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Water is one of the key elements in wetlands and in fens in particular.
A good supply of water is vital to preserve these habitats, both in terms of quantity and quality.

To improve water management and to guarantee the preservation of alkaline fen habitats by optimising the water system in peatland, the nine LIFE Anthropofens beneficiaries have scheduled the following initiatives:

1. Improve knowledge of the way the sites work through an approach combining hydrology and ecology :

  • To develop and implement training in eco-hydrological systems;
  • Eco-hydrological studies on 8 sites;
  • Monitoring of water levels and quality, alongside existing monitoring;
  • Inventory of soils to identify and describe peat soils in the sites.

2. To promote water treatment before it arrives in peaty areas by fostering the development of aquatic plants :

  • Reprofiling 1.2 km of riverbanks;
  • Creating a 280 m ditch with an embankment;
  • Setting up 250 m² of floating rafts with helophytic vegetations.

3. To maintain water levels for an adapted duration and period :

  • Dredging 2.6 hectares of source areas;
  • Introduction of 15 structures to regulate the water level (thresholds, cofferdams and sluice gates);
  • Dredging brooks and streams (along 630 m);
  • Removal of 4.8 km of drainage networks;
  • Restoration of 2.8 km of waterways (removal of berms, reprofiling of riverbanks and creation of a stream bed).

All the actions aiming to improve water management are designed to reinforce actions to restore and preserve the mosaic of habitats.

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