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Effects of water table position and plant functional group on plant community, aboveground production, and peat properties in a peatland mesocosm experiment (PEATcosm)

Plant and Soil volume 387, pages 277–294 (2015)Cite this article

Abstract

Aims

Our objective was to assess the impacts of water table position and plant functional type on peat structure, plant community composition and aboveground plant production.

Methods

We initiated a full factorial experiment with 2 water table (WT) treatments (high and low) and 3 plant functional groups (PFG: sedge, Ericaceae, sedge and Ericaceae- unmanipulated) in twenty-four 1 m3 intact peatland mesocosms. We measured vegetation cover, aboveground plant production, and peat subsidence to analyze interactive PFG and WT effects.

Results

Sphagnum rubellum cover increased under high WT, while Polytrichum cover increased with low WT and in sedge only PFGs. Sphagnum production was greatest with high WT, while vascular plant production was greater in low WT treatments. There was an interactive WT x PFG effect on Ericaceae production. Lowered WT resulted in significant peat surface change and increased subsidence. There were significant PFG and WT effects on net peat accumulation, with the lowest rates of accumulation, high and low WT, in sedge only PFGs.

Conclusions

The shift in water balance leading to lowered water table position predicted with changing climate could impact plant community composition and production, and would likely result in the subsidence of peat.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported primarily by the USDA Forest Service Northern Research Station Climate Change Program and the National Science Foundation (DEB-1146149). The authors would like to thank Todd Ontl and L. Jamie Lamit, as well as two anonymous reviewers, for their helpful comments and suggestions. This work would not have been possible without the help of countless student technicians, including Kayla Griffith, Eryn Grupido and Jesse Barta.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. USDA Forest Service Northern Research Station, Houghton, MI, 49931, USA

    Lynette R. Potvin, Evan S. Kane & Erik A. Lilleskov

  2. School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI, 49931, USA

    Evan S. Kane & Rodney A. Chimner

  3. USDA Forest Service Northern Research Station, Grand Rapids, MN, 55744, USA

    Randall K. Kolka

Authors
  1. Lynette R. Potvin
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  2. Evan S. Kane
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  3. Rodney A. Chimner
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  4. Randall K. Kolka
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  5. Erik A. Lilleskov
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Lynette R. Potvin.

Additional information

Responsible Editor: Eric J.W. Visser .

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Online Resource 1

Peat cutter and mesocosm bin at field harvest in Meadowlands MN. (PDF 182 kb)

Online Resource 2

Aboveground mesocosm facility (top) and belowground mesocosm (bottom) access. (PDF 292 kb)

Online Resource 3

2010 and 2013 percent cover (absolute values) for vascular and moss species by treatment. Note 2010 cover is pre-PFG manipulation. Mean ± SE. (PDF 330 kb)

Online Resource 4

Ln transformed allometric relationships. Regression equation in the form of ln(aboveground biomass) = ln(diameter2) β + α. (PDF 399 kb)

Online Resource 5

Calculation of buried stem biomass and contribution to aboveground production values. Mean ± SE. (PDF 292 kb)

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Potvin, L.R., Kane, E.S., Chimner, R.A. et al. Effects of water table position and plant functional group on plant community, aboveground production, and peat properties in a peatland mesocosm experiment (PEATcosm). Plant Soil 387, 277–294 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-014-2301-8

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Keywords

  • Peatland
  • Plant functional group
  • Water table
  • Sphagnum
  • Ericaceae
  • Sedge

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