Poleski National Park is located in central and eastern Poland in the Lublin Province. It was established in 1990 on an area of 4813 hectares. The park was created on the basis of a reservebogs: Durne Bagno, Moszne Lake, Długie Lake, Orlowskie Bog. Bubnów Swamp was included in PPN in 1994, with the largest number of rare species of flora and fauna. The current area of the park is 9762 hectares, of which forests occupy 4780 hectares and waters and wastelands (including the most valuable swamps) 2088 hectares. The idea of establishing a national park in Polesie was conceived in 1959. Between 1966 and 1982, four nature reserves were established in the area, and in 1982 the Polesie Landscape Park was created. Geology, landscape The park is located in the western part of Polesia bordered by Lublin Upland to the south, Podlasie to the north and Mazovia to the west. The Park lies entirely within the Leczna-Wlodawa Lake District, which is the southern part of Polesie Lubelskie. It is an area of the contact zone of two large structural units of Europe: the Central European Lowlands and the East Baltic Lowlands. The terrain of the park is a substitute for tundra or lasotundra, the farthest southwest of Europe. The relief of the park is flat. After the Central Polish glaciation subsided, there was a huge lake in the area. Waters from the ice-free Lublin Upland flowed into it and its shallowing took place. The park is dominated by plains of organic accumulation formed in the Holocene. A peculiarity of the park is the complex of carbonate low bogs Bagno Bubnów, Bagno Staw and a part of Orlov Bog. Vegetation There are 928 species of vascular plants in the park, of which 170 are rare and 60 are under species protection. A large part of them are northern plants (140 species), including such plants as low birch, willows (Lapland and blueberry), sedges (string, peat and swamp), king's knapweed, long-leaved sundew, peat swamp and lithic stickleback. The Atlantic flora is represented by 25 species, the most interesting of which are the torsion-tailed tumbleweed, common anthracnose and the carnivorous bladderwort aldrowanda. A range limit of 150 plant species runs through the park. The most characteristic plant communities of the park are peat bogs: low, transitional and high. Forests are formed by swamp birches and poor pine forests, and alders in waterlogged depressions. The background is formed by the most numerous aquatic and reed communities.In total, 208 plant communities are distinguished in the park, most of which are non-forest. There are numerous species of boreal plants: low birch, Lapland willow and blueberry, sundews. There are many protected and rare plant species in the Bubnów and Pond Swamp, found in significant numbers and sometimes even in large numbers. These include the common carnation, narrow-leaved and bitter-leaved gentian, goblet scythe, Siberian scythe, orchids, the common columbine, the northern water mushroom, the marsh pea, the medium floater, the bicolored greasewort, the fragrant bellflower. Animals The park is home to 21 species of fish, including mainly: carp, tench, crucian carp, roach, rudd, pike, perch, eel and an extremely rare, protected one - the dugong minnow. 12 species of amphibians can be encountered there. Of the 6 reptile species, the most noteworthy is the pond turtle, which has one of the largest sites in Europe. The best known are the birds. Of the 146 breeding species, 17 are highly endangered. Most of the birds found in the park are associated with wetland and aquatic habitats. The most valuable species are: migratory - golden eagle, bald eagle and greater spotted eagle, and breeding - lesser spotted eagle, crane, bearded warbler (lesser and lone), goose, eagle owl and black stork. Of the 35 species of mammals, noteworthy are the streak, bat - greater carlik, ermine, otter, moose, wolf and the recently reintroduced beaver. There are 87 species of birds in the Bubnów Swamp and Pond complex, of which 40 are breeding, 10 are likely nesting, and the rest are migratory. Of all the breeding species of the Bubnow Marsh and Pond, the most noteworthy is the aquatic warbler. Its number was estimated at 239 singing males. This makes the discussed site one of the richest sites of this species in Poland. Other ornithological peculiarities of the discussed peatlands include the great curlew and dubelt. The most numerous bird of prey is the western harrier, which is becoming increasingly rare in Poland. Other nesting birds include: great spotted owl, redshank, black grouse, black grouse, aquatic warbler, spotted eagle owl, marsh harrier, hen harrier, kestrel, buzzard, crickets, redshank, curlew and others. The marshes in question play a major role in bird migration, especially in spring they are a resting and feeding ground for many species of ducks, coots and swans, as well as numerous cranes and plovers. Tourism The marsh and peatland ecosystems that dominate the park are sensitive to environmental changes and vulnerable to a number of external factors including changes in water relations and the chemicalization of agriculture. Significant losses in the nature of the area in question were caused by water reclamation carried out in the past. A particularly big threat to the ecosystems in question is the development of the mining industry in the nearby Lublin Coal Basin, located 1.5 km from the park's protection zone, developing tourism and the burning of meadows and peat bogs. The park has a well-prepared tourist infrastructure (trails, didactic paths, etc.). However, it is rarely visited by tourists. In the village of Załucze Stare there is a didactic and museum center with a PPN museum.
04.07.2013
