A water-budget approach to restoring a sedge fen affected by diking and ditching

Wilcox, Douglas A.; Sweat, Michael J.; Carlson, Martha L.; Kowalski, Kurt P.

doi:10.1016/j.jhydrol.2005.07.026

Cited by 30 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 22 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Canals are generally larger than ditches (typically > 1‐m wide and 1‐m deep) and have been constructed in many peatlands as part of large‐scale drainage schemes for agriculture, forestry, or navigation projects (Wilcox et al ; Drexler et al ). Canals have the same negative effects on peatlands as ditches and can be blocked or filled to restore peatland function.…”

Section: New Approaches Developed For Restoring Additional Disturbancesmentioning

confidence: 99%

An overview of peatland restoration in North America: where are we after 25 years?

Chimner

Cooper

Wurster

et al. 2016

Restoration Ecology

127

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Peatland restoration in North America (NA) was initiated approximately 25 years ago on peat‐extracted bogs. Recent advances in peatland restoration in NA have expanded the original concepts and methodology. Restoration efforts in NA now include restoring peatlands from many diverse types of disturbances (e.g. roads, agriculture, grazing, erosion, forestry, and petrol industry infrastructure impacts) and occur in a greater array of peatland types (e.g. fens and swamps). Because fens are groundwater and surface flow driven, techniques to restore the hydrology of fens are generally more complicated than bogs. Restoring a greater variety of peatland types on a large‐scale basis (>10 ha) commands new techniques for reestablishing a broader array of plants other than Sphagnum spp., including non‐Sphagnum mosses, sedges, nonericaceous shrubs, and trees. The rationale for restoring peatlands has expanded to include legal requirements, wetland mitigation and banking, climate mitigation, water quality, and as part of responsible ecosystem management for industry or society. In the past 25 years, peatland restoration in NA has evolved from (1) trial and error to a more empirically based scientific approach, (2) small site‐specific experiments to landscape‐scale restoration (e.g. hydrological connectivity, ecological fragmentation), and (3) individual stakeholder (academic) to multiple stakeholders across jurisdictional boundaries (private, local, and regional governmental agencies, NGOs, and so on). However, many research gaps still exist that must be addressed to enhance our ability to restore peatlands successfully.

show abstract

Section: New Approaches Developed For Restoring Additional Disturbancesmentioning

confidence: 99%

An overview of peatland restoration in North America: where are we after 25 years?

Chimner

Cooper

Wurster

et al. 2016

Restoration Ecology

127

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The climate is strongly influenced by Lake Superior and Lake Michigan, with an annual precipitation of 810 mm. Temperatures in the area range from −37 • C to 36 • C, with an average temperature of 5 • C (USFWS, 2009;Wilcox et al, 2006).…”

Section: Study Sitementioning

confidence: 99%

Shifting environmental controls on CH<sub>4</sub> fluxes in a sub-boreal peatland

et al. 2013

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract. We monitored CO 2 and CH 4 fluxes using eddy covariance from 19 May to 27 September 2011 in a poor fen located in northern Michigan. The objectives of this paper are to: (1) quantify the flux of CH 4 from a sub-boreal peatland, and (2) determine which abiotic and biotic factors were the most correlated to the flux of CH 4 over the measurement period. Net daily CH 4 fluxes increased from 70 mg CH 4 m −2 d −1 to 220 mg CH 4 m −2 d −1 from mid May to mid July. After July, CH 4 losses steadily declined to approximately 50 mg CH 4 m −2 d −1 in late September. During the study period, the peatland lost 17.4 g CH 4 m −2 . Both abiotic and biotic variables were correlated with CH 4 fluxes. When the different variables were analyzed together, the preferred model included mean daily soil temperature at 20 cm, daily net ecosystem exchange (NEE) and the interaction between mean daily soil temperature at 20 cm and NEE (R 2 = 0.47, p value < 0.001). The interaction was important because the relationship between daily NEE and mean daily soil temperature with CH 4 flux changed when NEE was negative (CO 2 uptake from the atmosphere) or positive (CO 2 losses to the atmosphere). On days when daily NEE was negative, 25 % of the CH 4 flux could be explained by correlations with NEE, however on days when daily NEE was positive, there was no correlation between daily NEE and the CH 4 flux. In contrast, daily mean soil temperature at 20 cm was poorly correlated to changes in CH 4 when NEE was negative (17 %), but the correlation increased to 34 % when NEE was positive. The interaction between daily NEE and mean daily soil temperature at 20 cm indicates shifting environmental controls on the CH 4 flux throughout the growing season.

show abstract

“…The spatial distribution of fens as well as the development of specific types of fens is a function of climate and hydrogeologic settings (Winter, 1992(Winter, , 1999Bedford 1996Bedford , 1999Bedford and Godwin, 2003). With the exception of 'poor' fens, which are highly acidic and have a greater relative influence of precipitation than other fens, groundwater accounts for a significant portion of a fen's water budget (Boeye and Verheyen, 1992;Gilvear et al, 1993;Amon et al, 2002;Wilcox et al, 2006). As a result, fens have fairly stable water table elevations that are continuously at or near the land surface, but never inundated for significant lengths of time (Roulet 1990;Gilvear et al, 1993;Carpenter, 1995;Drexler et al, 1999a;Amon et al, 2002;Rydin et al, 2006).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding fen hydrology across multiple scales

Sampath

Liao

Curtis

et al. 2016

Hydrological Processes

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract:Fens, which are among the most biodiverse of wetland types in the USA, typically occur in glacial landscapes characterized by geo-morphologic variability at multiple spatial scales. As a result, the hydrologic systems that sustain fens are complex and not well understood. Traditional approaches for characterizing such systems use simplifying assumptions that cannot adequately capture the impact of variability in geology and topography. In this study, a hierarchical, multi-scale groundwater modelling approach coupled with a geologic model is used to understand the hydrology of a fen in Michigan. This approach uses highresolution data to simulate the multi-scale topographic and hydrologic framework and lithologic data from more than 8500 boreholes in a statewide water well database to capture the complex geology. A hierarchy of dynamically linked models is developed that simulates groundwater flow at all scales of interest and to delineate the areas that contribute groundwater to the fen. The results show the fen receiving groundwater from multiple sources: an adjacent wetland, local recharge, a nearby lake and a regional groundwater mound. Water from the regional mound flows to an intermediate source before reaching the fen, forming a 'cascading' connection, while other sources provide water through 'direct' connections. The regional mound is also the source of water to other fens, streams and lakes in this area, thus creating a large, interconnected hydrologic system that sustains the entire ecosystem. In order to sustainably manage such systems, conservation efforts must include both site-based protection and management, as well as regional protection and management of groundwater source areas.

show abstract

A water-budget approach to restoring a sedge fen affected by diking and ditching

Cited by 30 publications

References 22 publications

An overview of peatland restoration in North America: where are we after 25 years?

An overview of peatland restoration in North America: where are we after 25 years?

Shifting environmental controls on CH<sub>4</sub> fluxes in a sub-boreal peatland

Understanding fen hydrology across multiple scales

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About

A water-budget approach to restoring a sedge fen affected by diking and ditching

Cited by 30 publications

References 22 publications

An overview of peatland restoration in North America: where are we after 25 years?

An overview of peatland restoration in North America: where are we after 25 years?

Shifting environmental controls on CH&lt;sub&gt;4&lt;/sub&gt; fluxes in a sub-boreal peatland

Understanding fen hydrology across multiple scales

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About

Shifting environmental controls on CH<sub>4</sub> fluxes in a sub-boreal peatland