Moore am Nassköhr. 15/10/04; Styria; 211 ha; 47°43'N 15°33'E; Nature Reserve. A karst depression of the northern limestone Alps which presents bogs, transitional mires, and fens.The site supports a high biodiversity of the associated mire vegetation; typical species include the Few-flowered Sedge (Carex pauciflora), the Sundews Drosera anglica, D. intermedia, and D. rotundifolia, Bogbean, Bog Swertia, and numerous moss species.The limestone bedrock is covered with a layer of impermeable shale at the origin of the formation of the peatlands, springs and streams. The streams flow into a meandering brook that vanishes into a "swallow hole", the Durchfall. The wetland has an important role in groundwater recharge and water retention, especially after heavy rainfall. 19th century peat extraction, long discontinued, still negatively affects the hydrology by lowering the water table and initiating erosion channels, and trampling by cattle has caused disturbance of the vegetation cover - under a joint project of the landowners, the Austrian Federal Forests, WWF- Austria, and the Institute of Ecology and Conservation Biology of Vienna University, begun in 2002, peat extraction and drainage are prohibited in the mires and a fence to prevent grazing has been set up. Outside the mires, sustainable forest management, hunting and pasturing are continuing. Ramsar site no. 1404. Most recent RIS information: 2003.

Last publication date: 11-10-2004