TY - JOUR

T1 - Carbon content and other soil properties of near-surface peats before and after peatland restoration

AU - Hammerich, Jenny

AU - Schulz, Corinna

AU - Probst, Robert

AU - Lüdicke, Thomas

AU - Luthardt, Vera

N1 - Funding Information: The authors thank the administration of the nature park \u201CStechlin Ruppiner Land\u201D for good collaboration over the years. We thank all who provided thoughtful reviews and comments. This work was supported by the State Environmental Agency of Brandenburg. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. Publisher Copyright: Copyright 2024 Hammerich et al.

PY - 2024/4/18

Y1 - 2024/4/18

N2 - Peatland restoration usually aims at restarting the peatlands’ function to store carbon within peat. The soil properties of the near-surface peat can give a first understanding of this process. Therefore, we sampled pH value, total organic carbon content (TOC), total nitrogen content (TN), C/N ratio as well as dry bulk density (BD), and describe the structure of near-surface peats in six restored fens in North-East Germany before (2002–2004) and after (2019–2021) restoration. Before restoration, the study sites showed peat degradation to various extents in their near-surface peats. pH values remained relatively stable over time. Comparing the degraded peat horizons, TOC increased significantly in four study sites, ranging from 35.7% to 47.8% in 2002–2004 and from 42.5% to 54.0% in 2019–2021. TN varied from 1.5% to 3.5% in 2002–2004 and from 1.8% to 3.2% in 2019–2021, but changes were only significant in one site, showing a slight decrease. In three sites, the increase in C/N ratio was significant, indicating lower nutrient availability. BD ranged from 0.08 to 0.48 g/cm3 in 2002–2004 and from 0.10 to 0.16 g/cm3 in 2019–2021, decreasing significantly in four sites. The structure of the degraded peat horizons changed after restoration to a more homogenous, sludge mass with larger re-aggregates. In three sites, new peat moss peat layers above the degraded soil horizon were present in 2019–2021, with a mean thickness of 6.8 to 36.1 cm. The structure was comparable to typical, slightly decomposed peat moss peat. Our findings suggest that within about 17 years after fen restoration, and thereby a water table rise close to surface, TOC of the near-surface peats increased to values that are typical for undisturbed peatlands. This indicates that restoration can lead to the re-establishment of peatlands as potential carbon sinks, with TOC within the near-surface peat as one key factor in this process. Further, we assume that the decrease in nutrient availability, decrease of BD, and new, undisturbed peat layers can favor the establishment of mire-specific biodiversity and support ecosystem services similar to near-natural mires.

AB - Peatland restoration usually aims at restarting the peatlands’ function to store carbon within peat. The soil properties of the near-surface peat can give a first understanding of this process. Therefore, we sampled pH value, total organic carbon content (TOC), total nitrogen content (TN), C/N ratio as well as dry bulk density (BD), and describe the structure of near-surface peats in six restored fens in North-East Germany before (2002–2004) and after (2019–2021) restoration. Before restoration, the study sites showed peat degradation to various extents in their near-surface peats. pH values remained relatively stable over time. Comparing the degraded peat horizons, TOC increased significantly in four study sites, ranging from 35.7% to 47.8% in 2002–2004 and from 42.5% to 54.0% in 2019–2021. TN varied from 1.5% to 3.5% in 2002–2004 and from 1.8% to 3.2% in 2019–2021, but changes were only significant in one site, showing a slight decrease. In three sites, the increase in C/N ratio was significant, indicating lower nutrient availability. BD ranged from 0.08 to 0.48 g/cm3 in 2002–2004 and from 0.10 to 0.16 g/cm3 in 2019–2021, decreasing significantly in four sites. The structure of the degraded peat horizons changed after restoration to a more homogenous, sludge mass with larger re-aggregates. In three sites, new peat moss peat layers above the degraded soil horizon were present in 2019–2021, with a mean thickness of 6.8 to 36.1 cm. The structure was comparable to typical, slightly decomposed peat moss peat. Our findings suggest that within about 17 years after fen restoration, and thereby a water table rise close to surface, TOC of the near-surface peats increased to values that are typical for undisturbed peatlands. This indicates that restoration can lead to the re-establishment of peatlands as potential carbon sinks, with TOC within the near-surface peat as one key factor in this process. Further, we assume that the decrease in nutrient availability, decrease of BD, and new, undisturbed peat layers can favor the establishment of mire-specific biodiversity and support ecosystem services similar to near-natural mires.

KW - C/N ratio

KW - Dry bulk density

KW - Mire

KW - Nitrogen content

KW - pH value

KW - Rewetting

KW - Environmental Governance

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85190958577&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.7717/peerj.17113

DO - 10.7717/peerj.17113

M3 - Journal articles

C2 - 38646486

AN - SCOPUS:85190958577

VL - 12

JO - PeerJ

JF - PeerJ

SN - 2167-8359

IS - 4

M1 - e17113

ER -