Vegetation recovery after multiple-site experimental fen restorations

Hedberg, Petter; Kotowski, Wiktor; Saetre, Peter; Mälson, Kalle; Rydin, Håkan; Sundberg, Sebastian

doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2012.01.039

Cited by 52 publications

(66 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…3c), Sphagnum mosses increased their cover rapidly, bringing the plant community structure within the variation of the undrained sites (I). The result is consistent with other restoration studies, which show that Sphagnum species recover fairly predictably and rapidly once suitable conditions for colonization are created (Lanta et al 2006, Hedberg et al 2012, González and Rochefort 2014: successful rewetting pushes the ecosystem across a threshold to a new successional pathway (Suding and Hobbs 2008), in this case one of secondary mire succession. Mire ecosystems could be considered more Clementsian than perhaps any other because of Sphagnum moss, the powerful ecosystem engineer.…”

Section: Recovery Of Ecosystem Structure and Functionsupporting

confidence: 89%

Restoration of ecosystem structure and function in boreal spruce swamp forests

Maanavilja¹

2015

Diss. For.

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To be presented, with the permission of the Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry of the University of Helsinki, for public criticism in lecture room B2, B-building (Viikki Campus, Latokartanonkaari 7, Helsinki) on May 8 th 2015, at 12 o'clock noon. Drainage to increase timber production has drastically decreased the area of undrained spruce swamp forests in northern Europe. In restoration by rewetting, drainage ditches are blocked to restore the original hydrology and, ultimately, the structure, function and ecosystem services of undrained boreal spruce swamp forests. This study quantifies the restoration success of rewetting regarding plant community composition, moss community carbon assimilation potential, Sphagnum biomass production and surface peat biogeochemistry, and aims to determine the main controls of success. The study sites comprised 18 rewetted, nine undrained and nine drained spruce swamp forests in southern Finland, complemented by sites in the Šumava Mountains, Czech Republic. Drainage had taken place decades prior; the rewetted sites varied in their rewetting age from 1 to 15 years. The results show that rewetting has to raise the water table above a threshold to initiate any changes in the drained ecosystem. If the threshold is crossed, the changes that occur will be rapid. Two strands of development emerged throughout the different components of the ecosystem: development towards the undrained reference state and development towards a new direction, different from both the undrained and the drained state. Rewetting created favourable conditions for Sphagnum photosynthesis. Sphagnum mosses recovered in cover and biomass production rapidly. The new growth started the accumulation of the porous surface organic matter layer characteristic of mires, which increased microbial decomposition activity in the surface organic layer towards undrained levels. Meanwhile, rewetting applied on the compacted, physicochemically altered peat created wet, unstable hydrological conditions, which increased the cover of opportunistic plant species in the understory and caused high NH4 mobilization and CH4 production in the surface organic layer. Demanding spruce swamp forest species were lacking at the rewetted sites, but rewetting was successful in restoring the common species and directing the ecosystem towards mire-like functioning.Keywords: peatland forest, vegetation, Sphagnum, moss photosynthesis, biomass production, biogeochemistry 4 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSThis thesis is a result of the efforts of the many people who gave their time and expertise to the research project. Thank you for accompanying me on this venture. First, I want to express my gratitude to my supervisor Eeva-Stiina Tuittila. Thank you for your insightful thinking and persistent support. To my co-authors, thank you for your contribution. It has been a privilege to work with so many intelligent, creative and generous people. Your knowledge, skills and enthusiasm, be it in peatland restoration, plant ecophysiology, statistics or soil biogeochemistry, ...

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Section: Recovery Of Ecosystem Structure and Functionsupporting

confidence: 89%

Restoration of ecosystem structure and function in boreal spruce swamp forests

Maanavilja¹

2015

Diss. For.

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“…The surface layer can be disconnected from the WT during drought leading to a drying of the peat37, thus making it hard for Sphagnum to establish and compete with feather mosses38. Increasing light availability via canopy removal3940 (Fig. 5f) in forested drained peatlands can help Sphagnum to compete with feather mosses, but the effects of this practice alone may be marginal4041.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mitigating wildfire carbon loss in managed northern peatlands through restoration

Granath

Moore

Lukenbach

et al. 2016

Sci Rep

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Northern peatlands can emit large amounts of carbon and harmful smoke pollution during a wildfire. Of particular concern are drained and mined peatlands, where management practices destabilize an array of ecohydrological feedbacks, moss traits and peat properties that moderate water and carbon losses in natural peatlands. Our results demonstrate that drained and mined peatlands in Canada and northern Europe can experience catastrophic deep burns (>200 t C ha−1 emitted) under current weather conditions. Furthermore, climate change will cause greater water losses in these peatlands and subject even deeper peat layers to wildfire combustion. However, the rewetting of drained peatlands and the restoration of mined peatlands can effectively lower the risk of these deep burns, especially if a new peat moss layer successfully establishes and raises peat moisture content. We argue that restoration efforts are a necessary measure to mitigate the risk of carbon loss in managed peatlands under climate change.

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“…In many cases, changes in plant composition are conducted in relation to changes of some parameters in the environment: potential influence of climate change [Weltzin et al 2003, Dieleman et al 2014, changes in water chemistry [Leps 2004, Vicherova et al 2015 after and during restoration [Hedberg et al 2012, Kotowski et al 2013, Van Diggelen et al 2015 or trying to find the best way to sustain characteristic features of those habitats [Bergamini et al 2009, Seer Schrautzer 2014. Surveys involving plant composition changes taking time as the factor are rarer [Dyderski, Jagodziński 2016].…”

Section: : Eriophoro Vaginati-sphagnetum Recurvimentioning

confidence: 99%

Present state and changes that occur within plant communities growing on the floating mat that surrounds the Moszne lake (Polesie National Park)

Zagórowicz

2017

Ochrona Srodowiska I Zasobów Naturalnych

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The first recordings of flora and vegetation in the surroundings of the Moszne lake (Polesie National Park) started from 1960. In 1980s the water conditions in this area changed and affected the organisms that lived there. The aim of this research was to recognize the present state and changes that occurred within flora and vegetation in the course of 18 years (1995–2013). In 2013, at the beginning of June, 34 phytosociological relevés were made on the floating mat that surrounds the Moszne lake in the same locations as they were done in 1995. The obtained data was collated with figures from the literature by comparing the frequency of plant species and plant communities, average plant species coverage and by calculating Sørensen indexes. The results showed that almost the same plant communities were identified in both terms of research. It was found that 35% of the plant species had disappeared after 18 years and that the biggest increase in percentage coverage was noted in case of Phragmites australis and Sphagnum fallax. Those findings show that it is very difficult and sometimes even impossible to reverse the negative influence of water condition change on bogs.

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Vegetation recovery after multiple-site experimental fen restorations

Cited by 52 publications

References 29 publications

Restoration of ecosystem structure and function in boreal spruce swamp forests

Restoration of ecosystem structure and function in boreal spruce swamp forests

Mitigating wildfire carbon loss in managed northern peatlands through restoration

Present state and changes that occur within plant communities growing on the floating mat that surrounds the Moszne lake (Polesie National Park)

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