be a key issue 

in the context of 

nature conservation. Too often, areabased 

targets are presented for this 

activity. In the strategies of administrative 

bodies, there are recommendations 

that all the drained mires included 

in the expanded conservation areas 

should be restored. Thus, the partly 

sceptical observations (p. 108-112, 

144-146) can be read with satisfaction. 

These fi ndings have to be taken 

seriously. The limited funding available 

should evidently be directed from 

operational scale restoration towards 

basic research (restoration ecology, 

hydrology, pedology). 

We were astonished to fi nd an 

article written by Veikko Valovirta (p. 

132-133) in the book. This well-known 

forester and geologist passed away in 

2001, and putting him down as the 

author may confl ict with the ethical 

and historical truths required of the 

responsible editors. 

To summarize, one has to admit 

that the format of the presentation is 

much more a high-quality collection 

of scientifi c papers describing some 

representative Finnish mire areas, 

complexes and sites than an excursion 

guide. For a foreigner, it gives a reveal- 

ing insight into the fi eld in question. 

Even an ordinary Finn interested in 

these wet habitats will benefi t by reading 

the book. � 

Prof. em. Juhani Päivänen 


e-mail: juhani.paivanen@helsinki.fi 

Meeri Pearson 


e-mail: meeri.pearson@helsinki.fi 

Peat News in your Inbox? 

If you are a member of the IPS and 

wish to know about the activities of 

the “peat family” on a more regular 

basis than by reading Peatlands 

International, we invite you to order 

our monthly e-mail newsletter Peat 

News. 

You can send a request 

including your e-mail address 

to ips@peatsociety.org. The 

subscription is included in the 

membership fee. Peat News is 

sent out at the end of each month 

to about 1,030 IPS members. The 

latest issue can also be found at 

www.peatsociety.org. � � 

47

World leader in biofuels 

Vapo has pellet production facilities in 

Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Estonia and 

Poland. Total production capacity is over 

800.000 tonnes. 

The product range consists of wood 

pellets, peat pellets, cat litter wood pellets 

and industrial wood and peat briquettes. 

The pellets are available in bulk, big bags, 

and small bags for retail. 

Vapo Pellets are produced according to 

rigorous quality criteria in carefully controlled 

conditions. The network of pellet plants, 

extensive storage capacity and flexible 

logistics ensure that Vapo can provide 

reliable deliveries all over Europe. 

Vapo seeks to work with its customers 

to build solid, long-term business relationships. 

It already has more than 60 years of 

experience as a producer and supplier of 

biofuels. 


Vapo Pellets 

Plant of Vapo Group Partner´s Plant

New peat production method and 

successful rewetting at Aitoneva Text and photos: 


This year’s spring excursion 

of the Finnish Peatland 

Society (Suoseura) led to 

Aitoneva, an old and wellknown 

peat production area 

in Southwest Finland near 

the village of Kihniö. 

The about 30 participants met at the 

Aitoneva Peat Museum and heard 

fi rst an introduction by Pirkko Selin, 

Director of Vapo Oy, on the importance 

and impact of peat production in 

Finland as well as on the new harvesting 

method currently being tested at 

Aitoneva. 

New peat production 

technique 

The new method, developed by Vapo, 

comprises excavating the wet peat 

from a relatively small area of the peatland 

and pumping it to an asphalt fi eld 

where the fuel peat is spread to dry 

within 24 hours on average. Solar panels, 

as well as the natural sun and wind, 

support this drying process. 

Peat drying on the new biomass dryer with sun collectors. 

Afterwards, Juha 

Korpi from Vapo 

Oy spoke about 

the technical details 

of the new 

technique and 

made the attendants 

familiar with 

its advantages. 

These are, among 

others, to minimize 

the environmental 

impacts 

of peat production 

locally and 

globally, to reduce 

the dependence 

on weather conditions 

for drying 

by using solar and 

wind energy, to 

utilize peripheral 

and shallow peat 

layers as well as to 

accelerate the creation 

of restored 

peatlands as carbon 

sinks. Addi- 

The members of Suoseura could easily notice that mosses have regrown 

up to a thickness of about 70 cm within the last 40 years. 

tionally, the new method can decrease 

production costs and further improve 

the quality of the fi nal product. 

Less GHG emissions 

Niko Silvan from the Finnish Forest 

Research Institute (Metla) gave an 

insight into the reasearch done on the 

environmental impact of the method. 

His team has investigated the impacts 

on dust, noise, water and greenhouse 

gas emissions during the previous year 

and the fi rst results are very promising. 

