Abstract
Investigations in 1996–1998 of one Estonian and three Swedish hand-cut peat sites, abandoned 20–50 years ago, showed five main types of natural or semi-natural surface cover in peat pits, with prevailing development of: (1) Sphagnum spp.; (2) Eriophorum vaginatum with Sphagnum spp.; (3) Eriophorum vaginatum together with dwarf-shrubs, Pinus sylvestris and Betula pubescens tree species; (4) ≥50% muddy peat surface; and (5) open water and/or ponds. Main reasons for development of different pit environments located in comparably similar climatic and field environment conditions, including their acid and nutrient-poor hydrochemical environment, were local differences in inundation depths and surface water regulation conditions. Those pits dominated by a re-established Sphagnum carpet had a relatively large range of inundation water depths (0.2–0.6 m above soil surface) but comparably small water-level fluctuations (SD = 1.1–2.6 cm). Pits dominated by Eriophorum vaginatum were on average less inundated (up to 30 cm), but with more fluctuation (SD = 3.7–4.8 cm). Study pits characterised by dwarf-shrubs with E. vaginatum had average water levels around 4–20 cm below the peat-soil surface, with comparably-average fluctuations (SD = 2.3–6.9 cm) – quality and quantity of woody growth being related to site wetness. Both highly-fluctuating water levels (SD = 12.1–18.9 cm) in comparably deeply-inundated pits, and the degree of surface soaking in non-inundated pits, were the main reasons for non-establishment of plant cover.
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Acknowledgement
The studies was made within the framework of several ‘Peatland restoration’ projects at the Department of Forest Soils of Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) and were financed by The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, The Swedish Institute and The Swedish Peat Research Foundation. The database used for detailed peat deposit and plant descriptions was enlarged during an education collaboration project on ‘Mire Ecology: Restoration of Damaged Peatlands and Terminated Peat Cuttings’, between the Department of Forest Soils of SLU and Institute of Ecology at Tallinn University, Estonia. Landowners Hasselfors AB and later Svenskog AB provided the investigation with suitable field areas. Valuable information, ideas and field observations were provided by Mr. Sten-Ove Pettersson, who actually initiated the rewetting of the Läsarmossen bog. Chemical analyses were mainly carried out at the Department of Forest Soils, SLU by Anne-Marie Karlsson, Kjell Larsson, Ann-Christine Jansson and Anne Wiklander.
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Lode, E., Lundin, L., Ilomets, M. (2010). Self-Recovery of Cut-over Bogs: Summary from Case Studies. In: Eiseltová, M. (eds) Restoration of Lakes, Streams, Floodplains, and Bogs in Europe. Wetlands: Ecology, Conservation and Management, vol 3. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-9265-6_14
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