Swamp forrest, light-open nature and more than 1000 species
Vaserne is a great nature area north of Store Kalv in Furesoe, sited in Rudersdal municipality. It is composed of great light-open meadows and marshes, peat bogs, impenetrable alder and ash swamps and deciduous forest on the drier areas. The numerous different types of nature give rise to great variation in habitats resulting in more than a 1000 registered species of plants and animals, hereof 170 bird species. Most of the area is owned by Aage V. Jensen Naturfond and by Fuglevaernsfonde who in collaboration with Rudersdal municipality make a great effort to preserve the area in favor of the nature.
The rare water beetle is only found three places in Denmark, but lives in the peat bogs in Vaserne. You can also find the rare large white-faced darter here. Hence the RigKilde-LIFE project in Vaserne is aimed at benefitting the rare species.
Micro preservation in big scale
Apparently the water beetle is very selective in its choice of habitat. First of all it requires areas with shallow water at the edge of waterholes where it can hide from predators and find suitable breeding sites. The large white-faced darter requires shallow waterholes where it can lay its eggs and the larvae can develop without the risk of being eaten by a fish. For this reason the effort in Vaserne is focused to the detail in helping the insects to find breeding sites.
We want to:
- Examine where the water beetle is found and where it is breeding
- Select places where better breeding conditions can be created
- Clear smaller parts for willow and alder to give light to the waterholes
- Scrape small areas along the edge of the waterholes to create shallow breeding sites
- Dig three new shallow waterholes
- Examine the possibility to create new habitats for the water beetle
A robust nature
The water beetle is found and breeding three places in Denmark – Vaserne Holmegaard Mose and on Bornholm. Most aquatic beetles are competent flyers and the water beetle can also fly, but prefers not to. Actually it is really bad at moving around and does not colonize new areas that could be suitable habitats.
The great distance between the existing populations makes it impossible for the water beetles to exchange genetic material with other populations, which can make a population very vulnerable to outside influence. If the specie disappears from a habitat it is not likely that it will reenter as the nearest population simply is too far away.
The more populations of a specie there is, and the closer they are to each other the more robust is the total population. This is why the goal for the RigKilde-LIFE project is to strengthen the population of the water beetle, possibly by establishing a new population in Farum Sortemose where the specie previously lived.
How you can take part
The Fuglevaernsfond has task forces that look out for the birdlife and do volunteer preservation work in the area. If you are interested in joining the work, you can read more here where information about trips and events in the area also can be found.