Topicality of the project

Bogs are an important resource that covers significant part of Latvia. Peat resources that can be found in bogs are around 10.8 milliard m3, furthermore extraction of the peat is 825 000 tons per year. In the territory of Latvia 0.4% of all peat resources of the world can be found. Latvia is placed in the 8. place on peat resources per capita. At this point bog resources (peat, sapropel, medical mud and sulphur water, food and biologically active resources) are used in low added value product production. Extensive usage of bog and peat resources brings to economic growth at the same time it causes degradation in wide territories as well as environmental problems. Cause of bog and peat resource irrational and non-effective usage is insufficient research in this area, and usage of obsolete methods for research as well as society and decision makers’ low awareness of the other possibilities, and incomplete regulatory legislation on the question of usage of bog resources. In the country with significant peat resources such as Finland, Canada, Russia and others, extensive studies have been done in the areas of bog protection, recultivation, and conservation of biological diversity as well as usage of peat, technologies of production of products with high added value. Topicality of the project is determined by the need to investigate:  

• Latvian bog biological diversity and typical biocenoses;
• Bog vegetation biologically active substances and their possible use in innovative products;
• Bog ecosystem services, bog role in hydrological process regulation, bog lake and river hydro biological regimes;
• High and low bog peat properties and possible usages of peat
• Possibilities of recultivation of degraded bogs and development of an action plan.