Destruction of Barbastelle and Greater mouse-eared bat habitat – filling up of the mine shaft in Kozie Chrzepty
Species/habitat
Habitat of Greater mouse-eared bat (Myotis myotis) – 1324 and Barbastelle (Barbastella barbastellus) - 1308, as well as some other bat species protected by Polish law - Myotis nattereri, Myotis daubentonii, Plecotus auritus, Plecotus austriacus, Eptesicus nilsonii
Location
Voivodship dolnośląskie, Borough of Bardo, in the mountain forest between the peaks Brzeźnica and Grochowiec.
Threatened population – several dozen specimens constitutes 0,5% of the regional population of the Greater mouse-eared bat and 1% of the Barbastelle wintering population
Legal status
The work was done with no permit, EIA or decision on environmental requirements. Also no public consultations were involved.
Investor
Forestry Unit: Nadleśnictwo Bardo
Details of the case.
Shaft of the mines has been filled up with tree roots and earth. It blocked the entrance to part of the corridors, disenabling use of more than half of the corridors by bats. The microclimate of the mine system has changed. Increased temperatures may cause that the cryophilic bats (Barbastelle, Northern bat) may be unable to winter in the site.
The site has been regularly controlled since 1997 and was recognized as one of more important hibernacula. The controls shown several to over a dozen specimens but inaccessibility of part of the system and large number of crevices suggest bigger numbers of wintering bats.
Temperature measurements shown high diversity of temperatures in different parts of the system. Continuance of the low temperatures created suitable conditions for the Barbastelle and the Northern bat, both species relatively attached to the site. Destruction of the site is the more dangerous as operations in the nearby “Konstanty” mines destroy its corridors.
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