Fen Management and Research Perspectives: An Overview

Middleton, Beth A.; Grootjans, Ab P.; Jensen, Kai; Venterink, Harry Olde; Margóczi, Katalin

doi:10.1007/978-3-540-33189-6_11

Cited by 16 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 61 publications

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“…However, after intensive agricultural use, the vegetation mat is generally closed and the diaspore bank only contains very common, fast‐growing species with long‐term‐persistent seeds (Bekker et al , ; Klimkowska et al , , ). The longevity of the seeds of many characteristic and rare plant species is less than 5 years (transient and short‐term persistent), and recolonization after restoration is only possible by dispersal, or by clonal growth if target species are still present (Gignac et al , ; Middleton et al , ; Van Dijk et al , ). However, many species are wind dispersed and can only travel less than 1 m or a few meters per year (Harper, ; Strykstra, Bekker & Bakker, ), provided that habitat quality is sufficient (which is not the case for croplands).…”

Section: Biodiversity: Species Recolonizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecological restoration of rich fens in Europe and North America: from trial and error to an evidence‐based approach

et al. 2014

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Fens represent a large array of ecosystem services, including the highest biodiversity found among wetlands, hydrological services, water purification and carbon sequestration. Land-use change and drainage has severely damaged or annihilated these services in many parts of North America and Europe; restoration plans are urgently needed at the landscape level. We review the major constraints on the restoration of rich fens and fen water bodies in agricultural areas in Europe and disturbed landscapes in North America: (i) habitat quality problems: drought, eutrophication, acidification, and toxicity, and (ii) recolonization problems: species pools, ecosystem fragmentation and connectivity, genetic variability, and invasive species; and here provide possible solutions. We discuss both positive and negative consequences of restoration measures, and their causes. The restoration of wetland ecosystem functioning and services has, for a long time, been based on a trial-and-error approach. By presenting research and practice on the restoration of rich fen ecosystems within agricultural areas, we demonstrate the importance of biogeochemical and ecological knowledge at different spatial scales for the management and restoration of biodiversity, water quality, carbon sequestration and other ecosystem services, especially in a changing climate. We define target processes that enable scientists, nature managers, water managers and policy makers to choose between different measures and to predict restoration prospects for different types of deteriorated fens and their starting conditions.

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Section: Biodiversity: Species Recolonizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecological restoration of rich fens in Europe and North America: from trial and error to an evidence‐based approach

et al. 2014

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“…As a consequence, formerly widespread mesotrophic fen and meadow communities have declined dramatically (Poschlod, Bakker & Kahmen, 2005; Van Diggelen et al. , 2006; Middleton et al. , 2006), and many species that were formerly widespread are deteriorating rapidly (Ewers & Didham, 2006).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stream characteristics and their implications for the protection of riparian fens and meadows

et al. 2011

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1. Running waters, including associated riparian areas, are embraced by international legal frameworks outlining targets for the preservation, protection and improvement of the quality of the environment. Interactions between stream and river processes and riparian habitats have not received much attention in the management of stream ecosystems, and integrated measures that consider both the ecological status of streams and rivers (sensu EU Water Framework Directive, WFD) and the conservation status of riparian habitats and species (sensu EU Habitats Directive, HD) are rare. 2. Here, we analysed the influence of stream size, morphology and chemical water characteristics for the distribution of water-dependent terrestrial habitat types, i.e. alkaline fens, periodically inundated meadows and meadows in riparian areas in Denmark using an extensive data set covering a total of 254 stream reaches. A species-based classification model was used to translate species lists into a standardised interpretation of habitat types protected by the HD in Denmark. 3. No size dependency was found regarding the distribution of fen and meadow vegetation. Instead, the distribution of fen and meadow vegetation was strongly affected by the morphology of the streams. Alkaline fens, periodically inundated meadows and meadows occurred six, five and four times, respectively, less frequently along channelised compared with natural stream reaches. Our results indicate that stream channelisation strongly interfered with the natural hydrology of riparian areas, affecting conditions needed to sustain protected fen and meadow communities. 4. We also found that water chemistry strongly influenced the occurrence of fen and meadow vegetation in riparian areas. The probability of finding fen and meadow vegetation was reduced when total phosphorus (TP) concentration exceeded 40-50 lg P L )1 , whereas meadow vegetation responded less strongly to TP. 5. Our findings highlight the importance of restoring hydrology of riparian areas to improve conditions for fen and meadow vegetation, but also that the water chemistry should be considered when measures that increase hydrological connectivity result in an increase in the probability of flooding.

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“…Spring-fed fens are known mainly from the temperate zone of the Northern Hemisphere. However, they are critically endangered, mostly due to drainage in surrounding areas, eutrophication, or land use changes (Hájek et al 2002;Bedford and Godwin 2003;Grootjans et al 2006;Middleton et al 2006). Both forestation and deforestation, and also agricultural activities in the catchment area are closely related to CaCO 3 precipitation in calcareous fens.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Current state and vegetation history of spring-fed fens in Western Pomerania (Northern Poland): a case study of the Chociel River valley

Osadowski

Drzymulska

Dobrowolski

et al. 2018

Wetlands Ecol Manage

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Alkaline spring-fed fens are a rare type of soligeneous wetlands, characterised by an alternating arrangement of layers of peat and calcareous tufa, defined as the peat-tufa rhythmite. They are known, for example, from the strongly undulating young glacial landscapes of Central Europe, where many of them are protected by law. These include sites located in the Chociel River valley, in Western Pomerania (Northern Poland). One such spring-fed fen (Bobolice site) was investigated in detail using multiple methods (phytosociological, plant macrofossils, sedimentological and geochemical) for the current state of vegetation, reconstruction of its long-term development and, eventually, the identification of management strategies for its effective protection. Six developmental phases reflecting changes in the natural environment at the end of the Late Glacial and in the Holocene, as well as changes caused by human impacts in recent centuries, were identified for the investigated site. In the past, the dominant role in the formation of the spring-fed fen was attributed to sedge and sedge-moss communities, also with an admixture of Sphagnum in the last phase of the fen's development. For about 300 years increased human activity has been recorded in the Chociel Valley, resulting in a modification of the water regime and a strong transformation of vegetation. Today, the real vegetation is therefore the result of both the presence of various mire habitats and various types of agricultural use. The current state of spring-fed fens in the Chociel River valley points to the urgent need for the implementation of various active protection measures.

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Fen Management and Research Perspectives: An Overview

Cited by 16 publications

References 61 publications

Ecological restoration of rich fens in Europe and North America: from trial and error to an evidence‐based approach

Ecological restoration of rich fens in Europe and North America: from trial and error to an evidence‐based approach

Stream characteristics and their implications for the protection of riparian fens and meadows

Current state and vegetation history of spring-fed fens in Western Pomerania (Northern Poland): a case study of the Chociel River valley

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