Alkaline Fens

Alkaline fen is a habitat on moist ground that is very rich in species. In a healthy natural state it can support more than a 100 species within a small area.

 

• Alkaline fens are habitat for several rare and/or protected plants e.g. the carnivorous common butterwort (Pinguicula vulgaris), the western marsh orchid (Dactylorhiza majalis), the northern marsh orchid (Dactylorhiza purpurella), the marsh helleborine (Epipactis palustris), the marsh grass of Parnassus (Parnassia palustris), the globeflower (Trollius europaeus) and the marsh lousewort (Pedicularis palustris). Furthermore a wide range of insects, e.g. several butterflies, depend on the diverse vegetation in the alkaline fens.
• Alkaline fens are a habitat type consisting of swamps and marshes where the ground is constantly hydrated with more or less calcareous groundwater.
• Alkaline fens only occur where calcareous, clean groundwater reaches the surface of the earth, and they often develop in areas with pressurized water or petrifying springs.
• Alkaline fens are light-open vegetation areas that depend on hay harvest or grazing management, to avoid overgrowth with common reed and willow that block the light from the smaller grasses and flowers.

 

Today alkaline fens are a relatively rare habitat, both in the project areas, nationwide and in Europe. 524 ha of alkaline fens have been mapped in the western Jutland and 2.378 ha in the rest of Denmark. The goal for the project is to secure preservation of 31% of the habitat area in the western Jutland and increase the area of alkaline fens with a total of 75,0 ha (primarily in the western Jutland).

 

Fact box:

Habitat nature types and prioritized types if nature and species

Habitat nature types: are the habitats in danger of extinction as presented by the Habitat directive.

Prioritized types of nature and species: are particularly endangered in Europe and protection of them are highly prioritized.

Prioritized types of nature are petrifying springs and calcareous fens.