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Raised bog biodiversity loss: A case‐study of ground beetles (Coleoptera, Carabidae) as indicators of ecosystem degradation after peat mining

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Abstract and Figures

Peatlands are unique ecosystems inhabited by highly specialized biota. Due to extraction and drainage, these valuable ecosystems decline or represent only fragmented habitat patches. The aim of this study was to compare the carabid species composition, diversity, and life history traits between bog habitat types: 20 and 40 year post‐extraction sites and undisturbed one. We tried to determine whether populations of rare carabid bog specialists would persist in the post‐extraction habitats. The study was conducted in the raised bog, where 30 sampling transects with a total of 90 pitfall traps were established. 1616 individuals belonging to 30 carabid species were collected. The results revealed the significance differences in carabid species composition between studied habitat types and increasing the abundance and species richness in post‐extraction sites. According to spontaneous succession in post‐mining sites, the shift in life history traits of carabids towards forest assemblages was observed. We observed decline of the most valuable bog species in post‐mining sites. Agonum ericeti, Pterostichus rhaeticus and Bembidion humerale were present on the reference bog, with large covers of Sphagnum and shrubs, but sporadically at the 20 year post‐extraction site (except for A. ericeti), or not at all at the 40 year post‐extraction site overgrown by trees. Therefore measures should be undertaken in post‐extraction areas to enable the restoration of such specific conditions and a properly functioning raised bog ecosystem. This mainly requires restoration of a suitable hydrological regime, which is the key factor for the preservation of groups of bog specialist plants and animals.
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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Raised bog biodiversity loss: A case-study of ground beetles
(Coleoptera, Carabidae) as indicators of ecosystem degradation
after peat mining
Renata Kędzior
1
| Jan Zarzycki
1
| Ewelina Zając
2
1
Department of Ecology, Climatology and Air
Protection, University of Agriculture in
Krak
ow, Krak
ow, Poland
2
Department of Land Reclamation and
Environmental Development, University of
Agriculture in Krak
ow, Krak
ow, Poland
Correspondence
Renata Kędzior, Department of Ecology,
Climatology and Air Protection, University of
Agriculture in Krak
ow, al. Mickiewicza, 24/28,
30-059, Krak
ow, Poland.
Email: renata.kedzior@urk.edu.pl
Funding information
The study was conducted with a subsidy from
the Ministry of Science and Higher Education
for the University of Agriculture in Krak
ow in
2022
Abstract
Peatlands are unique ecosystems inhabited by highly specialized biota. Due to extrac-
tion and drainage, these valuable ecosystems decline or represent only fragmented
habitat patches. The aim of this study was to compare the carabid species composi-
tion, diversity, and life history traits between bog habitat types: 20 and 40 year post-
extraction sites and undisturbed one. We tried to determine whether populations of
rare carabid bog specialists would persist in the post-extraction habitats. The study
was conducted in the raised bog, where 30 sampling transects with a total of 90 pitfall
traps were established. 1616 individuals belonging to 30 carabid species were col-
lected. The results revealed the significance differences in carabid species composi-
tion between studied habitat types and increasing the abundance and species
richness in post-extraction sites. According to spontaneous succession in post-mining
sites, the shift in life history traits of carabids towards forest assemblages was
observed. We observed decline of the most valuable bog species in post-mining sites.
Agonum ericeti,Pterostichus rhaeticus and Bembidion humerale were present on the
reference bog, with large covers of Sphagnum and shrubs, but sporadically at the
20 year post-extraction site (except for A. ericeti), or not at all at the 40 year post-
extraction site overgrown by trees. Therefore measures should be undertaken in
post-extraction areas to enable the restoration of such specific conditions and a
properly functioning raised bog ecosystem. This mainly requires restoration of a suit-
able hydrological regime, which is the key factor for the preservation of groups of
bog specialist plants and animals.
KEYWORDS
carabid beetles, diversity, life history traits, peat bog extraction, succession
1|INTRODUCTION
Human impact on the natural environment is a ubiquitous phenome-
non affecting all ecosystem types (Johnson et al., 2017; Watson
et al., 2016). It leads to severe transformation of the natural environ-
ment, disturbances of its ecological functions, and even total degrada-
tion (Hector & Bagchi, 2007; Hooper et al., 2005). In effect, changes
in habitat parameters are observed, which is reflected in an overall
decline in biodiversity (Johnson et al., 2017). One type of ecosystem
strongly affected by human impact is peatlands, which cover only
about 3% of the land surface of the Earth (Bragazza et al., 2013;
Tanneberger et al., 2017).
Peatlands in Europe are extremely varied in terms of structure
and flora (Leuschner & Ellenberg, 2017). Of particular importance are
raised bogs, often with a domed shape, which are entirely dependent
on precipitation as a source of water and nutrients (ombrotrophic).
Received: 2 April 2022 Revised: 24 May 2022 Accepted: 16 June 2022
DOI: 10.1002/ldr.4404
Land Degrad Dev. 2022;33:35113522. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/ldr © 2022 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. 3511
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