However, further investigations 

have to be made to fully understand 

the exchange mechanisms and to draw 

fi nal conclusions. It is estimated that 

the new production method will not 

replace the currently used harvesting 

49

The area where peat is harvested using the new method is much smaller than traditional peat 

production areas. In the foreground the test boxes to regrow Sphagnum moss. 

method where peat is milled and dried 

on large open peatlands, but it will 

become a welcome addition in certain 

areas. 

Last, but not least, the participants 

enjoyed a movie from the 1950’s showing 

how block peat was cut, dried and 

collected by hard labour in these times. 

After the theoretical session, the 

group visited the excavation area, 

where deep layers of peat, up to 6 

m thick, were visible. Following peat 

extraction, tests are now being carried 

out to re-establish Sphagnum mosses 

and other typical bog vegetation 

on the bottom of the cleared areas. 

Technicians believe that, with this new 

method, 1 ha of peat excavation area 

can be compared to 10-20 ha using 

the traditional method, as the peat is 

extracted within a much shorter time 

and with less environmental impact. 

The attendants then drove to the asphalt 

fi eld biomass dryer about one km 

from the excavation site. There, various 

scenarios of drying the peat, including 

different shapes, the use of collectors 

and mixing techniques are being tested 

for their productivity in cooperation 

with the University of Jyväskylä. 

It is estimated that, compared with 

more traditional methods, about 20 

times more fuel peat can be produced 

within the same time using this new 

technique. 


Nature trail shows successful 

rewetting 

As the fi nal destination of the excursion, 

the members of Suoseura visited 

the nature trail at Aitoneva. 

The path touches old peat production 

areas where block peat cutting 

ceased in the 1950s and which have renaturated 

without human interventions 

to a remarkable peatland and forest 

landscape with a vegetation cover some 

50 cm thick on average. Even Sphagnum 

mosses about 70 cm long were 

found and proudly presented to the 

astonished visitors. Later on the group 

saw areas where peat harvesting had 

been given up in 2002. There, a small 

lake had formed from rain and melt 

water which is a very attractive habitat 

for local birds, such as the whooper 

(Cygnus cygnus) and several duck species. 

On one side, the lake has gradually 

evolved into a wetland where pioneer 

plants, such as cotton grass and mosses 

have become well established within 

the last three seasons and provide a 

good growing environment for Spagnum 

mosses. There, tests are being 

carried out, within the Recipe project, 

to monitor growth and emissions of 

the plants depending on the water 

level. Additionally, old peat machinery, 

such as excavators, left in the area 50 

years ago, attracted the interest of the 

participants. 

After an interesting day which 

included many new insights for the 

attending scientists and peat production 

experts, the participants enjoyed a 

smoke sauna and a delicious dinner at 

Metla’s research station in Kourajärvi. 

More info on the peat museum and 

nature trail is available on the Internet 

at www.vapo.fi /fi n/palvelut/ymparisto__ja_yhteiskunta/ymparistokohteet_ja_turvemuseo/aitoneva/?id=282. 

� 


IPS Communications Manager 

susann.warnecke@peatsociety.org 

Peatland vegetation establishes itself on former peat production areas in Finland - here four 

years after rewetting.

180 Years in the Moor – The departure 

of Hermann Wasser means the end of 

an era for Griendtsveen AG 

On 19 May 2006, the 

Griendtsveen AG held a celebration 

in the Emsland Moor 

Museum in Geeste, Groß 

Hesepe in the northwest of 

Germany to say goodbye 

to their former company 

secretary, Hermann Wasser, 

who had recently gone into 

retirement. 

A good 100 people took up the invitation, 

including people from the peat 

industry, the local government, and 

friends and partners of Griendtsveen 

AG. The departure of Hermann 

Wasser will mean the end of an era for 

Griendtsveen AG. The secretary’s family 

had been involved in the company 

almost since its founding in 1853. Four 

generations of the Wasser family have 

worked for Griendtsveen AG and their 

predecessors which is refl ected in 180 

years of service. In his speech, the 

chairman of Griendtsveen AG, Guus 

van Berckel, traced the history of the 

Wasser family and of peat production 

through these 180 years. At the 

same time he spoke about the life of 

Hermann Wasser’s grandfather, who 

at the age of 12 had already worked 

in the moor and who later worked for 

Griendtsveen in England. He also referred 

to the varied history of peat as 

raw material. 

The Moor Museum offered the 

ideal location for this, providing people 

with the opportunity to fi nd out about 

the history of the moors and peat 

mining. At fi rst, peat was used as fuel 

for households and industry; later it 

was mainly used as bedding in stables. 

