SUCCESSION OF PLANT COMMUNITIES IN PEAT EXTRACTION PITS BASED ON MACROFOSSILS AND CURRENT PLANT ANALYSIS
Joanna Sender, Danuta Urban, Monika Różańska-Boczula, Ewelina Tokarz
Pages: 123-134
Published: 1 Nov 2023
DOI: 10.62991/ES1996238321
Views: 302
Downloads: 46
Abstract: The small water bodies formed after peat excavation undergo spontaneous succession, and the hydrological factor plays a key role in this process. Plant organic matter deposited in the conditions of high wetness retains the structure of plant tissues; hence, it is possible to identify vegetation that forms subfossil communities and reconstruct the succession series by analysing macroscopic plant remains. The aim of the present study was to identify the sequence of the succession series in the post- excavation peat pits of the Łęczna-Włodawa Lakeland by analysis of plant macrofossils.Depending on trophy conditions and water layer thickness, various communities are responsible for initiation of the peat-forming process in the analysed objects of the Łęczna-Włodawa Lakeland. These include underwater Chara meadows (Ostrówek Podyski object), rush communities from the alliance Magnocaricion (Jelino and Krasne objects), and bryophyte communities forming a floating carpet over an open water surface (Podlaski object). The analysed post-excavation pits are currently undergoing a transitional phase of overgrowing. They have become refugia for many rare and protected plant species, e.g. Rhynchospora alba, Scheuchzeria palustris, or Menyanthes trifoliata.
Keywords: peat extraction pits, Łęczna-włodawa plain, peatland’s vegetation, ellenberg index
Cite this article: Joanna Sender, Danuta Urban, Monika Różańska-Boczula, Ewelina Tokarz. SUCCESSION OF PLANT COMMUNITIES IN PEAT EXTRACTION PITS BASED ON MACROFOSSILS AND CURRENT PLANT ANALYSIS. Journal of International Scientific Publications: Ecology & Safety 17, 123-134 (2023). https://doi.org/10.62991/ES1996238321
Back to the contents of the volume
© 2025 The Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. This permission does not cover any third party copyrighted material which may appear in the work requested.
Disclaimer: The Publisher and/or the editor(s) are not responsible for the statements, opinions, and data contained in any published works. These are solely the views of the individual author(s) and contributor(s). The Publisher and/or the editor(s) disclaim any liability for injury to individuals or property arising from the ideas, methods, instructions, or products mentioned in the content.
