Location: The HR-042 peat bog within the peat bog group from the Fântâna Brazilor area is located south of the HR-031 peat bog, being located north of the Fântâna Brazilor village, from an administrative point of view belonging to Corund commune, from Harghita county. The Fântâna Brazilor swamp is located at an altitude of 942 m, with GPS coordinates latitude (N) 46˚29’13.2 ”and longitudinal (E) 25˚15’34.5”. The peatland covers an area of 30.6 ha, being a peatland of reasonable size. On the territory of the peat bog are the buildings with cadastral number 56689 owned by Corund commune, respectively the building with cadastral number 57647 owned by Corund Roman Catholic Parish. The Fântâna Brazilor swamp is not included in the category of site of community importance.
Conservation status: The main habitat type is 7140 - Transitional peat bogs, and the secondary 7230 - Alkaline swamps, next to these two priorities are other important habitats: 91E0 * Alnus glutinosa and Fraxinus excelsior alluvial forests, 6440 Alluvial meadows of river valleys from Cnidion doubts. The conservation status of the main and secondary habitats, respectively 7140 and 7230 are considered unfavorable with a moderate but continuous degradation, which requires rehabilitation interventions. Habitat conservation status 91E0 was considered favorable occupying a relatively small area of the area (approx. 0.1 ha). During the field assessments, habitat 6440 was identified, being in a major degraded state due to intensive grazing.
Identified pressures and threats: During the field inspections, the current pressures were identified, but also those that will threaten the habitats in the future. In addition to those identified in the restoration schemes in the PeatRO program, we also identified other disruptive factors, pressures and threats:
- intensification of the grazing effect on the entire perimeter of the area, for which reason it requires its elimination through the intervention of building an electric fence in the affected part (sub-activity 2.1 and 2.2);
- transit of domestic animals through peat bogs. Two transit routes through peatlands were identified on a total length of 155 ml, reason for which it is necessary to make some passages involving in sub-activity 2.3;
- invasion of grassy vegetation, species of Calamagrostis epigeios, Deschampsia caespitosa, Festuca rubra, Juncus conglomeratus, Nardus stricta. At the edges of habitats 7140 and 7230 due to droughts and the accumulation of biomass quantities, the invasion of non-characteristic species began, which requires interventions on an area of 2.9 ha (sub-activity 4.2);
- the accumulation of the amount of biomass by the decomposition of the grassy vegetation, which contributes to the increase of the degree of mineralization and eutrophication of the peat bog. Requires interventions and mowing on an area of 17.1 ha (sub-activity 6.1);
- it was found that in some places there is the disappearance of the characteristic species of habitats 7140 and 7230, which requires intervention in sub-activities 5.2 and 5.1.