Due to the increasing motorisation, it 

seemed that for the time being, peat 

was no longer required. But even in 

these diffi cult times, the managers of 

the Griendtsveen company showed 

business fl air and developed the market 

for peat to be used 

in the production 

of activated 

carbon. 

But also this 

use increasingly 

declined, meaning 

that the use of 

peat in horticulture 

became its most 

important role. 

Guus van Berckel 

pointed out that 

there were many 

diffi cult times to 

overcome, but in 

leading positions, 

such as manager 

of the plant, the 

Wasser family 

always helped to 

get through these 

times, so that even 

after Hermann 

Wasser’s retirement the company can 

look to a promising future. 

In his speech, Guus van Berckel repeatedly 

quoted short takes from fi lm 

documentaries from various epochs. 

These were musically accompanied 

by a member of the 6th generation, 

namely Guus van Berckel’s eldest son 

Govert, who underscored the quotes 

with piano music. It became clear that 

through the years not only an economic 

relationship, but also a deeply personal 

relationship developed between 

the owner’s family and the Wasser’s 

family. At the end of his speech, Guus 

van Berckel revealed a work of art 

depicting a disused excavator which 

Hermann Wasser’s colleagues had done 

especially for him in order to symbolically 

represent his contribution to the 

“brown gold”. 

In his speech, Hermann Wasser 

fi rstly expressed his thanks once again 

for the surprise gift from his col- 

Text: Remi Almagro Ponce 

Hermann Wasser (left) and Guus van Berckel. Photo: Horst Heinrich 

Bechtluft 

leagues who, with active help from 

his wife, had already “kidnapped” 

him and taken him off on a short 

trip to Ireland in the autumn of last 

year in order to celebrate his in-house 

leave-taking. “Bring enough luggage 

for three days and your passport” was 

the only information which Hermann 

Wasser received during the one-month 

preparation time. His delight and 

astonishment increased all the more 

as he realised the destination at the 

fl ight counter. In a typical Irish country 

house atmosphere, they had the opportunity 

to get to know the country and 

people, and also the peat culture in the 

area during a visit to Harte Peat Ltd. in 

Monaghan. The factory manager, Mr. 

John Ward, led Herman Wasser and his 

colleagues around the Irish peatlands 

for half a day, explaining the production 

methods used on site. It goes 

without saying that a trip to Dublin 

to visit the St. Patrick’s Cathedral and 

51

Hermann Wasser and his colleagues during the surprise trip to Ireland. Photo: Griendtsveen 

experience the nightlife was scheduled, 

which of course involved typical 

Irish Folk music and the Riverdance. 

But also the countryside offered the 

Griendtsveen employees lots to do, for 

example the visit to a colossal tumulus 

in Newgrange, Boyne. The trip was 

awe-inspiring for all participants and 

an appropriate setting for Hermann 


Wasser and the Griendtsveen to say 

goodbye to each other. 

In his speech, Hermann Wasser 

referred to the cooperation with the 

management, which had always been 

good. But he did not forget to also 

point out the contribution of the 

employees who, like himself, contributed 

to the success of the company. 

The Earth’s been good to us. 

We’re returning the favour. 

To conclude, Mr. Wasser also pointed 

out that a moor without water is in any 

case inconceivable, but because of his 

name (Wasser is the German word for 

water), he shall for ever remain connected 

with the moor. 

Griendtsveen AG is active in peat 

and clay extraction in northwest Germany. 

The company delivers peat raw 

materials and clay pellets to substrate 

producers in the Netherlands, Belgium, 

France and Germany and produces 

substrates for professional horticulture. 

Griendtsveen AG is a family business 

which has now been run for fi ve generations. 

The company headquarters 

are in Scharrel, in the municipality of 

Saterland (Germany, Lower Saxony). 

� 

Remi Almagro Ponce 

Legal Affairs 

Griendtsveen AG 

Hauptstrasse 343 

26683 Saterland - Scharrel 

Germany 

e-mail: info@griendtsveen.de 

As one of Ireland's foremost energy providers, Bord na Móna contributes to the security of 

Ireland's energy supply by reducing our national dependence on non-indigenous sources. 

Now, through our environmental services and products, our objective is to 

be a leading provider of air emission and wastewater pollution control solutions. 

But it's not only through our high performance environmental products, laboratory services 

and environmental consultancy that we will be working for a cleaner environment. 

