Vejlbo Mose, Silkeborg

 

For several hundred years was dug peat here in Vejlbo Mose by common people from the town Silkeborg, who needed fuel for their houses in the winter season , but in the 1800s a paper factory was established in the town. They needed fuel for the factory, so they got a contract on peat-digging. A peat factory was established after French role model. The peat production stopped in 1870.  At that time the moor had been dug through in full depth, and the present lake emerged.

cowbane

Bog Arum

path around Vejlbo Mose

 Vejlbo Mose is a raised bog-lake, characterized by its acidic water, which is coloured brown by the dissolved humic substances. It is a very popular recreational area, close to the town of Silkeborg and with a good path and a varied nature. Vejlbo Mose has a rich flora and fauna. Although it is obvious now that the birch is growing fast and covers a part of the edge along the lake there is still sweet gale and heather here, and cranberry, lingonberry, blueberry, the bog arum and water lilies and many other water plants and also the poisonous cowbane. There are usually many dragonflies and butterflies and of course the sweet ducks and other water fowls and there are reptiles too, which I haven't seen often, lizards, grass snakes and vipers. In spring time are especially good opportunities to see vipers - and Naturstyrelsen (Nature Management) tell us  to tread carefully.

heather

autum colour in the green

 

ducks on stalks of water lilies.

dark green water

and deep blue

what's up - what's down?

The raised bogs: 
 In Denmark and in several other West European countries it was obvious after WWII that the raised bogs were threatened by complete extinction, and many raised bogs are today protected and the extraction of spaghnum is submitted to control by the State. This is not the case in some East European countries ( and Sweden). Here are still important raised bog areas which are considered more or less as an unlimited ressource, and extraction goes still on and  in a speed which is much faster than the natural regeneration.

Depending on geological and climatic conditions it takes from several hundreds till several thousands of years for a raised bog to regenerate, but in many cases it is not possible because the climatic conditions are different from when the raised bog was originally formed.  In many countries - also in Denmark - the raised bogs are also threatened by natural degeneration,  since birch and fir start to grow in the dry parts of the  bog, which then grows into forest.




photo Vejlbo Mose 11. August 2012: grethe bachmann

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