Sinkevičienė, Zofija, Monkuvienė, Vita. 2024. History of the Šepeta raised bog conversion into the exploited peatland area based on cartographic material. Šepeta. History of the lost mire: 126–136. Vilnius. https://doi.org/10.35513/NRC.2024.2.09
https://gamtostyrimai.lt/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/2024_Pelke_09_Sinkeviciene.pdf
Summary
This paper discusses how the conversion of the Šepeta bog from a viable natural system into an exploited peatland area is reflected in the cartographic material available.
The Šepeta bog development has progressed through three phases, which differ in the intensity of human activity and its impact on the hydrological regime, vegetation and peat deposition. The aerial photograph of the Šepeta bog from circa 1938-1939 published in the respective monograph, i.e. „Šepeta. Monograph on the Raised Bog“ (1940), which was prepared by a team of co-authors and edited by K. Brundza, was chosen as a reference point for the analysis of changes that this bog has undergone. The exploitation of the Šepeta bog for peat extraction in the 1939–1953 period was relatively non-intensive: peat was mainly hand-dug. Besides, peat extraction was aggravated by WWII and the changing ownership of the peatland. The peat mining-induced changes in the approximately1,44 km2-large area of the bog were already recorded on the topographic map (M 1:25000) published in 1951–1952 in Russian. The impact of the intensive peat extraction development in the 1953–1990 period is reflected in the aerial photographs taken in 1960 and 1978. They clearly show that approximately ¾ of the bog area was affected. Three orthophoto maps published in different years record the impact that the increased peatland exploitation since 1990 until now has exerted on the bog. The most recent map covering the period 2021-2023 shows that only a small, approximately 0.49 km2-large area of the former raised bog is extant. Although drained, the so-called “Green Zone”, still retains features characteristic of the raised bog vegetation.
Key words: aerial photos, bog vegetation, orthophoto maps, peat extraction, peatland change.
Language: Lithuanian; Abstract – English
E-mail: zofija.sinkeviciene@gamtc.lt
vita.monkuviene@vitadik@gmail.com
Nature Research Centre