We’re committed to the Wise Use of Peatlands which balances the use of peatlands to meet 

people's needs with their conservation for their scientific and ecological benefits. 

And we’re doing business in an environmentally responsible way; all Bord na Móna peat 

is produced in line with strict criteria set out under nine Integrated Pollution Control Licences. 

Pioneers in the supply of green power from wind, we have secured planning permission to 

install Ireland’s largest onshore wind farm in Co. Mayo. 

With these changes and more, we're working with the environment for a better future.

Fuel Peat Employs up to 16,000 People 

in the European Union 

Text and graphics: Arvo Leinonen 

and Teuvo Paappanen 

Introduction 

Six countries produce and use fuel peat 

inside the EU territory. These are Finland, 

Ireland, Sweden, Estonia, Latvia 

and Lithuania. In order to chart the socio-economic 

impacts of the fuel peat 

industry, the European Peat and Growing 

Media Association (EPAGMA) 

commissioned a survey of the importance 

of peat in the EU. 

The survey was made on the basis 

of country reports prepared in the individual 

countries and it contains information 

on peat producers, peat users, 

energy and socio-economic impacts of 

peat use in the EU. The importance of 

fuel peat is described at the European 

Union, national, regional and local 

level. The role of peat in security of 

energy supply is also discussed. This 

article is an overview from the original 

summary report, which was made by 

VTT in Finland. 

The use of fuel peat is concentrated 

in certain countries and therefore the 

signifi cance of peat at EU level is not 

necessarily recognized. Only 0.2% of 

EU’s primary energy consumption is 

covered by peat, but this gives only 

a partial picture of the signifi cance 

of peat. According to the survey, the 

socio-economic impacts of peat use in 

producing countries are quite signifi 

cant. Peat production creates jobs, 

which are usually located in sparsely 

populated areas and therefore peat 

equalizes living opportunities between 

towns and rural areas. The total employment 

of the fuel peat industry is 

up to 16,000 man-years. Peat concerns 

more people than just those employed, 

because almost two million people get 

heating energy from peat. The value 

of fuel peat sales is about 400 million 

Euros. 

In the main peat user countries peat 

has an important role in the country´s 

energy management. Peat is used to 

produce combined heat and power 

(CHP), condensing power and district 

heat. CHP plants produce both heat 

and electricity and by this technology 

the effi ciency of the plant can be 

raised well above the effi ciency of a 

conventional condensing power plant. 

Peat use is most widespread in Finland, 

where about 20% of the CHP-production 

and district heat is produced with 

peat. Also about 8% of electricity is 

generated with peat, which is about the 

same share as in Ireland. In Finland, 

peat is mostly used in co-combustion 

with other solid fuels like wood, the 

share of peat being typically close to 

50%. In Sweden, the role of peat in 

energy management as a whole is not 

seen to be as signifi cant as in Finland; 

still the share of peat in CHP and 

district heating plants is around 5%. 

Estonia is the largest exporter of fuel 

peat in the EU; only a minor part of 

Estonian peat is used in domestic 

energy production. 

Peat has a signifi cant role in the 

security of energy supply. Large 

quantities of peat can be stored in 

decentralized storages on production 

sites. Although peat production is quite 

weather-dependent, the amount of 

reserve supply in general corresponds 

to the use of at least half a year, which 

is much more than the reserve of some 

other fuels. 

The use of forest chips, forest-industry 

by-products and agro-biomasses 

is increasing as an alternative to peat. 

The availability and quality of these 

fuels are not as good as those of peat 

and there are also technical restrictions 

of boilers which can limit the use. 

Stable quality and the price of peat 

are additional factors that improve the 

security of energy supply. 

Fuel Peat Resources and Peat 

Production 

Technically and economically viable 

fuel peat resources in EU countries 

are huge, approximately 1,460 Mtoe 

(million tons of oil equivalent). A signifi 

cant part of these resources, about 

1,100 Mtoe are located in Finland. 

These resources are large if compared 

to present use. Only about 1% of 

Finnish bogs are used for peat production. 

Sweden also has plenty of bogs; 

the technically and economically usable 

peat resources are 240 Mtoe. The Irish 

peat resources are approximately 50 

Mtoe. 

Fig. 1: R&D of production machinery has kept peat competitive compared with other fuels. 

The picture shows a combination of ridging and milling. 

53

Production, ktoe 

1800 

1600 

1400 

1200 

1000 

800 

600 

400 

200 

0 

Finland Ireland Sweden Estonia Latvia Lithuania 

Fig. 2: The average annual production volume of fuel peat in the EU countries. MP: milled peat, SP: sod peat and 

BR: briquettes. 

