Sebino Peat - bogs

Where the nature still reigns sovereign.

Text and photos by Ernesto Francini

Panorama.

In some zones, where water meets earth, they have created ideal conditions for the proliferation of the animal and vegetable life.

In these environments, commonly called primordial damp zones, the natural selection has given life to

a difference and variety of living forms hardly verifiable in other ecosystems.

Italy rich once of these ample natural damp zones, that they were extended for millions of hectares, with a lot of resources about animals and vegetables, have lost big part of these wealths (the esteemed loss, in our country, of the damp zones, it is 90% of the 3 million hectares possessed in origin).

Starting from the epoch of the Etruscans, that they were the first men that have produced reclaimed lands, in succession then from the Romans and from the big Patrician Families of the Middle Ages,

up to reach our days, in the Italian territory, the greatest part of these resources have disappeared through the man.

Hundreds of wild kinds that lived in them, not finding the fit conditions to their existence anymore,

have disappeared from our territories and now only a small part of the great past natural wealth remains to us.

The Sebino Peat-bogs are one of the few primordial damp zones remained on our national territory.

The two dominant elements of this place, that it is extended for around 360 hectares, lapping the southern shore of the Iseo lake, are the water and the cane thickets.

These elements, combining each other in their more varied forms, offer a natural ideal base for the life

of thousands of birds and for the proliferation of a greater number of plants, flowers, fishes, amphibians, reptiles and aquatic organisms.

Descriptive poster at Peat-bogs entry.	Cane thickets area.

It’s important to notice that an environment can entertain the animal kinds, from us more known,

as mammals and birds, only if it is rich of a such “biological-diversity” to guarantee their survival.

In other words, it has to possess the presence of many other living kinds, to us less evident, as amphibians, reptiles, fishes, insects, that form the food base for these animals.

An environment will be anymore biologically rich of forms of life, more the animal kinds will be in it existing.

Their story have had origin during the last glaciation of the planet, for the progressive burial of a prehistoric lake (probably a natural appendix of the Iseo lake) creating this damp zone, which appeared initially as marshy ground rich of a notable quantity of peat (from here the name of Sebino Peat-bogs).

The peat, a type of pit-coal, derived by the secular carbonization of aquatic or marshy plants, used in the antiquity as alternative fuel to the most known and expensive coal, it was drawn out then completely from the man between years 1750 and 1950, for industrial use.

The excavation, besides to create a great liberty of movement to the water, has resulted in big basins

of rectangular form about, visible still today, deep in some cases up to 5 meters and over.

Such basins have been subsequently colonized by a myriad of vegetable kinds, which have gone to integrate the ecosystem already existing.

For the variety of living forms in it that we can find, this environment has become so important to be considered "area of international importance for the conservation of the nature" in agreement with the RAMSAR convention stipulated in the February 1972.

Therefore it’s inserted, to worth, in the list of the world zones to be protected established by the aforesaid convention.

The vegetation that constitutes the environment, as I have already told in precedence, it is characterized by an association of vegetables typical of the original marshy zone and from those formed after the peat extraction.

The different depth of the water in the varied zones of the Peat-bogs has resulted in a multitude of vegetable kinds of great biological value.

In the deep waters, we find submerged typologies as the Elodea canadensis. In the waters of average depth we find the Nymphaea alba, with its very beautiful flowers having wide afloat leaves, that entertain an unbelievable variety of invertebrates and offer a green carpet, placed on the surface of the water,

on which Coots and Moorhens walk looking for food.

Foot-path that crosses the basins.	Nymphaea alba.

In the less deep waters we find the Lemna spp and the beautiful in bloom stems of Hottonia palustris and to completion of the environment the cane thickets (Phragmites australis) which in partnership

with others vegetable kinds, proper of the marshy environment, constitutes the typical imprint of this landscape.

The fauna, very rich, introduces some living kinds hard to see in the other ecosystems of our national territory. The Nehalenia speciosa, the rare smallest European dragonfly, it is an example; in Italy it lives only in the Sebino Peat-bogs.

Between the amphibians and reptiles we can find the Snake of water (Natrix natrix) the Coluber viridiflavus, the Frog of Lataste (Rana latastei) the Frog dalmatina (Rana dalmatina) the Green Frog (Rana esculenta) and the Tree frog (Hyla intermedia).

The insects are many, they represent the food for a big quantity of other creatures, but between them there are also carnivorous insects, which are insects that eat more small insects.

Between the most representative we can find the Nepa rubra, the Ditiscus marginalis, the Ranatra linearis, the Gerris and the Anax imperator.

Mammals in the Sebino Peat-bogs have limited from the narrowness of the oasis dry surface, surrounded and caged in the expansion from the massive presence of roads and inhabited centers

and from the lack of a real wood.

Unfortunately the absence of these elements reduces heavily the possibility to have in its inside mammals of great and averages dimensions, and this, in my opinion, it is a true sin, since the naturalistic importance of this place, for the biological-diversity that it could create, it would be great and unique in its kind.

We have therefore only small rodent mammals as the Small mouse of the rice-fields and the

Field-mouse.

The birds represent the great attractions of the Sebino Peat-bogs, at present around 180 kinds of them have been sighted.

Among most important we can quote the Bittern, the rarest European heron, of which few pairs only have remained in Italy. It nests in mature cane thickets only (cut not recently).

The Little bittern, the smallest European heron, with crepuscular habits, kind that is becoming rarer in our territories.

