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The Hydrology of Peatlands

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Boreal Peatland Ecosystems

Part of the book series: Ecological Studies ((ECOLSTUD,volume 188))

13.6 Conclusions

Hydrogeologic investigations over the past 20 years have largely confirmed the concepts developed by peatland ecologists that stress the close linkage between hydrology and peatland ecology. However, these studies have also shown how groundwater flow systems interacting with the climate, geology, and biota of large peat basins largely shape the ecological development of these waterlogged ecosystems. Hydrogeologic methodology therefore provides a rigorous quantitative approach based on first principles of chemistry and physics to constrain the largely empirical statistical methods favored by ecologists.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Earth Sciences, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY, 13244, USA

    Donald I. Siegel

  2. Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA

    Paul Glaser

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  1. Donald I. Siegel
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  2. Paul Glaser
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, Villanova University, Villanova, Pennsylvania, 19085, USA

    R. Kelman Wieder

  2. Department of Plant Biology, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Illinois, 62901-6509, USA

    Dale H. Vitt

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Siegel, D.I., Glaser, P. (2006). The Hydrology of Peatlands. In: Wieder, R.K., Vitt, D.H. (eds) Boreal Peatland Ecosystems. Ecological Studies, vol 188. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg . https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-31913-9_13

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