Reed mowing in the Auareda nature reserve

The Auareda Nature Reserve in Pratval is a lowland moor of regional importance characterized by a reed bed with large sedges, tall shrubs and rushes. The marsh also contains some ponds that are an amphibian spawning area of local importance.

Peatlands provide various ecosystem services: they provide habitat for a variety of rare, moisture-loving species and purify the water flowing through them. Thanks to their enormous water storage capacity, they can break flood peaks and, last but not least, they store organic carbon and are therefore relevant to the climate. In the past 200 years, almost 90% of the peatlands in Switzerland have been destroyed.

In this fen there is the problem of the reed, which has become too dominant. The reed can spread rapidly and displace other plant communities if the water balance is disturbed or if nutrients are introduced from the environment and/or the air. The herbaceous layer can reach extraordinary heights (4 to 5 m) and extraordinary productivity (17 t/ha).

Pro Natura's work is to preserve the ecological quality of this biotope. The reed is currently too dominant, so other plants cannot develop in this environment (eg orchids). The reed absorbs the water by drying out the moor more and more and increasing the soil nutrients. In order to restore the moor as well as possible, the reed must be mown once a year and all material removed to de-emaciate the soil and make room for water and other plants.