The total fuel peat production area in 

EU countries is about 290,000 ha, of 

which about 175,000 ha are actively 

used and the rest are reserve areas, 

which, for different reasons, are not 

used at the moment. The annual production 

volume is 3,270 ktoe, about 38 

TWh, which corresponds to 40 million 

cubic meters of milled peat. Milled 

peat is the most common form of fuel 

peat, reaching about 80% of the total 

production. The share of sod peat is 

15% and briquettes 5%. The biggest 

producing countries are Finland and 

Ireland (Fig. 2). 

The number of peat producers 

in the EU is over 600. These can be 

divided into three groups. The large 


companies, Vapo Oy and Turveruukki 

Oy in Finland, Board na Móna in 

Ireland and Råsjö Torv AB in Sweden 

(Neova) produce approximately 80% 

of all fuel peat in the EU. Swedish and 

Estonian companies can be regarded 

as medium sized enterprises in the 

peat sector. The third group comprises 

small-scale or private producers. In 

Finland, they number about 250 and 

their combined share of the total 

production is 10%. In Ireland, approximately 

300 small-scale contractors 

produce sod peat for households and 

their combined share of the Irish peat 

market is 20%. 

BR 

SP 

MP 

Fuel Peat Use 

in the EU 

The total use of fuel 

peat in the EU is 

about 3,370 ktoe (39 

TWh) of which 45% 

is used for CHP 

production and 38% 

for production of 

condensing power. 

The share of peat 

in district heating is 

about 10% and in 

residential heating 

about 8% of the 

total. The use varies 

between countries. 

The three main 

users are Finland, 

Ireland and Sweden, of which Finland 

is clearly the biggest, with a peat use of 

2,000 ktoe, corresponding to 60% of 

the total fuel peat use in the EU. 

In Finland, the number of large 

peat-fi red CHP power plants is about 

55. The boiler output of individual 

plants is between 20 and 550 MWth 

and the total output is about 7,200 

MWth. On average, almost half of the 

total fuel input is peat. Power plants 

are municipal or industrial plants, or 

serve both sectors. Industrial power 

plants exists mainly in the forest sector. 

There peat is used to improve the heat 

value of by-products of the sector. 

Condensing power plants are the third 

signifi cant group of users (Fig. 4). Fin- 

Fig. 3: The development of production machinery and methods has reduced environmental effects. The fi gure shows a pneumatic harvester, 

which uses secondary cyclones to reduce dusting.

land has one large 

condensing power 

2000 

plant and 18 CHP 

1800 

power plants that 

1600 

are also capable of 1400 

producing condens- 

1200 

ing power. 

1000 

In Ireland, 

800 

peat is used for 

condensing power 

600 

production (Fig. 4.). 400 

Sweden uses peat 

200 

at municipal CHP 

0 

plants and district 

heating plants. 

Estonia uses only 

a minor part of its 

domestic production; 

over 50% of 

the milled peat is used for manufacturing 

briquettes of which almost 90% 

are exported. About 60% of the sod 

peat production is also exported. 

Latvia and Lithuania have formerly 

been signifi cant peat users, but nowadays 

the use is very marginal. 

Peat use, ktoe 

The Importance of Peat 

Varies between Countries 

Finland 

At national level, the volume of peat 

used and the importance of peat are 

linked. At EU level, peat has only a 

minor role in energy management. 

Only 0.2% of EU’s primary energy 

consumption is covered by peat. In the 

six EU countries included in this study, 

the corresponding value is 3%. 

In the two largest peat user countries, 

Finland and Ireland, 5 - 7% of 

primary energy is produced with peat 

(Fig.5). In Finland, peat is a signifi cant 

fuel in CHP production and in district 

heating. In these categories peat covers 

about 20% of the total fuel use. About 

8% of condensing power is geneated 

with peat. In Ireland this share is 

about the same. In Ireland peat is also 

widely used by private households. 

About one-fi fth of all peat is burned 

in fi replaces and it is estimated that 

approximately one million people get 

heating energy from peat. In Sweden 

peat covers only 0.7% of the primary 

energy, but in CHP and in district 

heating peat has a share of 4% and 6% 

respectively. 

