A small Šumava-edge nature reserve protecting a transitional bog and submontane juniper grasslands.
Rašeliniště u Martinala
Rašeliniště u Martinala is a small nature reserve located on the eastern slope of Popelová hora, in the Šumava foothills of southern Bohemia. It lies in the Jihočeský kraj, within the Prachatice district, roughly 2.5 kilometers west of the town of Stachy. The reserve consists of two geographically separate parcels, situated above the small settlements of Jáchymov and Michalov, and falls within the broader headwater zone of the Jáchymovský potok stream.
The reserve was established in 2011 by the Administration of the Šumava National Park and Protected Landscape Area. Administratively, it is managed under the broader Šumava protection framework, even though it does not lie inside the national park itself. Its core purpose is to safeguard a naturally developing transitional bog system, alongside species-rich submontane and montane grasslands where common juniper plays an important structural role.
Ecologically, the site is significant for the concentration of rare and legally protected species it supports. It provides habitat for the Eurasian lynx and serves as a refuge for several threatened bird species, including the corncrake, hazel grouse, whinchat, red-backed shrike, common snipe, and water pipit. The bog vegetation also shelters rare plants such as round-leaved sundew, bog rosemary, cranberry, and alpine arnica, giving the reserve a distinctly high-conservation-value profile for its modest size.
