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Rothenthurm raised bog clearing work

Realized:

2022

performed by:

Naturnetz Mittelland

The Naturnetz association has been working for many years on behalf of BirdLife (project manager: André Ducry) and the canton of Schwyz to preserve this unique raised moor landscape in Rothenthurm. This enchanting natural pearl stretches from Biberbrugg across the Altmatt to the eponymous village of Rothenthurm. The Biber stream forms the cantonal border between Schwyz and Zug. The Thal plain is located at around 900 m above sea level southwest of Wädenswil on the edge of the Gotthard route. Lake Sihl and the well-known pilgrimage site of Einsiedeln are just a stone's throw away.


With an area of around 100 hectares, it is the largest contiguous raised bog landscape in Switzerland. In the 18th and 19th centuries, large quantities of peat were dug here and used as fuel. Later, drainage ditches were dug so that parts of the bog could be used for agricultural purposes, and in the 20th century, the construction of a large military base for the Swiss army was under discussion. Nature conservation organizations and local farmers fought against this plan. A historic success was the acceptance of the Rothenthurm Initiative by the Swiss people in 1987. This initiative not only prevented the construction of the military base, but at the same time placed all moorland areas throughout Switzerland under protection. Due to this event, the raised bog in Rothenthurm is still very famous throughout Switzerland. In many places, however, this initiative came too late. In the 19th century, around 90% of Switzerland's moorland areas had already been drained, built on or made usable for agriculture. The remaining 10% of the areas are at risk of drying out and becoming overgrown due to the high nutrient input through the air or the adjacent agricultural areas.


Some animal and plant species from the raised moor are therefore seriously threatened or have already become extinct. In Rothenthurm, for example, the curlew and the snipe were breeding in the waterlogged areas until shortly before the turn of the millennium. Today, these species have disappeared as breeding birds throughout Switzerland! The situation is similar with other species such as the Whinchat and the Meadow Pipit. These once bred in the Central Plateau in the extensive meadows and moorland landscapes. With the intensification of agriculture and the destruction of the moorland, both species have now completely disappeared from this part of the country and can only be found as breeding birds at higher altitudes. Both species find refuge and suitable habitats in the Rothenthurm raised moor.


Whinchat


To ensure that the breeding populations of these ground-nesting birds do not continue to decline, BirdLife Switzerland launched the "Promotion of meadow-nesting birds" project in Rothenthurm in 2016. The main aim is to preserve suitable habitats and protect ground nests. Both species depend on undisturbed and open areas. They need solitary trees or bushes as perches. However, if their numbers exceed a certain limit, the two species abandon their habitats.


In order to preserve the original habitat and thus combat bush encroachment, the Nature Network carried out valuable work in collaboration with the forestry service and local farmers over three weeks in October/November. At the start of the project, trees and bushes were cleared in predefined areas using large machines. Afterwards, the Nature Network and the community service workers took care of the aftercare: emerging trees and bushes were mostly removed. Since there are some species that react to injuries with "root broods" and then sprout even more strongly, we had to take different approaches to clearing the bushes: For the birches, which had previously been cut back to the stump, we used a hand axe to cut through the side shoots below the surface of the soil so that the tree stump rotted through from below over time. We plucked rotten trees by hand or removed them with the entire root using hoopoe hoes. We cut back the spruces to the stump or pulled them out by hand.


Although the work was mostly strenuous, we had the privilege of working in a unique area. Unfortunately, we did not see the Whinchat, which these bush clearing measures were intended to specifically promote, as it had already moved on to its winter quarters (Africa). Nevertheless, we were able to find other interesting species. In the early morning hours, for example, we occasionally followed the bird migration: dozens of larks, pipits, stilts, swallows, thrushes and finches repeatedly flew over the moorland in a southerly direction. To ensure that we did not miss anything, we installed a recording device with a parabolic mirror in the field during certain working days and then evaluated the flight calls of the migrating species. Another highlight was the sighting of a great grey shrike, a species that used to breed in the moorland but is now extinct as a breeding bird in Switzerland.


Many exciting dragonflies were also present on the moorland. For example, we saw peat darters almost every day, patrolling up and down the area. With the end of their flight period this year, our work in Rothenthurm also ended at the beginning of November. We are already looking forward to returning to Rothenthurm next year and are motivated to make our contribution to the preservation of this very interesting raised moor landscape with renewed vigor.

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