The Computer data Bank of Polish Wet- and Grassland was prepared in the years 1983-1993. It contains the information on almost 50.000 peat- and about 2.000 gyttja-deposits. The source of material is prepared in the years 1950-1984 a peat documentation, and prepared in the 70'ths an index and the Map of Polish peatlands in the scale of 1:100.000.

The data of peatlands makes the only full source of information in a scale of the country. Every peatland (within its deposit) and gyttja-deposit (gyttja on peatland surface) have been characterised by numeric parameters divided into the 3 fields:

• deposit localisation:
• current number of deposit (from a localisation map in the scale of 1:100.000),
• country province (division by the year 1998),
• river-basin,
• phisical-geographical unit,
• stratigraphy, peat and gyttja resources:
• type, subtype, and kind of deposit,
• average and maximal depth of peat deposit,
• the area of peatland in hectares,
• resources of peat and gyttja in thousands of cubic meters,
• average ash content and peat decomposition in percentage,
• natural environment and management:
• dominant and subdominant type of flora,
• humidity,
• characteristics of soils,
• noted environmental curiosities,
• The way of management (exploitation).

The data base is available in the dBase standard, it uses also Excel. The base structures may be included to GIS (Geographical Information Systems).

Data of the base are being used in numerous, regional works on peat occurrence, and its characteristic. Moreover, the base has been used for projects contained spatial analyses of wetlands in a scale of the country. Particularly the data has been used in studies of:

• potential resource base of peat in Poland,
• peatlands identification and characterisation in 32 provinces,
• wetlands in the ECONET-Poland ecological net,
• chosen aspects of peatlands differentiation in young- and old-glacial landscapes of Eastern Poland.

Maps of Polish peatlands (analogous) were prepared in the early 70'ths, in the scale of 1:100.000, on background of administrative district maps (without geographical gridlines and with no information about cartography). They show peat deposits and kind of peatlands: fens, transition mires, raised bogs.

The maps were prepared during realisation of:

• numerous local and regional projects on peat deposits identification,
• study under title: " Potencjalna baza zasobowa torfu w Polsce " (Potential Resource Base of Peat in Poland),
• study of peatland occurrence and characterisation in 32 provinces,
• elaboration of chosen aspects of peatlands differentiation in young- and old-glacial landscapes of Eastern Poland.

The Computer Atlas of Polish Wetlands and Grasslands is avaible in the scale of 1:300.000. It is a numeric version of the Map of Polish Wetlands and Grasslands in the scale of 1:100.000.

The Atlas is being used in studies of:

• Wetlands in the ECONET-Poland ecological net,
• Chosen aspects of peatlands differentiation in young- and old-glacial landscapes of Eastern Poland,
• Monographic work: "Mokradła Polski na tle regionalizacji fizycznogeograficznej" (Polish Wetlands on the Background of the Physical Regions).

The Map of Polish Wetlands and Grasslands was prepared in the scale of 1:100.000 (286 map sheets), in the years 1992-1995 during Polish-Netherlands project "Charakterization and Valuation of Wetlands and Grasslands in Poland in the Aspect of Natural Environment Protection" (Charakterystyka i waloryzacja mokradeł i użytków zielonych w Polsce, w aspekcie ochrony środowiska).

The maps show:

1. peatlands with consideration to their division into: fens, transition mires, raised bogs, and other types of wetlands,
2. flora of peatlands and non-peat wetlands, divided into six plant communities:
• bog communities,
• sedge-moss communities (Parvocaricetalia),
• large sedge communities (Magnocaricion),
• rushes (Phragmition),
• wet meadows (Molinietalia),
• moist and dry meadows (Arrhenatheretalia),
• forests and brushwoods.

The map will be transformed into numerical one (in GIS).