Landscape and Urban Planning 97 (2010) 249–257 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Landscape and Urban Planning journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/landurbplan Prospects of fen restoration in relation to changing land use—An example from central Poland Agata Klimkowska a,b,c,∗ , Paulina Dzier ˙ za c , Ab P. Grootjans d,g , Wiktor Kotowski c,e , Rudy VAN Diggelen f a Community and Conservation Ecology Group, Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Studies, University of Groningen, P.O. Box 14, 9750 AA Haren, The Netherlands b Institute for Land Reclamation and Grassland Farming (IMUZ), Falenty, Al. Hrabska 3, 05-090 Raszyn, Poland c Wetland Conservation Centre, Raszy´ nska 32/44 App. 140, 02-262 Warsaw, Poland d Center for Energy and Environmental Studies, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 4, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands e Department of Plant Ecology and Nature Protection, Institute of Botany, University of Warsaw, Al. Ujazdowskie 4, 00-478 Warszawa, Poland f Ecosystem Management Research Group, University of Antwerp, Department of Biology, Universiteitsplein 1, B-2610 Wilrijk, Belgium g Institute for Water and Wetland Research Radboud, University of Nijmegen, P.O. Box 9010, 6500 GL Nijmegen, The Netherlands article info Article history: Received 23 September 2009 Received in revised form 15 June 2010 Accepted 20 June 2010 Keywords: Drainage Fen system Groundwater discharge Water budget abstract We carried out an eco-hydrological analysis to evaluate the most important effects of land use changes on the hydrological functioning of a fen system in Poland. We measured water levels (hydraulic heads) and water flow along a transect through the study area and also analysed land use changes using his- torical maps. Major hydrological changes occurred after c. 1950 when a dense drainage network was constructed and in the last decade when large fishponds were built. Nowadays, water levels in most of the fens and fen meadows are too low and the fluctuations too large for a long-term preservation of fen ecosystems. The mean water tables range from 0.3 to 0.8 m below soil surface with fluctuations from 0.7 up to 1.5 m. A second important cause of the hydrological changes of the system was the afforestation of the adjacent infiltration areas leading to increased evapotranspiration and a decreased groundwater flow to the wetlands. Finally, a recent increase in groundwater abstraction for agricultural purposes has probably lowered the groundwater even further. We conclude that a full restoration of the fen is not possible under the present conditions. An alternative restoration goal could be conservation and restora- tion of species-rich fen meadows, but also then improving the hydrological conditions will be necessary. While the focus is often on the local factors influencing the restoration prospects of a fen system, the regional processes are at least equally important. In this paper we discuss an importance of both local and regional factors. © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction In the presented study we discuss the prospect for restoration of groundwater fed fens with altered hydrology and consider both local and regional causes of fens degradation. Such fens and fen meadows provide multiple ecosystem services and host a high bio- diversity (Zedler, 2000; Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, 2005; van Diggelen et al., 2006), but most of these ecosystems have dis- appeared from the European landscape and the remaining ones are often highly degraded (Joosten and Clark, 2002). The loss of undis- turbed mires in the 20th century in Poland was estimated to be more than 80% (Kotowski and Piórkowski, 2003) whereas grass- lands on severely degraded peat soils occupy over 1,000,000 ha at the same time (Grzyb and Pro ´ nczuk, 1994; Jankowska-Huflejt, ∗ Corresponding author. Present address: Alterra, Centrum Landscape, Postbus 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands. Tel.: +31 0 317 481683. E-mail address: Agata.Klimkowska@wur.nl (A. Klimkowska). 2006). Conservation of the remaining undisturbed sites has gained political support all over Europe during the last decades and efforts to restore disturbed sites are increasing in numbers (Lamers et al., 2002; Klimkowska et al., 2007a). Fens and fen meadows rely heavily on groundwater supply from the surrounding landscape (Wassen et al., 1990, 1996; Jansen et al., 2000). A good understanding of past and present landscape arrangement is essential for effective conservation and restora- tion of these vulnerable ecosystems (Grootjans and van Diggelen, 1995; van Diggelen et al., 2006). Different land use systems may affect infiltration rates and indirectly determine the feasibility of restoration targets. Explicit and quantified relations between land use practices in a catchment and fen restoration prospects are difficult to identify and often stay unspecified. This knowledge is urgently needed to formulate adequate plans for conservation and restoration of peatlands as elaborated in European and national biodiversity action plans. This is especially relevant for large and highly degraded peatlands in Central and Eastern Europe. To gain more insight in the effects of land use practices, we studied a typical 0169-2046/$ – see front matter © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.landurbplan.2010.06.009