Creation of a raised bog in the Botanical garden of Neuchâtel: a tool for research, collections and public information

In September 2014 we created a small raised bog of ca. 100m² in the Botanical garden of Neuchâtel. The material (marl and peat) was collected from a degraded peatland in an industrial area of the region. The bog was planted with over 30 species of mosses and vascular plants collected from bogs in the Jura Mountains and from existing collections. <br> This object corresponds to the three missions of the garden : 1) to inform the public as well as students about these unusual, fragile and threatened ecosystems, 2) to present characteristic peatland plants from the Jura Mountains (<i>Sphagnum</i>, <i>Drosera</i>, <i>Eriophorum</i>, <i>Betula nana</i>, etc.), and 3) to conduct research projects.<br> During the winter 2014-15, the snow remained longer on the peatbog that on the adjacent path and meadow, thus providing evidence for a microclimatic effect of the bog. The excessively dry and hot summer 2015 allowed testing the resistance of the newly established bog vegetation. Most plants resisted well, including graminoids <i>Eriophorum vaginatum</i>, <i>Trichophorum cespitosum</i> or <i>Carex</i> sp., <i>ericaceous</i> (<i>Vaccinium oxycoccos</i>, <i>myrtillus</i> and <i>vitis-idea</i>) and mosses (especially <i>Sphagnum</i>). This living laboratory provides a unique opportunity to inform the public about the characteristics and functions of these ecosystems and the challenges of conserving and restoring them in a warmer world.