Habitat restoration starts in Kiaulycia mire
Habitat restoration activities have started in Kiaulycia mire of the Zuvintas Biosphere Reserve where special wide-track tractor is in operation this week. Special mire management equipment is shredding frozen reed and shrubs in an area of several dozen hectares. Winter, when mire is covered with ice, is the time when these areas become accessible to carry out works necessary to restore sedge habitats without destroying fragile vegetation.
These activities are one of the first attempts to restore an area which was once a wide sedge mire stretching from Bukta village in the west up to the southern part of Zuvintas lake.
This territory has been abandoned after the Second World War and was mown only occasionally ever since. This resulted in dramatic change of the landscape – the sedge fen has been overgrowing with reed, black alder and willow shrubs. Last winter parts of it were removed while implementing similar habitat restoration work and with the help of local farmers.
As a Natura 2000 site, Kiaulycia mire is important from conservation point of view because it provides breeding habitat to birds like Aquatic Warbler and Spotted Crake – one of the rarest birds in Europe. Two decades ago there were around thirty of them in this area, while today only a handful remains. Other birds that can be observed here include Short-eared Owl, Montague's Harrier, Common Snipe and Common Redshank.
Reed and shrub removal to restore open mire and regular mowing is very important for protection of these bird species. Habitat restoration activities are part of this EU LIFE project.
