Poiana Stampei Peat Bog (Tinovul Mare), Romania

By
Catalina

March 5, 2020

Type	Natural, Reservation, Swamp, Peat Bog
Part of	Wetland of International Importance
Opening hours/ Tickets	Any time (summer is recommended) / Free Entry
Getting there	From Vatra Dornei – Bistrita on E58 you will reach Poiana Stampei (after 20 km). After a while turn left, following the sign for the village Dornisoara. After 4 km (maintaining the right direction) on a good paved road, you will be in a small intersection. Here you will see an information panel on the right side with the entrance to the reservation.
Location	Poiana Stampei, Suceava, Romania

Poiana Stampei Peat Bog – The largest oligotrophic peat bog in Romania

The peat bog is situated in Suceava County, north Romania, between the villages of Poiana Stampei and Dornisoara, 2 km from the national road DN17 Vatra Dornei, Bistrita Nasaud. The nearest town, Vatra Dornei, is 20 km east of the peat bog.

Tinovul Mare is considered the largest oligotrophic peat bog in Romania. Tinovul Mare scientific reservation from Poiana Stampei has a surface of 681.8 ha. The peat bog is a swamp, an area where the groundwater reaches the surface and a specific flora is formed, consisting largely of moss. The peat thickness exceeds 1 m and is still active.

A wooden bridge through the forest with rare plants

A 1 km long wooden bridge crosses the forest among the pine trees, mosses, ferns, and cranberry bushes. From place to place you will find written panels with pictures that will inform you about the specific fauna and flora.

Due to the acid soil, the pine trees in the Tinovul Mare have a slow-growing and the circumference of the trees does not exceed 22 cm. For this reason, the young trees can be easily confused with the old ones that can have even 100 years.

Peatlands are the superheroes of ecosystems: purifying water, sometimes mitigating flooding, and providing a home for rare species.

Some of the plant species, such as moss Sphagnum wulfianum and fern Dryopteris cristata, can be found only here, in Romania.

On the east side, the peat bog is bordered by a railway and a road.