VERTICAL PATTERNS OF TESTATE AMEBAS (PROTOZOA, RHIZOPODA) AND PEAT-FORMING VEGETATION ON CUTOVER BOGS IN THE JURA, SWITZERLAND

The spatial and temporal processes of secondary vegetation development on abandoned cutover bog surfaces in the Jura region of northwest Swi tzerland have been examined. Descriptions of post-abandonment developm ent of peatland based on the vegetation composition of replacement ser ies from previous studies of vegetation ecology have been confirmed by analysis of testate amoebae (Protozoa) in vertical sequences of secon dary peat underlying the most advanced vegetation communities in the s eries. Recovery of bog habitats to conditions similar to those before cutting was rapid. Testate amoebae show this recovery occurred through several different developmental series, all of which led to a common convergence regardless of the initial condition of the old cutover sur face. Cutover bogs can be fully restored and testate amoebae are a sen sitive new means of monitoring habitat changes in bogs.