known worldwide. This does not mean that wetlands are well protected. The Ramsar
committee reported a loss of 87% of relating habitats since 1700 and a human
interference on 81% of the inland species by human activities only in the last
50 years.
The major effects of wetlands were seen not only in the protection of rare species
among birds, but also for other species, as retention areas for water, as carbon
storage, as filters, as home for many specialized cultures and also as sites for tourism
(The Global Wetland Outlook 2018).
However, enforced by this international attention most countries created legal and
administrational guidelines to protect wetlands. These lead not only to protection of
the remaining wetland ecosystems, but also to restoration of such systems which
were affected by human activities in the past. These were, e.g., the drainage of
wetlands and mires for gaining farmland or for exploiting peat, the side-effect of
regulation of watercourses in form of faster water runoff, the diking of rivers, but
also the side-effects of intensifying of farming by the use of fertilizers and pesticides.
The reduction of such influence would be a major step into a more or less sustainable
protection of wetlands.
The international working councils of the Ramsar bureau lists 2.372 sites of
wetlands covering nearly 253 Mio hectares in 160 states which are protected
(Ramsar Sites Information Service 2019). These contain not only mires, but also
coastal areas, open waters, rivers etc.). However, this fact does not mean that all
Ramsar sites are adequately protected, since conservation in a long-term perspective
needs concrete restrictions and measures. The institutionalization of these protection
initiatives was strong and profound in many countries, however, more endeavors are
needed.
In Europe two prominent regulations are related to the survival and species
composition of wetland habitats, the Council Directive 92/43/EEC on the Conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora (Habitats Directive) and the
Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC)
The Habitats Directive was supported by an Interpretation Manual, latest version
in 2013 (EU 2013). Several European countries since the beginning of the project
worked on the characterization of habitat types and measures in bogs, fens and other
wetlands with detailed information about species, communities and other specifications on protected areas
As both regulations focus on the good ecological and chemical status, all kinds of
anthopogenic influence are matter of monitoring and restoration programmes.
3 Mires, Bogs, Fens and Swamps
Mires, bogs, fens and swamps are ecosystems often located between surface water
bodies and solid, mineral land accumulating organic matter at the soil surface or
water.
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M. Lindner and C. Hobohm
committee reported a loss of 87% of relating habitats since 1700 and a human
interference on 81% of the inland species by human activities only in the last
50 years.
The major effects of wetlands were seen not only in the protection of rare species
among birds, but also for other species, as retention areas for water, as carbon
storage, as filters, as home for many specialized cultures and also as sites for tourism
(The Global Wetland Outlook 2018).
However, enforced by this international attention most countries created legal and
administrational guidelines to protect wetlands. These lead not only to protection of
the remaining wetland ecosystems, but also to restoration of such systems which
were affected by human activities in the past. These were, e.g., the drainage of
wetlands and mires for gaining farmland or for exploiting peat, the side-effect of
regulation of watercourses in form of faster water runoff, the diking of rivers, but
also the side-effects of intensifying of farming by the use of fertilizers and pesticides.
The reduction of such influence would be a major step into a more or less sustainable
protection of wetlands.
The international working councils of the Ramsar bureau lists 2.372 sites of
wetlands covering nearly 253 Mio hectares in 160 states which are protected
(Ramsar Sites Information Service 2019). These contain not only mires, but also
coastal areas, open waters, rivers etc.). However, this fact does not mean that all
Ramsar sites are adequately protected, since conservation in a long-term perspective
needs concrete restrictions and measures. The institutionalization of these protection
initiatives was strong and profound in many countries, however, more endeavors are
needed.
In Europe two prominent regulations are related to the survival and species
composition of wetland habitats, the Council Directive 92/43/EEC on the Conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora (Habitats Directive) and the
Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC)
The Habitats Directive was supported by an Interpretation Manual, latest version
in 2013 (EU 2013). Several European countries since the beginning of the project
worked on the characterization of habitat types and measures in bogs, fens and other
wetlands with detailed information about species, communities and other specifications on protected areas
As both regulations focus on the good ecological and chemical status, all kinds of
anthopogenic influence are matter of monitoring and restoration programmes.
3 Mires, Bogs, Fens and Swamps
Mires, bogs, fens and swamps are ecosystems often located between surface water
bodies and solid, mineral land accumulating organic matter at the soil surface or
water.
314
M. Lindner and C. Hobohm