Vegetation controls of water and energy balance of a drained peatland forest: Responses to alternative harvesting practices

Haahti, Kersti; Korkiakoski, Mika; Nieminen, Mika; Laiho, Raija; Hotanen, Juha‐Pekka; Kieloaho, Antti-Jussi; Korpela, Leila; Laurila, Tuomas; Lohila, Annalea; Minkkinen, Kari; Mäkipää, Raisa; Ojanen, Paavo; Pearson, Meeri; Penttilä, Timo; Tuovinen, Juha‐Pekka; Launiainen, Samuli

doi:10.1016/j.agrformet.2020.108198

Cited by 40 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 83 publications

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“…In the present study, we observed a statistically similar soil water content along with distances from the ditch, but water content tended to be higher toward plots far away from the ditch, ranging from 0.22 m 3 m −3 at plot 5 to 0.27 m 3 m −3 at plot 80 in the studied stands. On the other hand, many studies reported that the soil microclimate and hydrology of peat soils can be noticeably influenced by other factors than ditch distance, for example, topography, vegetation characteristics, tree stands, climatic conditions, as well as peat and subsoil hydraulic properties [47][48][49]. It will therefore be important to explore those effects to better determine soil moisture at peatland forests.…”

Section: Absorptive Root Morphological Variation Along With the Distance From The Ditchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Morphological Variation in Absorptive Roots in Downy Birch (Betula pubescens) and Norway Spruce (Picea abies) Forests Growing on Drained Peat Soils

Rezapour

Truu

Maddison

et al. 2022

Forests

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Peatland drainage based on ditch systems is a widely used forestry management practice in the boreal and hemiboreal forests to improve tree growth. This study investigated the morphological variation in absorptive roots (first- and second-order roots) across the distance gradient from the ditch with four sampling plots (5, 15, 40, and 80 m) in six drained peatland forests dominated by Downy birch and Norway spruce. The dominating tree species had a significant effect on the variation in absorptive root morphological traits. The absorptive roots of birch were thinner with a higher specific root area and length (SRA and SRL), higher branching intensity (BI), and lower root tissue density (RTD) than spruce. The distance from the ditch affected the absorptive root morphological traits (especially SRA and RTD), but this effect was not dependent on tree species and was directionally consistent between birch and spruce. With increased distance from the ditch (from plot 5 to plot 80), the mean SRA increased by about 10% in birch and 5% in spruce; by contrast, the mean RTD decreased by about 10% in both tree species, indicating a potential shift in nutrient foraging. However, soil physical and chemical properties were not dependent on the distance from the ditch. We found a species-specific response in absorptive root morphological traits to soil properties such as peat depth, pH, and temperature. Our results should be considered when evaluating the importance of morphological changes in absorptive roots when trees acclimate to a changing climate.

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Section: Absorptive Root Morphological Variation Along With the Distance From The Ditchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Morphological Variation in Absorptive Roots in Downy Birch (Betula pubescens) and Norway Spruce (Picea abies) Forests Growing on Drained Peat Soils

Rezapour

Truu

Maddison

et al. 2022

Forests

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“…Adversely, drainage might also limit water and nutrient supply for the ground vegetation [20,21]. Previous studies have highlighted the important role of the rapidly developing fieldlayer vegetation in modifying the water, energy, carbon and GHG balances specifically by increasing transpiration rates [22][23][24]. Additionally, the WTL drawdown may alter soil CO 2 emissions through greater soil aeration, which accelerates the microbial decomposition of soil organic matter [25].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Drainage Ditch Cleaning Has No Impact on the Carbon and Greenhouse Gas Balances in a Recent Forest Clear-Cut in Boreal Sweden

Tong

Nilsson

Drott

et al. 2022

Forests

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Ditch cleaning (DC) is increasingly applied to facilitate forest regeneration following clear-cutting in Fennoscandinavia. However, its impact on the ecosystem carbon and greenhouse gas (GHG) balances is poorly understood. We conducted chamber measurements to assess the initial DC effects on carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) fluxes in a recent forest clear-cut on wet mineral soil in boreal Sweden. Measurements were conducted in two adjacent areas over two pre-treatments (2018/19) and two years (2020/21) after conducting DC in one area. We further assessed the spatial variation of fluxes at three distances (4, 20, 40 m) from ditches. We found that DC lowered the water table level by 12 ± 2 cm (mean ± standard error) and topsoil moisture by 0.12 ± 0.01 m3 m−3. DC had a limited initial effect on the net CO2 exchange and its component fluxes. CH4 emissions were low during the dry pre-treatment years but increased particularly in the control area during the wet years of 2020/21. Distance to ditch had no consistent effects on CO2 and CH4 fluxes. Model extrapolations suggest that annual carbon emissions decreased over the four years from 6.7 ± 1.4 to 1.6 ± 1.6 t-C ha−1 year−1, without treatment differences. Annual CH4 emissions contributed <2.5% to the carbon balance but constituted 39% of the GHG balance in the control area during 2021. Overall, our study suggests that DC modified the internal carbon cycling but without significant impact on the carbon and GHG balances.

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“…Our results show that in addition to technical drainage parameters (ditch depth and ditch spacing), the biological drainage by tree stand, climatic conditions as well as peat and subsoil hydraulic properties have decisive roles in determining WTD in peatland forests (Braekke 1983, Leppä et al 2020a. It is beneficial and necessary to account for those effects when planning DNM operations.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 90%

Defining guidelines for ditch depth in drained Scots pine dominated peatland forests

Hökkä¹,

Laurén²,

Stenberg³

et al. 2021

Silva Fenn.

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We used a process-based hydrological model SUSI to improve guidelines for ditch network maintenance (DNM) operations on drained peatland forests. SUSI takes daily weather data, ditch depth, strip width, peat properties, and forest stand characteristics as input and calculates daily water table depth (WTD) at different distances from ditch. The study focuses on Scots pine ( L.) dominated stands which are the most common subjects of DNM. Based on a literature survey, and consideration of the tradeoffs between forest growth and detrimental environmental impacts, long term median JulyâAugust WTD of 0.35 m was chosen as a target WTD. The results showed that ditch depths required to reach such WTD depends strongly on climatic locations, stand volume, ditch spacing, and peat thickness and type. In typical ditch cleaning areas in Finland with parallel ditches placed about 40 m apart and tree stand volumes exceeding 45 m ha, 0.3â0.8 m deep ditches were generally sufficient to lower WTD to the targeted depth of 0.35 m. These are significantly shallower ditch depths than generally recommended in operational forestry. The main collector ditch should be naturally somewhat deeper to permit water outflow. Our study brings a firmer basis on environmentally sound forestry on drained peatlands.Pinus sylvestris3â1

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Vegetation controls of water and energy balance of a drained peatland forest: Responses to alternative harvesting practices

Cited by 40 publications

References 83 publications

Morphological Variation in Absorptive Roots in Downy Birch (Betula pubescens) and Norway Spruce (Picea abies) Forests Growing on Drained Peat Soils

Morphological Variation in Absorptive Roots in Downy Birch (Betula pubescens) and Norway Spruce (Picea abies) Forests Growing on Drained Peat Soils

Drainage Ditch Cleaning Has No Impact on the Carbon and Greenhouse Gas Balances in a Recent Forest Clear-Cut in Boreal Sweden

Defining guidelines for ditch depth in drained Scots pine dominated peatland forests

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