The regional benefi ts of peat production 

and use are mostly directed to 

Ireland 

Sweden 

Estonia 

Latvia 

Fig. 4: Average current peat consumption by user sector in different countries. 

rural areas which suffer from emigration 

of young people and from a workforce 

with a high average age, as well as 

from relatively low income. Therefore 

peat brings extra income to people 

and regions which are less developed 

and economically disadvantaged. All 

peat producing countries experience 

the positive effects of peat use at local 

level. These benefi ts are most evenly 

divided in Finland, because peat is used 

in almost every part of the country. In 

Ireland the peat production is centered 

in the Midlands which up to recent 

years would have been considered an 

economically depressed area. Nowadays, 

the economic state being better, 

peat use is less signifi cant for the Irish 

economy. Also in Sweden and in Estonia 

peat production is concentrated 

in certain areas. The counties of Pärnu 

and Tarto are the main production areas 

in Estonia as are the surroundings 

of Stockholm and Uppsala in Sweden. 

The Socio-Economic Impacts 

of the Fuel Peat Industry 

The total employment effect of fuel 

peat production and use is 13,000 

- 16,000 man-years depending on the 

assessment method. The number includes 

both direct and indirect employment. 

Indirect employment can be as 

much as half of the total employment 

of the fuel peat industry. The employment 

effects are most signifi cant in 

Finland, about 7,000 man-years. Peat 

concerns more people than the actual 

employment fi gures show. It can be 

Lithuania 

Residential heat 

District heat 

Condensing power 

Industrial CHP 

Municipal CHP 

estimated that almost two million people 

get heating energy from peat in the 

EU. In Ireland the number of these 

people is about one million and in Finland 

and in Sweden 400,000 - 480,000 

in both countries. 

The total value of domestic fuel 

peat sales in EU countries is about 390 

million Euros. In addition to this is the 

international trade, the value of which 

is however small compared to domestic 

sales at the moment. The most signifi - 

cant importer of fuel peat is Sweden, 

which imports almost 30% of all peat. 

The biggest exporter is Estonia, where 

almost 60% of the sod peat and 90% 

of the briquettes are exported. 

The Role of Peat in the 

Security of Energy Supply 

Peat has both a short-term and a longterm 

role in the security of energy 

supply. Although peat production is 

highly weather dependent, peat can 

be stored to reserve supply stockpiles, 

which can easily cover the short-term 

interruptions to energy supply. For 

example, reserve supplies in Finland 

and Estonia correspond to the use of 

7 - 17 months. 

The role of peat in energy supply 

is most signifi cant in Finland and 

in Ireland. The fundamental strategy 

of Finnish energy management is to 

emphasize the decentralized energy 

production which consists of many 

fuels and delivery sources and has 

suffi cient domestic content. The use 

of peat and wood are tied together. 

55

Share of peat, % 

25 

20 

15 

10 

5 

0 

Finland Ireland Sw eden Estonia Latvia Lithuania 

Fig. 5: Typical share of peat in different categories of heat and power generation. 

Existing power plants use wood fuels 

as much as availability and technical 

restrictions of boilers allow. In Finnish 

peat-fi red power plants, peat is either 

the main fuel or it supports and supplements 

the use of wood, in particular 

when problems arise with the availability 

and quality of wood. The use 

of wood-based fuels can be in practice 

Fuel peat 

resources, 

ktoe 

Annual peat 

use, 

ktoe 

Number of 

peat 

producers 

Number of 

machine 

and boiler 

manufacturers 

Number of 

peat-fi red 

power plants 

”Number of 

people getting 

heating 

energy from 

peat” 

”Value of 

domestic 

trade, million 

Euro” 

”Value of 

international 

trade, million 

Euro” 

”Employment, 

man-years” 

Table 1: The fuel peat industry in the EU in a nutshell. 


20 - 50% of the total fuel input. Peat 

also decreases the dependence of the 

power generation on imported fuels. 

Good availability and steady price and 

quality of peat make it a good fuel for 

power plants. 

In Finland, the other domestic 

alternatives for peat are wood chips, 

by-products of the forest industry and 

agro-biomasses. 

However, due 

to shortages 

and the low en- 

Peat f rom: ergy density of 

these fuels, they 

Primary energy 

can not replace 

Electricity 

peat. The use 

CHP 

of reed canary 

District heat grass (RCG) as 

Residential heat a fuel is rapidly 

increasing. Due 

to low energy 

density and 

limited arable 

area, the RCG 

can only be a 

supplement 

fuel. The only 

viable alternative 

for peat could be coal, but signifi cant 

amounts of coal can be used only in 

circulating fl uidized-bed boilers, the 

share of which in Finnish power plants 

is small compared to bubbling fl uidized-bed 

boilers. 

