0000000000653256
AUTHOR
Solvita Strake
Baseline port surveys for invasive marine species in the Northeastern Baltic
Marine ecosystems around the world are being transformed and degraded by non-indigenous species, which affect the structure and function of the ecosystem, causing major ecological and economic implications. Ships have been recognized as a major vector for the introduction of non-indigenous harmful organisms, carrying them in ballast water tanks and sediments. Activities to prevent and mitigate the impact of invasive alien species have to be based on cooperation. Financed by Phare Cross Border Co-operation Programme in the Baltic Sea Region (2005–2006) Latvia together with Estonia will focus on baseline port surveys for non-indigenous species in the north-eastern part of the Baltic Sea.
Water quality in cutaway peatland lakes in Seda mire, Latvia
Remediation of industrially-milled peatland is an important task in the sustainable management of natural resources. Several approaches for wetland restoration, depending on local climatic and hydrological conditions, topography, physico-chemical properties of peat, as well as peat mining techniques, have been developed worldwide. However, most of the restoration activities include regulation of hydrological regime and surface topography in order to reintroduce typical bog vegetation, especially, Sphagnum cover, and to restore the peatland’s ecosystem close to its original conditions (Gorham and Rochefort, 2003; Farrell and Doyle, 2003; Lamers et al., 2002). In many countries, a significant…