Short-term effects of fen peatland restoration through the moss layer transfer technique on the soil CO2 and CH4 efflux

Lazcano, Cristina; Robinson, Cameron; Hassanpour, Golnoush; Strack, Maria

doi:10.1016/j.ecoleng.2018.10.018

Cited by 14 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…Raising water tables also showed a significant role in determining the initial recovery, interacting with Sphagnum inoculation, and suggesting that rewetting and inoculation in combination could be used to steer peatland recovery. Gas flux measurements were within comparable ranges of those observed in other studies focused on moss layer transfer (Lazcano et al, 2018) and rewetting (Dinsmore et al, 2009); however, wider comparisons of carbon budgets are not possible given the short duration of the study. Notably, our results show that Sphagnum inoculation can result in the successful re‐colonisation of Sphagnum onto wildfire‐damaged peat, which is an important component of peatland restoration (Huth et al, 2022; Rochefort, 2000).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 78%

Post‐fire peatland recovery by peat moss inoculation depends on water table depth

Shepherd

Martin

Marin

et al. 2023

Journal of Applied Ecology

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Peatland restoration is essential to preserve biodiversity and carbon stored in peat soils. Common restoration techniques such as rewetting do not always result in the full recovery of peatland taxonomic and functional properties, threatening the resilience of restored peatlands and their carbon stores. Here, we study the use of peat moss inoculation in stimulating the short‐term taxonomic and functional recovery of a wildfire‐impacted peatland using mesocosms at high and low water table depth, representing ideal and adverse hydrological conditions respectively. Inoculation in conjunction with high water tables accelerated the recovery of the vascular plant and prokaryote communities. Importantly, Sphagnum—the keystone genus in these peatlands—only established in inoculated mesocosms. Together, this resulted in an increased CO2 uptake by approximately 17 g m−2 day−1 and reduced overall nutrient content in the peat pore water. Synthesis and applications. Our results indicate that inoculation can be used to accelerate the establishment of peatland‐specific species. In addition, they suggest the potential to combine peat moss inoculation and hydrological restoration to accelerate the uptake of carbon back into the system post‐fire. This offers a basis for future work exploring the long‐term use of inoculation to return disturbed peatlands to their pre‐degraded state, and a wider application of soil inoculation as a mechanism for functional recovery.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 78%

Post‐fire peatland recovery by peat moss inoculation depends on water table depth

Shepherd

Martin

Marin

et al. 2023

Journal of Applied Ecology

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“…Peat property changes include loss of soil C contents, increased bulk density and vertical hydraulic gradient, reduced porosity, decreased saturated hydraulic conductivity and a greater pore water residence time (Weiss et al 1998;Price 2003;Whittington and Price 2006;Berger et al 2018;Bourgault et al 2018). Meanwhile, these properties may not be regained after the restoration of natural hydrology, even for decades (Schimelpfenig, Cooper, and Chimner 2014;Lazcano et al 2018;Schulte et al 2019;Emsens et al 2020).…”

Section: Effects Of Water Level Alteration On Carbon Balancementioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of water level alteration on carbon cycling in peatlands

Zhong

Jiang

Middleton

2020

Ecosyst Health Sustain

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Globally, peatlands play an important role in the carbon (C) cycle. High water level is a key factor in maintaining C storage in peatlands, but water levels are vulnerable to climate change and anthropogenic disturbance. This review examines literature related to the effects of water level alteration on C cycling in peatlands to summarize new ideas and uncertainties emerging in this field. Peatland ecosystems maintain their function by altering plant community structure to adapt to changing water levels. Regarding primary production, woody plants are more productive in unflooded, well-aerated conditions, while Sphagnum mosses are more productive in wetter conditions. The responses of sedges to water level alteration are species-specific. While peat decomposition is faster in unflooded, well aerated conditions, increased plant production may counteract the C loss induced by increased ecosystem respiration (ER) for a period of time. In contrast, rising water table maintains anaerobic conditions and enhances the role of the peatland as a C sink. Nevertheless, changes in DOC flux during water level fluctuation is complicated and depends on the interactions of flooding with environment. Notably, vegetation also plays a role in C flux but particular species vary in their ability to sequester and transport C. Bog ecosystems have a greater resilience to water level alteration than fens, due to differences in biogeochemical responses to hydrology. The full understanding of the role of peatlands in global C cycling deserves much more study due to uncertainties of vegetation feedbacks, peat-water interactions, microbial mediation of vegetation, wildfire, and functional responses after hydrologic restoration.

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“…Against the background of growing agricultural needs, peatland drainage has become a common stress globally (Cris et al, 2014). Restoration is necessary to recover degraded peatlands (Kimmel and Mander, 2010;Lazcano et al, 2018). Generally, planting was conducted as the optimal strategy (Guo et al, 2016;Qi et al, 2021).…”

Section: Implication For Peatland Restorationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Peatland restoration measures mainly include plant reintroduction, hydrological mediation, ditch blocking, and alteration of microtopography (Peacock et al, 2015;Guo et al, 2016). The main purpose of peatland restoration is to restore ecological functions close to or to their undisturbed state by restoring hydrological conditions and plant communities (Lazcano et al, 2018;Ahmad et al, 2020). Planting has been considered to be an effective way to restore the dominant peatland species in degraded peatland, but vegetation alone cannot ensure the persistence of the restoration (Guo et al, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Responses of soil enzyme activities and bacterial community structure to different hydrological regimes during peatland restoration in the Changbai Mountain, northeast China

Wang

et al. 2022

Front. Microbiol.

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Appropriate hydrological management is critical for peatland restoration. An important prerequisite for peatland restoration is a recovery of soil biological processes. However, little is known about the effects of different hydrological management practices on soil biological processes during peatland restoration. In this study, the variations in soil properties, enzyme activities, and bacterial communities across different peatlands, namely natural peatland (NP), peatland restored under high water level (HR), peatland restored under alternating high-low water level (HLR), peatland restored under low water level (LR), and degraded peatland (DP), in the Changbai Mountains were investigated. Results showed that soil organic carbon, soil water content, and total nitrogen in NP were significantly higher than those in restored and degraded peatlands, and these soil properties in restored peatlands increased with the water level. The activities of soil hydrolases including β-1, 4-glucosidase, β-1, 4-n-acetylglucosidase, and acid phosphatase in NP were higher than in restored and degraded peatlands, while the activity of polyphenol oxidase in NP was the lowest. In restored peatlands, all measured enzyme activities decreased with the decline in water level. Both bacterial diversity and richness in NP were the lowest, while the highest diversity and richness were observed in HR. Redundancy analysis indicated that soil organic carbon, water level, soil water content, total nitrogen, and pH were the most important factors that affected the soil enzyme activities and bacterial community. Our findings give insight into the effects of different hydrological regimes on soil biological processes during peatland restoration. Maintaining a high water level early in the restoration process is more beneficial to restoring the ecological functions of peatlands than other hydrological regimes.

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Short-term effects of fen peatland restoration through the moss layer transfer technique on the soil CO2 and CH4 efflux

Cited by 14 publications

References 33 publications

Post‐fire peatland recovery by peat moss inoculation depends on water table depth

Post‐fire peatland recovery by peat moss inoculation depends on water table depth

Effects of water level alteration on carbon cycling in peatlands

Responses of soil enzyme activities and bacterial community structure to different hydrological regimes during peatland restoration in the Changbai Mountain, northeast China

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