Characterisation of Sanguinhal Mire, Terceira Island (Azores): a protected quaking bog habitat Caracterização da Turfeira do Sanguinhal, ilha Terceira (Açores) um habitat protegido de turfeira ondulante

• Published in: Acta Botanica Brasilica
• Main Authors: Cândida Mendes, Eduardo Dias
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Sociedade Botânica do Brasil 2009
• Subjects: condutividade; Directiva Europeia de Habitats; hidrologia; pH; vegetação; conductivity; European Habitats Directive; hydrology; vegetation; Botany; QK1-989; North Atlantic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1590/S0102-33062009000300022; https://doaj.org/article/53a5953844f84a1eb0089c97d3595a95

The Azores archipelago in the North Atlantic is an important area for biodiversity because it is rich in rare species and habitats, and almost undisturbed. Sanguinhal mire was originally a lake that evolved through paludification into a peat habitat. It is located inside Nature 2000 (European Union for Protection of Nature and Biodiversity, Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora, Habitat Directive Annex I(b) habitat 7140) area of Santa Bárbara and Pico Alto Mountains on the island of Terceira, and it is a good example of a basin peatland type that was first discovered in 1998. This paper provides baseline information on its flora, vegetation communities, structure, surface hydrology and chemistry. Forty-one plant species including six Sphagnum species and ten endemic vascular plants have been recorded, and eight plant communities are distinguished. The maximum peat depth is 2.5 m. The mire receives flowing water from its margins, in addition to intercepted precipitation and fog. After precipitation, water drains through several placic rupture points. Both pH and water conductivity were measured, with some ecological tendencies observed. The conservation status of the mire is good, but it is subject to increasing pressure from cattle pasture and a walking trail that constrains natural surface water movement. O Arquipélago dos Açores no Atlântico Norte é uma área importante em biodiversidade, rica em espécies e habitats raros em estado selvagem. A turfeira do Sanguinhal foi originalmente uma lagoa que evoluiu por paludificação para um habitat de turfa. Esta localiza-se na Rede Natura 2000 (União Europeia para a Proteção da Natureza e Biodiversidade, Directive do Conselho 92/43/EEC de 21 de Maio 1992 sobre a concervação de habitats naturais e da fauna e flora, Diretiva de Habitat Anexo I(b) habitat 7140) da Serra de Santa Bárbara e Pico Alto e é um bom exemplo de um tipo de turfeira de bacia, descoberto pela primeira vez em 1998. Este trabalho ...