Abstract
There is growing interest in the restoration of blanket bogs that were afforested during the 1960s to 1980s, to avoid further loss of carbon to the atmosphere and to regain and defragment important blanket bog habitat. This paper reports the findings from a ten-year experiment in the UK to test the effectiveness of restoration treatments on water table depth, peat bulk density and water content, ground surface height and vegetation development. Treatments used were the six combinations of damming or not damming plough furrows with leaving the trees alive, felling and leaving them on the ground or felling and removing them. Combining felling with damming furrows was most successful in raising the water table, whether or not the felled trees were removed. Only where felling was combined with damming did the water table continue to recover between Years 5 and 10. Over ten years, the water level in these treatments rose to slightly below that of non-afforested reference bog at the same sites. This occurred as a rapid initial rise, following which there was only very slight further improvement. Felling caused the species composition of the vegetation to change towards that of the reference bogs. The process was slow, with the vegetation becoming more dissimilar to non-forested reference bog in the first five years and then becoming more similar to the reference bog after Year 5. Surprisingly, damming plough furrows had little effect on the vegetation except that, in combination with felling, it increased differentiation between the plough furrows and other positions on the ploughed ground. Conifer seedlings established on the restored plots, most densely where they adjoined standing forest, and had similar density and growth in all the felled treatments. The restoration treatments resulted in a decrease in bulk density and increase in water content of the upper peat, probably due to an unloading effect caused by the raised water table buoying up the drained peat layer. In some treatments this was amplified by removal of the weight of the trees. Damming the plough furrows caused a 5–7 cm rise in ground surface height, suggesting that subsidence resulting from primary consolidation and secondary compression is at least partly reversible.
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Claims 16
Claim · model-written summary
Felling combined with furrow damming raised the water table most successfully.
Not reportedTaxonComparator
Verbatim
e0“Combining felling with damming furrows was most successful in raising the water table, whether or not the felled trees were removed.”
Claim · model-written summary
The water table continued to recover from years 5 to 10 only with felling and damming.
- Treatment
- felling was combined with damminge0
- Outcome
- water tablee0
- Direction
- recovere0
- Qualifier
- between Years 5 and 10e0
Not reportedTaxonComparator
Verbatim
e0“Only where felling was combined with damming did the water table continue to recover between Years 5 and 10.”
Claim · model-written summary
Water level rose close to the non-afforested reference bog over ten years.
- Outcome
- water levele0
- Direction
- rosee0
- Qualifier
- Over ten yearse0
- Comparator
- non-afforested reference boge0
Not reportedTaxon
Verbatim
e0“Over ten years, the water level in these treatments rose to slightly below that of non-afforested reference bog at the same sites.”
Claim · model-written summary
Water level rose rapidly at first and then improved only slightly.
Not reportedTaxon
Verbatim
e0“This occurred as a rapid initial rise, following which there was only very slight further improvement.”
Claim · model-written summary
Felling shifted vegetation species composition toward the reference bogs.
Verbatim
e0“Felling caused the species composition of the vegetation to change towards that of the reference bogs.”
Claim · model-written summary
Vegetation became more dissimilar to reference bog first five years.
Verbatim
e0“The process was slow, with the vegetation becoming more dissimilar to non-forested reference bog in the first five years and then becoming more similar to the reference bog after Year 5.”
Claim · model-written summary
Vegetation became more similar to reference bog after Year 5.
Verbatim
e0“The process was slow, with the vegetation becoming more dissimilar to non-forested reference bog in the first five years and then becoming more similar to the reference bog after Year 5.”
Claim · model-written summary
Damming furrows had little effect on vegetation overall.
Not reportedComparator
Verbatim
e0“Surprisingly, damming plough furrows had little effect on the vegetation except that, in combination with felling, it increased differentiation between the plough furrows and other positions on the ploughed ground.”
Claim · model-written summary
Damming combined with felling increased vegetation differentiation by ground position.
Verbatim
e0“Surprisingly, damming plough furrows had little effect on the vegetation except that, in combination with felling, it increased differentiation between the plough furrows and other positions on the ploughed ground.”
Claim · model-written summary
Conifer seedlings established most densely next to standing forest.
Verbatim
e0“Conifer seedlings established on the restored plots, most densely where they adjoined standing forest, and had similar density and growth in all the felled treatments.”
Claim · model-written summary
Conifer seedling density and growth were similar in all felled treatments.
Verbatim
e0“Conifer seedlings established on the restored plots, most densely where they adjoined standing forest, and had similar density and growth in all the felled treatments.”
Claim · model-written summary
Restoration treatments caused an decrease in upper peat bulk density.
Not reportedTaxonComparator
Verbatim
e0“The restoration treatments resulted in a decrease in bulk density and increase in water content of the upper peat, probably due to an unloading effect caused by the raised water table buoying up the drained peat layer.”
Claim · model-written summary
Restoration treatments caused an increase in upper peat water content.
Not reportedTaxonComparator
Verbatim
e0“The restoration treatments resulted in a decrease in bulk density and increase in water content of the upper peat, probably due to an unloading effect caused by the raised water table buoying up the drained peat layer.”
Claim · model-written summary
Removing tree weight amplified the peat response in some treatments.
Not reportedTaxon
Verbatim
e0“In some treatments this was amplified by removal of the weight of the trees.”
Claim · model-written summary
Damming furrows raised ground surface height by 5–7 cm.
Not reportedTaxonComparator
Verbatim
e0“Damming the plough furrows caused a 5–7 cm rise in ground surface height, suggesting that subsidence resulting from primary consolidation and secondary compression is at least partly reversible.”
Claim · model-written summary
Bog subsidence from consolidation and compression may be partly reversible.
Not reportedTaxon
Verbatim
e0“Damming the plough furrows caused a 5–7 cm rise in ground surface height, suggesting that subsidence resulting from primary consolidation and secondary compression is at least partly reversible.”