The Osprey, that has not nested for a long time anymore in Italy. It frequents the

Peat-bogs only during the migration transit, and my hope is that a day it can to nest definitively.

The Purple heron, also it inserted in the red list of the animals with extinction risk.

As the Bittern, it nests only in old cane thickets, which in Italy are disappearing, therefore

it’s everyday more difficult to see.

Little bittern (Ixobrichus minutus) camouflaged

with the cane thickets.

Suspicious and mistrustful it observes

with attention the surrounding territory

before going out to search food.

The types of present birds in the environment depend from the seasons of the year.

Between the most known, present in every season, we can find the followings:

- Great crested grebe (Podiceps cristatus)

- Mute swan (Cygnus olor)

- Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)

- Grey heron (Ardea cinerea)

- Little grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis)

- Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus)

- Coot (Fulica atra)

- Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis)

- Black-headed gull (Laris ridibundus)

- Blackbird (Turdus merula)

- Italian sparrow (Passer italiae)

- Bearded tit (Panurus biarmicus)

- Long-tailed tit (Aegithalos caudatus)

- Great tit (Parus major)

- Penduline tit (Remiz pendulinus)

- Goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis)

- Cetti’s warbler (Cettia cetti)

- Reed bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus)

- Reed warbler (Acrocephalus scirpaceus)

In the winter season are present besides:

- Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo)

- Bittern (Botaurus stellaris)

- Teal (Anas crecca)

- Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula)

- Hen harrier (Circus cyaneus)

- Peregrine (Falco peregrinus)

- Common gull (Larus canus)

- Herring gull (Larus argentatus)

- Pochard (Aythya ferina)

- Sparrow hawk (Accipiter nisus)

- Tufted duck (Aythya fuligula)

- Smew (Mergus albellus)

- Robin (Erithacus rubecula)

In the spring and summer season we have:

- Purple heron (Ardea purpurea)

- Nigth heron (Nycticorax nycticorax)

- Little egret (Egretta garzetta)

- Little bittern (Ixobrychus minutus)

- Black kite (Milvus migrans)

- Ferruginous duck (Aythya nyroca)

- Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)

- Buzzard (Buteo buteo)

- Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus)

- Swallow (Hirundo rustica)

- Swift (Apus apus)

- Nightingale (Luscinia megarhynchos)

- Garganey (Anas querquedula)

- Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus)

- Bee-eater (Merops apiaster)

- Hoopoe (Upupa epops)

- Marsh harrier (Circus aeruginosus)

As we have seen every season has something to offer us, so we can carry out a visit in any period

of the year, and if we will have patience and necessary time to wait for the course of the events, some of the most beautiful spectacles, offered by the nature, can be admired.

The suggestion, to gather the true essence of the Peat-bogs, is to go there at the first lights of the dawn or in the evening at the sundown, to walk slowly, not to make noise, doesn’t show your presence at the animals, to bring possibly with you a good binoculars.

Hut for observations.

We will observe the Marsh harrier nuptial parades, which flying aloft above the cane thickets it fall down suddenly with a flight in dive and then it executes numerous turns on it same, to show its ability, finalized to attract the attention of the female.

The Osprey dives, the only European kind of hawk specialized in the capture of fishes, which grabs the prey with spectacular dives in water, clawing it with the legs.

The grazing flight of the Black kite which suddenly arrives in the marsh and it tries to capture the Mallard and Moorhen chicks, while these, frightened, escape away to take refuge in the cane thickets.

The Kingfisher, small and from the beautiful garish livery (orange live under and bright turquoise on the back) that from a tree branch it dives under water as an arrow, for then to emerge with a small fish in the bill.

The Great crested grebe, also it skilled swimmer and able to fish, that it performs a beautiful nuptial parade with bows, shakings of the head and dances on the water, in spring.

And this is only a part than the environment can offer.

Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis).

To don't disperse the natural patrimony of the Sebino Peat-bogs it is important to assure continuity

to their existence with appropriate laws, but above all to protect them with all the required interventions to avoid abandoning and degrade its territory.

It’s necessary to put in evidence that this reserve which is at the center of a strongly altered area from the naturalistic point of view, as the Plain of Lombardy, because of the urbanization and of the intensive cultivation of the ground, it represents a real oasis for thousands of living kinds that contrarily would not have the possibility to survive.

In Italy more than half of the animal kinds threatened of extinction depend on these residual damp zones. A lot of bird kinds nesting in these zones exclusively, other kinds of animals and vegetables

can survive in these zones only.

The guardianship and maintenance of these environments it is therefore of fundamental importance to assure continuity to the existence of these living beings and for the reconstruction of a natural territory from which the human being for his nature and his health cannot to leave out of consideration.

Panorama.

I am sorry to listen persons speaking to insert inside this environment zones for refreshment and fun

of the tourists, to increase the visitor numbers.

In my opinion as naturalist, if this will be done, "The Sebino Peat-bogs" would stop to exist.

Note:

The Sebino Peat-bogs are situated between the cities of Cortefranca, Iseo and Provaglio di Iseo, which delimit the perimeter of the reserve. From Milan they can be reached crossing the highway A4

in direction of Brescia, going out to the tollgate of Ospitaletto and following road signs for Iseo. Continuing then for the country of Provaglio up to reach the monastery of S. Pietro in Lamosa.

Here an ample parking lot will be accessible and we will find the foot-path to access to the Peat-bogs.

Recently a new visitors centre has been opened also, it is situated in the Iseo City, in front of the sporting field, here we can find necessary information for the visit and an alternative foot-path to enter.

Monastery of S. Pietro in Lamosa.