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The upland holocene transitional mires of Elatia forest, northern Greece

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Abstract

Four small mires, located at an altitude of 1520 m in the forest complex of Elatia, western Rhodope Massif, northern Greece, were examined in terms of shape, physical and chemical features, plant communities, hydrologic regime, geotectonic setting, and developmental history. The data suggest that the terms bog or fen cannot strictly describe the mires. The mixed vegetation cover of both bog and fen species, the water supply regime (meteoric and surface), the low electrical conductivity, the slightly acidic to subneutral pH values, and the high ash contents support the notion that the mires at Elatia forest can be initially classified as transitional mires. This term is for the first time attributed to mires in Greece. Peat deposition at one of the sites was initiated c. 2,380 years ago but was intermittent to the present day.

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Papazisimou, S., Bouzinos, A., Christanis, K. et al. The upland holocene transitional mires of Elatia forest, northern Greece. Wetlands 22, 355–365 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1672/0277-5212(2002)022[0355:TUHTMO]2.0.CO;2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1672/0277-5212(2002)022[0355:TUHTMO]2.0.CO;2

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