“Unfortunately, it is very difficult to talk about specific areas or percentages when it comes to the disappearance of a certain species, in particular the spring white flower. After all, in order to be able to operate with numbers, long-term observations should be conducted. However, science traditionally does not have the resources for such long-term and large-scale studies.
But we see with our own eyes how valuable groups and rare plants are disappearing. For example, where 5 years ago the photo showed a carpet of spring white flower, now only a few small groups remain. This trend is not only with white flower. Along with floodplain forests, thickets of wild onion (Allium ursinum), moisture-loving orchids – marsh hyacinth (Epipactis palustris), helleborine hyacinth (Epipactis helleborine), egg-shaped tears of the zozulin (Lusteria ovata), as well as oak tulip (Tulipa quercetorum), fern (Ophioglossum vulgatum), etc.,” says the scientist and researcher of our organization, ecologist Maryna Ragulina.
In order to protect and preserve valuable territories, scientists of the NGO “Danube-Carpathian Program” Maryna Ragulina and Oleg Orlov, within the framework of the project “Creation of nature reserves in the Lviv region and adjacent territories for the preservation of wetlands” with the support of Natuurpunt Beheer, continue to explore potentially valuable areas for conservation in the vicinity of Lviv with the aim of creating new objects of the nature reserve fund.
“It is very disappointing when we come to a site where 5-10 years ago there were many unique species, and we no longer find anything valuable there. Yes, biodiversity is literally being lost before our eyes,” says Maryna Ragulina.
“To stop these negative processes, it is necessary to implement measures to restore floodplain ecosystems, aimed at returning the natural moisture regime to previously drained areas, in particular by arranging dams on old land reclamation canals. Abandoning old management methods and applying new approaches, in particular, creating protected areas for rare plant species, with a limited forest use regime and preserved soil cover, can prevent further impoverishment of the phytodiversity of floodplain forests,” says ecologist Oleg Orlov.
