Topic and research
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The scientific research in the GPNP: the Park's peat bogs, specially observed
Within the GPNP boundaries there are numerous wetlands and peat bogs that can be traced back to different habitats. The constant presence of water cuts off oxygen from the soil and complicates the gas exchange necessary for plant life. Only those that have adapted are able to survive in these special environments. The absence of oxygen also does not allow organic matter to degrade, so that year after year branches, leaves and other plant tissue accumulate and transform, developing, albeit slowly, several metres of peat. Bogs are of considerable ecological importance because they represent remnants of boreal ecosystems in the Alps, characterised by a super-specialised biodiversity, which means that bogs can be seen as islands, surrounded by Alpine pastures and forests.
Increasingly recurring droughts and heat waves threaten the stability of the peat bogs and damage their conservation status: a healthy peat bog has a constant water saturation; intense evaporation and water scarcity, on the other hand, favour the ingress of oxygen that causes peat degradation.
Detailed investigations into the state of peat and vegetation (mosses in particular are excellent indicators) in the main wetlands are underway in the GPNP. Basically, the aim is to ‘take a picture’ of the situation, based on scientific data, and repeating the investigations 5 to 10 years later will make it possible to understand in which direction they are evolving and whether they are under pressure from climate or other factors.