On 6 March the Republican Biological Reserve “Sporaŭski” became a pilot site for a controlled fire of dry vegetation. Controlled fire is aimed at protection of biodiversity and prevention of unregulated burnings that pose treat for population, forest and farm lands and have catastrophic consequences for natural ecosystems. This is a relatively new tool for peatlands sustainable management in Belarus and it generates interest among all involved in environment protection activity.
“Controlled fire of dry vegetation is one of tools aimed at sustainable management of peatlands. We use this method only for territories, where it is impossible to harvest biomass, or on large areas,” commented Mikhail Maksimenkov, Scientific Coordinator of the EU/UNDP Project “Clima-East”.
This method was tested for the first time in 2015 year in Republican Landscape Reserve "Zvaniec". Vegetation monitoring of 2016 year demonstrated positive influence of controlled fire on nature: preservation or increase of species wealth in one year after conduction, absence of shrubs outgrowth, decrease of reed productivity and projective cover.
Representatives of Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment Protection, Ministry of Forestry of the Republic of Belarus, Brest Regional Committee of Natural Resources and Environment Protection, Drahičyn and Biaroza District Inspections of Natural Resources, NGOs, and mass media participated in this year event. All concerned visited the peatland and saw the process of preparation and implementation of controlled fire of dry vegetation.
Specially Protected Area “Republican Biological Reserve “Sporaŭski” is one of the pilot territories of the EU/UNDP Project “Clima-East: Conservation and sustainable management of peatlands in Belarus to minimize carbon emissions and help ecosystems to adapt to climate change, while contributing to the overall mitigation and adaptation effort”.
