Ericaceous shrubs on abandoned block‐cut peatlands: implications for soil water availability and <i>Sphagnum</i> restoration

Farrick, Kegan K.; Price, Jonathan S.

doi:10.1002/eco.77

Cited by 31 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 50 publications

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“…This results in a river discharge reduction such as was demonstrated in the Central Spanish Pyrenees by Beguería et al [56] or in Slovenia where the Dragonja River reduced the sediment delivery due to the loss of the runoff discharge as a consequence of the natural afforestation [57]. The use of water by the vegetation (transpiration) also resulted in the loss of water available by plants such as Moreira et al [58] found in the Amazon on abandoned pastures, Rambousková et al [59] in the abandoned fields in the Bohemian Karst, and Farrick and Price [60] in the Sphagnum restoration in peatlands.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Impact of Farmland Abandonment on Water Resources and Soil Conservation in Citrus Plantations in Eastern Spain

Cerdà

Ackermann

Terol

et al. 2019

Water

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Due to the reduction in the prices of oranges on the market and social changes such as the ageing of the population, traditional orange plantation abandonment in the Mediterranean is taking place. Previous research on land abandonment impact on soil and water resources has focused on rainfed agriculture abandonment, but there is no research on irrigated land abandonment. In the Valencia Region—the largest producer of oranges in Europe—abandonment is resulting in a quick vegetation recovery and changes in soil properties, and then in water erosion. Therefore, we performed rainfall simulation experiments (0.28 m2; 38.8 mm h−1) to determine the soil losses in naveline orange plantations with different ages of abandonment (1, 2, 3, 5, 7 and 10 years of abandonment) which will allow for an understanding of the temporal changes in soil and water losses after abandonment. Moreover, these results were also compared with an active plantation (0). The results show that the soils of the active orange plantations have higher runoff discharges and higher erosion rates due to the use of herbicides than the plots after abandonment. Once the soil is abandoned for one year, the plant recovery reaches 33% of the cover and the erosion rate drops one order of magnitude. This is related to the delay in the runoff generation and the increase in infiltration rates. After 2, 3, 5, 7 and 10 years, the soil reduced bulk density, increase in organic matter, plant cover, and soil erosion rates were found negligible. We conclude that the abandonment of orange plantations reduces soil and water losses and can serve as a nature-based solution to restore the soil services, goods, and resources. The reduction in the soil losses was exponential (from 607.4 g m−2 in the active plot to 7.1 g m−2 in the 10-year abandoned one) but the water losses were linear (from 77.2 in active plantations till 12.8% in the 10-year abandoned ones).

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Impact of Farmland Abandonment on Water Resources and Soil Conservation in Citrus Plantations in Eastern Spain

Cerdà

Ackermann

Terol

et al. 2019

Water

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“…Given the net effects of high r c , the 50% reduction in Q * and the doubling of r a , shrubs appear to have a significant role in preserving water in the peatland landscape. In the moderate shrub densities observed both before and after fire, there is still sufficient light for Sphagnum growth (Bisbee et al ., ), without the dense shrub growth that crowds out Sphagnum growth that is seen in cutover peatlands (Farrick and Price, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Water balance of a burned and unburned forested boreal peatland

Thompson

Benscoter

Waddington

2013

Hydrological Processes

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We examined the water balance of a forested ombrotrophic peatland and adjacent burned peatland in the boreal plain of western Canada over a 3-year period. Complete combustion of foliage and fine branches dramatically increased shortwave radiation inputs to the peat surface while halting all tree transpiration at the burned site. End-of-winter snowpack was 7-25% higher at the burned site likely due to decreased ablation from the tree canopy at the unburned site. Shrub regrowth at the burned site was rapid post-fire, and shading by the shrub canopy in the burned site approached that of the unburned site within 3 years after fire. Site-averaged surface resistance to evaporation was not different between sites, though surface resistance in hollows was lower in the burned site. Water loss at both burned and unburned sites is largely driven by surface evaporative losses. Evaporation at the burned site marginally exceeded the sum of pre-fire transpiration and interception at the unburned site, suggesting that evapotranspiration during the growing season was 20-40 mm greater at the burned peatland. Although the net change in water storage during the growing season was largely unchanged by fire, the lack of low-density surface peat in the burned site appears to have decreased specific yield, leading to greater water table decline at the burned site despite similar net change in storage.

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“…Although stand age, stand vigour, climatic factors and hydrology all modify the rates of canopy conductance (Lundblad and Lindroth, 2002;Ewers et al, 2005;Angstmann et al, 2012), stand density and leaf area index (LAI) provide the primary indicator of the bulk rates of transpiration from peatland ecosystems under given micrometeorological conditions (Humphreys et al, 2006). This positive feedback is amplified further by the increased levels of interception with an increased canopy and/or a shrub cover density (Farrick and Price, 2009;Baisley, 2012;Figure 1). Water intercepted by the canopy is lost directly via evaporation, reducing the net input of water to the peatland.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hydrological feedbacks in northern peatlands

et al. 2014

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Northern peatlands provide important global and regional ecosystem services (carbon storage, water storage, and biodiversity). However, these ecosystems face increases in the severity, areal extent and frequency of climate-mediated (e.g. wildfire and drought) and land-use change (e.g. drainage, flooding and mining) disturbances that are placing the future security of these critical ecosystem services in doubt. Here, we provide the first detailed synthesis of autogenic hydrological feedbacks that operate within northern peatlands to regulate their response to changes in seasonal water deficit and varying disturbances. We review, synthesize and critique the current process-based understanding and qualitatively assess the relative strengths of these feedbacks for different peatland types within different climate regions. We suggest that understanding the role of hydrological feedbacks in regulating changes in precipitation and temperature are essential for understanding the resistance, resilience and vulnerability of northern peatlands to a changing climate. Finally, we propose that these hydrological feedbacks also represent the foundation of developing an ecohydrological understanding of coupled hydrological, biogeochemical and ecological feedbacks.

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Ericaceous shrubs on abandoned block‐cut peatlands: implications for soil water availability and Sphagnum restoration

Cited by 31 publications

References 50 publications

Impact of Farmland Abandonment on Water Resources and Soil Conservation in Citrus Plantations in Eastern Spain

Impact of Farmland Abandonment on Water Resources and Soil Conservation in Citrus Plantations in Eastern Spain

Water balance of a burned and unburned forested boreal peatland

Hydrological feedbacks in northern peatlands

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