Nature
without borders
Area
The Reserve
through the ages
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 Forest milieux   Open milieux    Wetlands    Rupiculous milieux
  Streams
The Lakes
Sphagnum moss peat bogs
Marshes and reed-beds
Fallow wetlands
Sphagnum moss peat bogs   
 

Peat bogs are of two types, the first natural, dating from the post-glacial period, the other, human in origin dating from the Middle Ages. They are formed by an accumulation of peat moss in a damp, anaerobic environment.



The peat bogs in the Reserve are highly original inasmuch as they are continental in character and have their own particular flora. Typical plants include Moorgrass, the carnivorous Spatula-leafed Sundew (Drosera intermedia),

Spatula-leafed Sundew,
© SYCOPARC

the Small or Bog Cranberry (Oxycoccos palustris),

Bog Cranberry © SYCOPARC


Marsh Clubmoss (Lycopodiella inundata) which often grows on turf-moors that have been stripped, Red-hook Moss (Trichophorum alpinum), Hare's-tail Cottongrass and White and Brown Beak-sedge.

Marsh Clubmoss © SYCOPARC

Many dragonflies live on the peat bogs near lakes, some 20 species in all including such varieties as the Northern Emerald (Somatochlora arctica) and the Leucorrhinia Caudalis.

Northern Emerald © Michel Rauch


A few reptiles such as the local Grass Snake (à collier) (Natrix natrix), and the Common Lizard hunt on the peat. The elegant Hobby (Falco subbuteo) catches dragonflies there.