Land-and-seascapes

By tondrijfhamer

Peatland - sunset in Bargerveen (NL)

Bargerveen Nature Reserve is a nature reserve in the Dutch province of Drenthe that has been included in the Natura 2000 ecological network. Since 2006 it is part of the Bourtanger Moor-Bargerveen International Nature Park, a nature reserve located on both sides of the border between the Netherlands and Germany. Most of the transboundary nature reserve, some 134 km2 (52 sq mi), lies in Germany, in the west of the state of Lower Saxony. The sparsely populated landscape consists of large peat areas, heather, and small lakes.

The Dutch part of the nature reserve was founded in 1992 as Natuurreservaat Bargerveen. Bargerveen has a size of 21 km2 (8.1 sq mi). It consists mainly of peat bog.

Before peat extraction was discontinued, some of the wetland area had become degraded. Restoration work to improve water retention has been undertaken by Staatsbosbeheer, the government agency that manages the site. The work was supported by the European Union's LIFE programme. Bargerveen has been twinned with two Irish Ramsar Sites, Clara Bog and Raheenmore Bog, which were identified as needing active management measures.

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