numerous, rare wetland birds (e.g. Acrocephalus paludicola, Aquila clanga,
Grus grus and Philomachus pugnax), mammals (e.g. Alces alces, Canis lupus,
Lynx lynx), fish (e.g. Rhodeus sericeus, Aspius aspius, Cobitis taenia) and invertebrates (e.g. Parnassius mnemosyne). The majority of habitats and species of the
Biebrza Wetlands are determined by hydrological processes (groundwater level,
soil saturation, flooding and inundation). Therefore, Wagner and Fo ¨rster (2011),
using the algorithm of habitat sensitivity assessment for climate change provided by
Petermann et al. (2007), reported on the high general sensitivity of wetland habitats
in the Biebrza Valley to possible climate change. For more details on the environmental features of the Biebrza Valley the reader is referred to Banaszuk (2004),
Wassen et al. (2006) or the numerous other scientific publications regarding the
ecology of the Biebrza Wetlands.
Due to the complex structure of land possession and the fact that approximately
40 % of the area of the BNP remains privately owned, a vast share of the wetlands is
agriculturally managed. Agricultural use of the area is dominated by extensive
meadow mowing and – seldom – pasture grazing. Due to exceptional environmental value of the Biebrza Valley, most of the agricultural activities, such as
haymaking, are supported by agro-environmental schemes and direct agricultural
subsidies, co-financed by the European Union.
With regard to the agricultural management of the Biebrza Valley, especially
within the BNP, numerous conflicts arose on the interface of environmental conservation and agricultural management. Conflicts are related to the necessity of
meadow drainage claimed by farmers and local authorities. The pressure of local
stakeholders has escalated in years, when the amount of precipitation in the summer
exceed average values (such as in the years 2010 and 2011, when the sum of
precipitation recorded in the period May–August reached 377 mm and 398 mm,
respectively). Moreover, the fact, that the River Biebrza receives the outflow from
the whole catchment, underpins even more water-related problems, as the water
levels in Biebrza and its tributaries in the river valley are controlled by water
management in the upper parts of the catchment. Large-scale modelling studies
conducted in NE Poland revealed that the climate change-induced outflow variability should be considered at catchment scale (Piniewski et al. 2012). Hence, in
order to derive climate-adapted management strategies for the Biebrza Wetlands,
the analysis should concern the spatial scale of the whole catchment and include all
the stakeholders that are involved in water management.
14.3 Climate Change in the Biebrza Valley
14.3.1 Observations
Among the hydrological processes that induce the function and state of the wetlands
in the Biebrza Valley, precipitation (sums and temporal distribution) and flooding
14 Climate-Induced Challenges for Wetlands: Revealing. . .
213
Grus grus and Philomachus pugnax), mammals (e.g. Alces alces, Canis lupus,
Lynx lynx), fish (e.g. Rhodeus sericeus, Aspius aspius, Cobitis taenia) and invertebrates (e.g. Parnassius mnemosyne). The majority of habitats and species of the
Biebrza Wetlands are determined by hydrological processes (groundwater level,
soil saturation, flooding and inundation). Therefore, Wagner and Fo ¨rster (2011),
using the algorithm of habitat sensitivity assessment for climate change provided by
Petermann et al. (2007), reported on the high general sensitivity of wetland habitats
in the Biebrza Valley to possible climate change. For more details on the environmental features of the Biebrza Valley the reader is referred to Banaszuk (2004),
Wassen et al. (2006) or the numerous other scientific publications regarding the
ecology of the Biebrza Wetlands.
Due to the complex structure of land possession and the fact that approximately
40 % of the area of the BNP remains privately owned, a vast share of the wetlands is
agriculturally managed. Agricultural use of the area is dominated by extensive
meadow mowing and – seldom – pasture grazing. Due to exceptional environmental value of the Biebrza Valley, most of the agricultural activities, such as
haymaking, are supported by agro-environmental schemes and direct agricultural
subsidies, co-financed by the European Union.
With regard to the agricultural management of the Biebrza Valley, especially
within the BNP, numerous conflicts arose on the interface of environmental conservation and agricultural management. Conflicts are related to the necessity of
meadow drainage claimed by farmers and local authorities. The pressure of local
stakeholders has escalated in years, when the amount of precipitation in the summer
exceed average values (such as in the years 2010 and 2011, when the sum of
precipitation recorded in the period May–August reached 377 mm and 398 mm,
respectively). Moreover, the fact, that the River Biebrza receives the outflow from
the whole catchment, underpins even more water-related problems, as the water
levels in Biebrza and its tributaries in the river valley are controlled by water
management in the upper parts of the catchment. Large-scale modelling studies
conducted in NE Poland revealed that the climate change-induced outflow variability should be considered at catchment scale (Piniewski et al. 2012). Hence, in
order to derive climate-adapted management strategies for the Biebrza Wetlands,
the analysis should concern the spatial scale of the whole catchment and include all
the stakeholders that are involved in water management.
14.3 Climate Change in the Biebrza Valley
14.3.1 Observations
Among the hydrological processes that induce the function and state of the wetlands
in the Biebrza Valley, precipitation (sums and temporal distribution) and flooding
14 Climate-Induced Challenges for Wetlands: Revealing. . .
213