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Species-rich quaking fens have become rare in Western Europe. In Great Britain, Germany and The Netherlands they have been drained and turned into agricultural land. In The Netherlands small fens have developed over the last few centuries under conditions of moderate nutrient availability in broads resulting from peat excavations. Due to their scattered location in a landscape of heavily fertilized grasslands, these fen systems are influenced by the agricultural activities in their immediate surroundings [fertilization, spraying (or dumping) of manure] and inlet of polluted river water in dry periods.