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Dovainiai Peat-Bog Renaturalisation (3rd stage)

Region: Baltics, Central and Eastern Europe, Lithuania
Author: Gintaras Matiukas, Lithuanian Ornithological Society
Consortium Member: Baltic Ecological Programs Office (ECOLOGIA)
Status: Funded and Ongoing Budget: $1100 Collected: $1100 Needs: $0
Result: The goal is to further restore a peat bog for the creation of wildlife habitat, with provisions for making the bog accessible to birdwatchers schoolgroups.
Donors: Shannon Simrell, Keystone College, the US Baltic Foundation, and the Moriah Fund [February 1997]

Comments from the Virtual Foundation: I had a chance to meet the project author, Gintaras Matiukas, in August of 1996, in Pennsylvania. Gintas, a devoted birder, was in the US for a training program on wetlands management, and had these photographs of the peatbog, which we scanned. He is a quiet and diligent advocate for birds, and has completed several important projects with the Lithuanian Ornithological Society. I was lucky enough to visit the Hawk Mountain Sanctuary with Gintas: great company in a great place.

I urge anyone interested in birdwatching, habitat restoration, and/or Baltic environmental issues to read more about this project and to support such efforts through the Virtual Foundation!
Thanks!
Lydia Thompson, Virtual Foundation

Project Summary Dovainiai peat-bog was excavated till 1972; peat was cut out there. Afterwards it was deserted and left neglected. Part of the territory (about 2 hectares) has been rehabilitated because of the activity of beaver and now it is suitable for wading birds. During the previous stages of our renaturalisation program, we developed a rehabilitation project for Dovainiai Peat-bog, dug out water ponds, and set up artificial islands. However, much of the territory is still dried out and covered by trees and bushes of little value.

This area is not very favourable for rare species of birds and animals due to the poor nutrition basis and bad security from predators. The objective of the renaturalisation project is to turn the neglected peat-bog into an area suitable for snipes, ducks and other birds by setting up open water bodies, artificial islands, raised water level and biotechnical means.

Project Concept Dovainiai Peat-bog is already a theoretical and practical base of the activity of the Lithuanian Ornithological Society. The junior members of the Society come here and learn about the nature and birds. Activities in this direction will be further developed in the future. After completion of renaturalisation we plan to use this area for cognitive and educational purposes and also for ecological tourism.

The Peat-bog can be easily reached, it is close to the center of Zemaitija National Park in Plateliai. Places for observation of birds, experimental basis for preservation and augmentation tests can be established there. After the project is completed we expect to create a large concentration of varieties of waterfowls and waders. The first practical renaturalisation works resulted in an increase in the humidity of the area, numerous open water bodies, and better opportunities for birds to hide from predators. The number of waterfowls (wild ducks, lapwings, plovers) has increased, and new varieties (such as buntings) have appeared. Besides this, the first years of practical renaturalisation work showed that a solution can not always be reached by purely technical means. The newly established water bodies, partially the old ones too, have a very poor nutrition basis as well as poor water quality. Additional chemical means are needed as well as the improvement of nutrition basis by changing the water microflora, planting new flora. This is an area that nobody has any experience of neither in Lithuania nor in Eastern Europe. However, the renaturalisation of separate areas has a long history in a number of Western countries. The first project of this type in Eastern Europe has been started in Poland. We keep in contact with the conductors of this project. One of the optimal ways could be to have training by people experienced in the field, and later to transfer the knowledge to our colleagues in Poland.

We believe that a number of projects of this type will increase in our country and in neighbouring countries as well. After completion of this project Dovainiai Peat-bog would become a good experimental basis for further works of a similar type.

Budget for the 3rd Stage