Abstract
Mineral roads in peatlands change the nature of the substrate, influence the water table level of the peatland on either side of the road and the physicochemical characteristics of the water and peat. These changes can in turn affect plant community composition. The efficiency of an innovative and affordable method for the restoration of peatlands impacted by roads was evaluated: the Burial Under Peat Technique. To be considered effective from an ecological point of view, the technique should meet restoration goals by 1) confining the chemical elements and compounds potentially leaching from the mineral material; 2) creating and maintaining a restored surface elevation similar to the adjacent peatland for optimal rewetting; and 3) re-establishing typical peatland vegetation communities. Three years post-restoration, water sampled at various depths and distances to the buried road presented chemical elements and compounds concentrations similar to the means measured in the pristine surrounding peatland for most of the ions analyzed. The different steps of the technique ensured the reestablishment of an elevation similar to the surrounding peatland. The return of peatland plant communities was slow, mainly due to local factors (e.g., presence of drainage ditches). Furthermore, the Burial Under Peat Technique fulfilled the restoration objectives in re-establishing an acid organic soil. Finally, it is a cost-effective method in comparison to completely removing the mineral material and transporting new material to fill the depression left by the excavation of the road.
Highlights
Peatlands cover roughly 4 million km2 of the Northern Hemisphere (Yu et al, 2010), which represents 25–30% of the circumboreal forest biome (Wieder et al, 2006)
High values of electrical conductivity (EC), compared to what is observed in the reference ecosystem, were found exclusively in the pore water sampled in the restored strip at a depth of 50 cm
For water pH, the mineral material buried in the peatland had only an alkalizing influence in the restored strip (20 and 50 cm deep) and at the close edge of the buried road for the surface water (20 cm deep)
Summary
Peatlands cover roughly 4 million km of the Northern Hemisphere (Yu et al, 2010), which represents 25–30% of the circumboreal forest biome (Wieder et al, 2006). Roads impact various components of peatland ecosystems. Water flows slowly through peat, but linear structures such as roads can create barriers and cause upstream flooding and downstream desiccation problems (Umeda et al, 1985; Miller, 2011; Bocking et al, 2017) which may enhance the overall peatland CH4 emissions (Saraswati and Strack, 2019). The estimation of the distance to which chemical elements and compounds may leach into the adjacent ecosystem is complex, mainly due to the anisotropic characteristic of Sphagnum peatlands (i.e., peat hydraulic conductivity is greater horizontally than vertically; Beckwith et al, 2003). The presence of a gentle slope within a peatland can cause superficial flow, influencing chemical elements and compounds leaching distances
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