Die Alpen-Smaragdlibelle Somatochlora alpestris (Selys, 1840) - Libelle des Jahres 2023: Aktuelle Verbreitungssituation im Erzgebirge (Sachsen)

The Alpine Emerald dragonfly Somatochlora alpestris (Selys, 1840) - Dragonfly of the year 2023: Current distribution in the Erzgebirge (Saxony). Somatochlora alpestris is a cold-adapted species that lives mainly in peat bogs in the high mountains of Central Europe. In 2023, the current population situation in the Erzgebirge region was reviewed in light of the impact of several hot and dry years on the habitats, management measures in some of the regional moors and, finally, the effect of climatic changes. The reason for the study was the declaration of the species as "Dragonfly of the Year 2023" in Germany. All records ever recorded in the Saxon Erzgebirge were summarised in three time series: (1) records up to 1990, (2) all records up to 2005, the year of publication of the book "Libellenfauna Sachsens" and (3) finally further records up to 2022. These records show a regional distribution that distinguishes five separate distribution areas in the Erzgebirge region: (1) the Westerzgebirge with the moors Großer and Kleiner Kranichsee and surrounding moors, (2) the Fichtelberg area with the Pfahlbergmoor and smaller moor areas on the Czech-German border, (3) the ridge region of the Central Erzgebirge with the moors around Kühnheide and Rübenau as well as the Kriegswiese near Satzung, (4) the moors near Deutscheinsiedel and (5) finally in the Osterzgebirge region the Georgenfelder Hochmoor and other moors in the surrounding area. All areas in which populations with evidence of reproduction were found are between 700 and 1000 metres above sea level. In 2023, 22 moors were checked for the presence of S. alpestris. Evidence was found in eight areas, in five of which exuviae were found. The abundance of exuviae and imagines found was very low. The main reason for the low number of individuals is seen in the climatic conditions of the hot and dry years between 2018 and 2022, as a result of which the habitats of the larvae were severely impaired. Many bog pools and pools were still dry in the (rainy) summer of 2023. Nevertheless, the species was found with at least one record in each of the five distribution areas in the Erzgebirge region. As species organised in metapopulations are generally able to recolonise lost habitats, it is to be hoped that the population will stabilise again under better environmental conditions.