Description
Bogs are ecosystems with unfavourable environmental conditions for the growth of most plants, which is why they contain extremely specialised flora. If they have not been altered by man, they represent one of the few environments on our territory in which vegetation has evolved in a completely natural way, and are therefore particularly interesting from a scientific point of view.
Bogs can be classified into three categories:
- Shallow bogs, the most widespread, with a more or less flat shape, coinciding with the configuration of the terrain; they generally have lush vegetation as their soil is fairly rich in nutrients. Sometimes lowland bogs evolve into raised bogs;
- raised bogs, with a typically convex, sloping shape, resulting from the considerable development of particular bog mosses, the sphagnum moss (Sphagnum spp.), which form mounds;
- transitional bogs, which constitute a transitional environment between the lowland bog and the raised bog and present characteristics intermediate to the two.
These three environments coexist in balance within the Palù Longia Biotope, where the vegetation of the low peat bog covers about half the surface, while the raised bog occupies the central part. In the westernmost portion of the peat bog, the one closest to the road, one can also observe a depressed area with stagnant water, a remnant of the excavations carried out in the past to extract peat; in this marshy area, marsh-type vegetation has developed.
The naturalistic interest of this biotope is predominantly botanical.
Many uncommon or even very rare plant species can be found here, including various species of sedges (genus Carex), the peat bog rushes (Scheuchzeria palustris), the andromeda (Andromeda polifolia), Lepidotis inundata, Rhynchospora alba, and the sheathed plumes (Eriophorum vaginatum).
Also present are the two carnivorous plants Drosera anglica and Drosera rotundifolia, which feed on small insects, thus compensating for the nitrogen deficiency typical of bog soils.
The fauna of the peat bog is not particularly rich, but includes various interesting entities.
In addition to numerous aquatic insects, which live in the watercourses, this environment is home to some valuable vertebrates, including the mountain frog (Rana temporaria), the alpine newt (Triturus alpestris) and the viviparous lizard (Zootoca vivipara).
Studies
- naturalistic and cadastral definition project