Abstract
Newly constructed wetlands are created to provide a range of ecosystem services, including carbon sequestration. Our understanding of the initial factors leading to successful peat formation in such environments is, however, limited. In a new 100-ha wetland that was created north of Amsterdam (the Netherlands), we conducted an experiment to determine the best combination of abiotic and biotic starting conditions for initial peat-forming processes. Sediment conditions were the main driver of vegetation development, biomass production and elemental composition during the 3-year study period. Overall, helophytes (Typha spp.) dominated basins with nutrient-rich conditions, whereas nutrient-poor basins were covered by submerged vegetation, which produced about seven times less aboveground biomass than helophytes. The C/N ratios for all plant species and biomass components were generally lower under nutrient-rich conditions and were lower for submerged species than helophytes. Because total basin biomass showed five times higher shoot and ten times higher root and rhizome production for clay and organic than sand sediments, even with some differences in decomposition rates are the conditions in the nutrient-rich basins expected to produce higher levels of initial peat formation. The results suggest that addition of a nutrient-rich sediment layer creates the best conditions for initial peat formation by stimulating rapid development of helophytes.
Highlights
Wetlands provide important ecosystem services, such as carbon sequestration, flood mitigation, biodiversity facilitation and preservation, nutrient cycling and recreation
We address the following questions: (1) How do initial conditions of sediment type and water regime drive the development of key abiotic factors over time? (2) How do initial conditions of sediment type and water regime determine vegetation composition and density? and (3) How does the combined effect of abiotic factors and vegetation composition determine the production and quality of plant biomass, and its potential for peat formation? By studying the drivers for environmental conditions, vegetation development and aboveground and belowground biomass production simultaneously, we can better understand the optimal conditions for biomass production that is needed for initial peat formation
27 experimental basins were created in the western part of the wetland which was dedicated to research, with areas ranging from 550 to 1600 m2 (Figure 1; see Electronic Supplementary Material (ESM) A, tab ‘area_treatment’, for an overview of the treatment and area per basin, with area divided into shore and middle)
Summary
Wetlands provide important ecosystem services, such as carbon sequestration, flood mitigation, biodiversity facilitation and preservation, nutrient cycling and recreation. Most newly constructed wetlands are not primarily designed for their carbon sequestration potential and peat formation, but for other purposes like water purification, biodiversity facilitation and preservation, production of biomass for use as biofuel or construction material or recreation (Hansson and others 2005; Gomez-Baggethun and Barton 2013; Kuhlman and others 2013; Vymazal 2014; Zhao and others 2015; Wichmann 2017). To turn a newly constructed wetland into a net carbon sink, production of biomass has to exceed decomposition, resulting in the gradual build-up of organic material (Trites and Bayley 2009). Both the production and decomposition of biomass depend on the quality of the organic material (that is, the plant species) and environmental conditions. We elaborate on these key aspects in the subsequent paragraphs
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