The European Ecological Natura 2000 Network is currently the most advanced territorial system of nature protection, based on social and political acceptance, and what is very important, equipped with special financial instruments to support protection activities, integration and promotion in individual refuges.
The main goal of Natura 2000 system – preservation of the European biodiversity, is achieved by introducing a system of habitat protection and direct protection of species recognized as important from the perspective of community interest.
The rapid pace of the accession negotiations of Poland with the European Union accelerated realization of tasks connected with nature protection that Poland obligatorily must end before the date of signing the Treaty Association Agreement. Hence in the province of Opole there proposed the idea of creating Natura 2000 Network (ed. Nowak 2001). It consists of seven main areas, where the refuges were designated.
In the Natura 2000 Network Kolonowskie commune covers a part of the area of the Mała Panew valley and refuges of the Mała Panew Valley. Its territory coincides with the borders of the planned Landscape Park Mała Panew Valley.
The Area of Mała Panew Valley
Localization:
the eastern part of Opole province, counties: opolski, strzelecki, oleski, communes: Turawa, Chrząstowice, Ozimek, Kolonowskie, Zawadzkie, Jemielnica, Strzelce Opolskie, Izbicko, Dobrodzień.
Area:
38 010 hectares
Physical and geographical location:
macroregion 318.5 Silesia Lowland, mesoregion 318.57 Opole Plain (Kondracki 1998).
Types of natural landscape:
landscapes of valleys and accumulation plains – valley bottoms, the terraces with dunes, old glacial landscapes – of periglacial plains and periglacial torso mountains (Kondracki 1994).
Physical and geographical characteristics:
The area of Mała Panew Valley with strongly developed Pleistocene terraces surrounded by denuded in the periglacial conditions glacial and fluvioglacial plain. In the eastern part cutting in the Silesian-Cracow Highlands. On the Pleistocene terraces and fluvioglacial plains are vast complexes of dune fields with dunes up to 25 m. In the depressions between the dunes and river valleys were located small peat bogs. Near Antoniów, Krasiejów and Staniszcze occur outcrops of the Upper Triassic clays, in Krasiejów with fossils of rich fauna of the then vertebrates. Mała Panew river on the section from Zawadzkie to Kolonowskie is one of the most natural of large lowland rivers in the region. Its bed is here slightly regulated. In the western part of the area is located a large retention reservoir – Turawa Lake with a unique flood zone of Libawa and MałaPanew backwater. On forest areas occur lakes complexes. The highest are at height of 220 metres above sea level, the lowest – 150 metres above sea level.
The major abiotic advantages:
1. Turawa Lake, especially in the part of backwater,
2. Unveiling of geological profiles from the Upper Triassic in Krasiejów with fossils of reptiles.
3. Complex of dunes.
4. Mała Panew bed between Kolonowskie and Zawadzkie and old river beds of this river.
5. Complex of lakes.
6. Peat bogs.
The area forms of nature protection:
Protected Landscape Area – Forests Stobrawsko-Turawskie
The dominant type of land use:
forest. The vegetation of the Mała Panew valley is typically forest. Standing waters and meadows are its complement. From the perspective of nature protection to the most valuable biocenoses occurring within the borders of refuge should be included mature pine forests growing on the dunes and moraines and extrazonal deciduous forests growing on the lowest parts of Mała Panew river basin.
In contained catchment basins formed peat bogs and swamps with bulrush vegetation. On small fragments of uncovered slopes and sand developed grasslands and heaths. Important for the conservation of biological diversity are wetland habitats connected with the occurrence fish ponds, for example in the area of Poliwoda or Marszałki, on which are complexes of aquatic macrophytes and alluvium plants.
In total, within the borders of the refuge were found several interesting species of plants, including: 1 species in Annex II DH, 3 species from Annex V DH, 1 species of the Polish proposal to Annex II DH, 1 species from Annex I KB and 84 rare, endangered and under legal protection species. In addition, the occurrence of 10 types of environments from Annex I DH, 5 types proposed by the Polish side and 32 units endangered on a regional scale were documented.
Mała Panew on the most sections is one of the least transformed rivers in the province. Preserved are numerous meanders, islands, old river beds, forest stands reaching the river bed, that places it in a rank of the most interesting rivers of the province. Faunal qualities are known only in fragments, what still shows their great value in the scale of the province.
To the best known, with respect to the fauna, belongs Turawa Reservoir, considered as a mainstay of birds of the European importance (Gromadzki and the others 1994).
In addition to the breeding of rare species such as Whiskered Tern, Black Tern, Common Shoveler, Spotted Crake, Common Redshank, Common Sandpiper much greater role it has during the flights of birds, when were found 18 500 of Common Mallards, 3 300 of Common Teals, 1 000 of Common Pochards, 1 100 of Common Snipes, 400 of Little Stints, 400 of Dunlins, 350 of Wood Sandpipers.
In the area, from species listed in Annexes, were found: 4 species of invertebrates, 1 species of lamprey, 1 species of fish, 10 species of amphibians, 2 species of reptiles, 25 species of birds and 5 species of mammals. The subpage is in the performance.
Please find enclosed the latest information about Natura 2000 in Opole province:Pismo o zatwierdzeniu przez KE obszarów Natura 2000.pdf, K(2010) 9663.pdf, K(2010) 9669 Zał.pdf, K(2010) 9669.pdf
More information on page: http://natura2000.gdos.gov.pl