Ireland is an island country and due 

to its relative isolation, modest domestic 

fuel resources and lack of extensive 

Finland Ireland Sweden Estonia Latvia Lithuania Total 

1 100 000 47 500 240 000 10 000 57 000 4 000 1 460 000 

1980 984 372 28 0 4 3368 

250 300 25 30 11 11 630 

22 1 9 9 0 0 41 

55 3 20 40 0 7 125 

480 000 1 000 000 390 000 65 000 0 0 1 940 000 

204 153 27 2 0 3 390 

0,5 0,0 16,9 7,1 0,3 0,2 17,9 

7000 2300 1700 2100 0 0 13100

international energy connections, existing 

energy resources must be utilised 

to a maximum. Peat will be used for 

at least the next 15 years, which is the 

life span of the existing power plants. 

What happens then is uncertain; either 

the existing power plants will continue 

to function or they will be closed, 

renewed or replaced by new peat-burning 

stations. The new stations would 

either use advanced technology that 

raises effi ciencies above the present 

38% or plants could start co-fueling 

of peat and CO neutral fuel. Other 

2 

sources of energy, such as nuclear 

power, wind or wave power and bioenergy 

have also been studied. It is still 

important that indigenous resources 

such as peat, hydroelectric power 

and natural gas remain a signifi cant 

contributor to the total energy demand 

in Ireland as part of a balanced energy 

strategy and also as security. 

In Sweden the role of peat in security 

of energy supply as a whole is not 

seen to be as signifi cant as in Finland. 

The share of peat on CHP and DH 

plants is 4% and 6% respectively. To 

guarantee the sustainable utilization 

of peat resources, the Government of 

Estonia has fi xed the annual extraction 

quotas of which only about one-third 

has been utilized annually during the 

last 10 years. This enables even the 

increase of production and use, but 

this does not have an effect on the 

short-term security of energy supply, 

because it takes at least three years to 

prepare new production areas. 

In Latvia and Lithuania the role of 

peat in energy supply is quite low at 

the moment. Natural gas and oil products 

are the main fuels. Wood fuels are 

already an important energy source or 

they can become such. In Latvia there 

are, however, some plans to increase 

the share of peat, up to 5% of the 

primary energy, and also to build a 

reserve supply. Signifi cant amounts of 

gas, coal and fuel oil are imported from 

Russia, which causes insecurity to the 

energy supply, because deliveries can 

be unstable. The closing of Ignalina 

nuclear power plant in Lithuania can 

change the fuel resources of these 

countries in the coming years. � 

Arvo Leinonen and Teuvo Paappanen 

Technical Research Centre of Finland 

e-mail: arvo.leinonen@vtt.fi 

teuvo.paappanen@vtt.fi 

Bord na Móna acquires Edenderry Power Plant 

Bord na Móna has purchased the Edenderry peat-fi red power station from E.On 

UK for € 80 million. The 120 megawatt station was commissioned in 2000 and has 

a remaining operational life of at least 25 years. Edenderry Power, for which Bord 

na Móna is the sole peat supplier, is one of the most effi cient power plants in the 

country. In future, co-fuelling with bio-mass will be introduced. With the investment, 

Bord na Móna aims at expanding its role in the Irish power generation industry and 

to take a further step in diversifying its business. More info: www.bnm.ie. 

Råsjö Torv and Såbi Become Neova 

The companies Råsjö Torv AB in Hudiksvall and SÅBI AB in Jönköping, Sweden, 

who merged in January 2004, are now operating under the new business name of 

Neova. The common brand was launched in August 2006. By producing pellets, 

briquettes, unrefi ned wood fuels and peat, Neova meets the bioenergy needs of 

the Swedish market for big heating plants, municipal properties, industries and 

private homes. Neova belongs to the Finnish Vapo group which is the biggest peat 

producer and the leader within bioenergy in the Baltic region. Mr. Håkan Bjur, who 

is also member of the IPS Executive Board, works as the Managing Director of 

Neova. Mrs. Iwana Abrahamsson is responsible for the business area Peat and Mr. 

Peter Persson for the production. Neova’s head offi ce is situated at Bjälkgatan 1 in 

824 43 Hudiksvall, Sweden, phone: +46 650 547 400, e-mail: info@neova.se. More 

information can be obtained from www.neova.se. 

Bruno Berken Heading for New Challenges 

Bruno Berken, Executive Director of CAS, the French Association for Organic Soil 

Improvers and Growing Media (Chambre Syndicale des Améliorants Organiques 

et Supports de Culture), has left his tasks due to personal circumstances and in 

agreement with the Board of Directors by 5 December 2006. Despite this change, 

the involvement of CAS and the work of the French National Committee of IPS 

will be continued. Mr. Berken would like to thank all IPS members for the nice 

collaboration and the work that was shared during these past 6 years. 

