Description
The different formations represent successive stages of an evolution that continues to this day and has led, over thousands of years, to the transformation of the lowland bog into a raised bog.
Bogs are of great botanical interest because plant organisms characterised by considerable ecological specialisation grow there. They originate in wet areas where the dead parts of plant organisms, instead of decomposing, continue to accumulate to form peat; this process occurs because the lack of oxygen in the wet soil prevents oxidation processes.
The development of peat bogs is favoured by a cold and wet climate; at our latitudes they are therefore rather rare and, in the past, were frequently exploited for peat extraction.
The Palù Tremole peat bog was also subjected to this type of exploitation, although not to a large extent.
The lowland bog occupies most of the surface area of the wetland and appears as a marshy meadow.
The raised bog develops in flooded depressions and in the Biotope is located in the marshy area occupying its central-eastern part; the extremely rare peat bog rusher (Scheuchzeria palustris) grows there.
The floristically very interesting raised bog typically has a convex, lens-like shape and is determined by the considerable growth of sphagnum mosses (Sphagnum spp.), special mosses capable of retaining a large amount of water. These are arranged in mounds alternating with constantly damp depressions and are adapted to the extreme conditions in which they live: constant water permanence, scarcity of minerals, high degree of acidity.
The presence of some plant species of considerable rarity and several others that are very uncommon gives Palù Tremole an important botanical interest. Among the most notable are various species of sedges (genus Carex), the peat bog rushes, the andromeda (Andromeda polifolia), Lepidotis inundata, the sheathed plumes (Eriophorum vaginatum), the marsh violet (Viola palustris); the two insectivorous plants Drosera anglica and Drosera rotundifolia are also present.
The vertebrate fauna of the peat bog consists of small animals related to the hygrophilous vegetation and water pools. In particular, the alpine newt (Triturus alpestris), the common frog (Rana temporaria) and the viviparous lizard (Zootoca vivipara) can be found here.
Studies
- naturalistic and cadastral definition project
