WSTEPNA CHARAKTERYSTYKA GEOLOGICZNA I PALEOBOTANICZNA MOKRADLA W KOPYTKOWIE NA TLE ANALIZY WSPÓLCZESNYCH WARUNKÓW WODNYCH I SZATY ROSLINNEJ (DOLINA BIEBRZY, NE POLSKA)/Preliminary geological and palaeobotanical description of the Kopytkowo swamp in relation to the analysis of contemporary water conditions and vegetation (Biebrza River valley, NE Poland)

The article presents the results of geological and palaeobotanical studies of the Kopytkowo swamp, located in the Middle Biebrza Basin. The work was carried out in the vicinity of a measure point for streams of greenhouse gases in Kopytkowo. The basin of the described swamp developed as a result of a cut-off of a river channel and a subsequent flooding of a part of the lower Biebrza. The deposit is composed mainly of organic silt. The subsurface layer is composed of sedge peat. The waters contained in the studied deposit display a strong genetic connection to underground waters and a limited connection to rainwater. Currently there are two dominant plant communities in the immediate vicinity of the measure point: an assemblage of high sedges and an extended patch of reed along the Kopytówka.