57 

News ticker from the industry

Future IPS Meetings and Symposia 

Peatlands and Climate Change Working Group (CC-WG) 

3rd Meeting, Review of Assessment Report 

Tullamore, Ireland, 8 March 2007 

6th Scientifi c Advisory Board Meeting 


Meeting of 2008 Congress Organizers 


36th Executive Board Meeting 


IPS Convention - Annual Assembly 2007 

Riga, Latvia, 24 - 27 May 2007 

International Symposium and Excursion on Mire 

Conservation, Utilization and Restoration 

together with the International Mire Conservation Group (IMCG) 

Sweden, 25 - 27 June 2007 

Events of related organisations 

HortiAsia 2007 

Chiang Mai, Thailand, 11 - 14 January 2007 

More info: www.hortiasia.com 

International Green Week 

Berlin, Germany, 19 - 28 January 2007 

More info: www.gruenewoche.com 

IPM 2007 

Essen, Germany, 25 - 28 January 2007 

More info: www.ipm-messe.de 

European Renewable Energy Policy Conference 

Brussels, Belgium, 29 - 31 January 2007 

More info: www.erec-renewables.org 

Salon du Vegetal 

Angers, France, 21 - 23 February 2007 

More info: www.salonduvegetal.com 

World Sustainable Energy Days 

Wels, Austria, 28 February - 2 March 2007 

More info: www.wsed.at 

International Trade Fair for Plants 

Dubai, UAE, 6 - 8 March 2007 

More info: www.messe-essen.de 

Metsäpäivät - Forest Days 

Helsinki, Finland, 19 - 20 March 2007 

More info: www.metsapaiva.fi 

Carbon in Peatlands: State-of-the-Art and Future Research 

Wageningen, the Netherlands, 15 - 18 April 2007 

Please contact: carbonconference07@wur.nl 

15th European Biomass Conference and Exhibition 

Berlin, Germany, 7 - 11 May 2007 

More info: www.conference-biomass.com 

A frequently updated list of IPS events and symposia of related organisations is 

posted at www.peatsociety.org. To inform us about future happenings of interest 

for IPS members, please contact ips@peatsociety.org. 


Biannual Conference of the German 

Peat Society 

Bad Muskau, Germany, 20 - 23 July 2007 

More info: www.dgmtev.de 

ISHS-IPS Joint Symposium 

Peat in Horticulture 

at the International Symposium on 

Growing Media and Hydroponics 

Nottingham, UK, 2 - 9 September 2007 

More info: www.ishs.org 

13th International Peat Congress 

After Wise Use - The Future of Peatlands 

Tullamore, Ireland, 9 - 15 June 2008 

More info: www.ipcireland2008.com 

14th International Peat Congress 

Peatlands in Balance 

Stockholm, Sweden, 3 - 8 June 2012 

Russia Power 

Moscow, Russia, 29 - 31 May 2007 

More info: www.russia-power.com 

SWS Europe - 2nd Annual Meeting 

Trebon, Czech Republic, 31 May - 3 June 2007 

More info: www.enki.cz 

IALE World Congress: 25 Years Landscape Ecology - 

Scientifi c Principles in Practice 

Wageningen, the Netherlands, 8 - 12 July 2007 

More info: www.iale2007.com 

West Siberian Peatlands and Carbon Cycle: 

Past and Present 

Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia, 26 - 30 August 2007 

More info: www.peatsociety.org 

Bioenergy 2007 

Jyväskylä, Finland, 3 - 6 September 2007 

More info: www.fi nbioenergy.fi 

Monitoring the Effectiveness of Nature Conservation 

Programmes 

Birmensdorf, Switzerland, 3 - 6 September 2007 

More info: www.wsl.ch 

WETPOL 2007 - 2nd International Symposium on Wetland 

Pollutant Dynamics and Control 

Tartu, Estonia, 16 - 20 September 2007 

More info: www.geo.ut.ee 

Peatland Management and Climate Change 

Weihenstephan, Freising, Germany, 5 - 6 October 2007 

More info: www.dgmtev.de 

Information for Advertisers 

If you wish to place your ad in Peatlands 

International, please contact 

Susann Warnecke at the IPS Secretariat. 

phone: +358 14 3385 440 

e-mail: susann.warnecke@peatsociety.org

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peatlands taitto 2 06.indd - International Peat Society

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