Abstract
The aim of this study was to determine the effect of drainage on peat properties, porewater chemistry, and peat decomposition proxies in an ombrogenous peatland in the Hudson Bay Lowland (HBL). We anticipated that drainage would change peatland hydrology, vegetation, and biogeochemistry, leading to an increase in peat decomposition. As indicators of peat biogeochemical change and potential proxies for peat decomposition, we compared peat porewater chemistry and in situ nutrient availability of different microforms in a pristine ombrogenous bog, with a bog that has been subject to gradual lowering of the water table by 20 to 80 cm for approximately 7 years prior to, and during, our study. We also examined the chemical composition of peat and peat leachates (organic matter) from Sphagnum and lichen-covered hummocks at each site. Nutrient availability was greater in pools at the drained bog, indicating mineralisation of the dry and bare peat surface. However, our results did not show evidence of significant peat biogeochemical change or advanced decomposition in hummocks at the drained bog, with no difference in nutrient availabilities, peat porewater chemistry, or peat leachate chemistry at the drained and pristine bog. We also found no significant difference in enzyme activity (phenol oxidases) in hummocks at each site, proposed to be an important factor for C loss from peatland ecosystems in drier conditions. Overall, the effects of drainage on peat properties, porewater chemistry, and peat chemical composition at our sites were small and varied for different vegetation-microform types. Although decomposition in drained peatlands is likely constrained by cool temperatures in the HBL, our results suggest that ecohydrological feedbacks at the microform scale may also be important in slowing decomposition in these peatlands.
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Acknowledgements
We thank Annie Schreck, Isobel Phoebus, Annalise Miska, Stephanie Cotnoir, David Blair, Paul Wilson, Sofie Hojabri and Tatjana Živković for their assistance in both the field and lab. We thank Aaron Craig, Hélène Lalande and Mike Dalva for assistance with laboratory analyses, and the late Dr. Christian Blodau for providing the FTIR analysis. The authors gratefully acknowledge the support of the Attawapiskat First Nation and Mushkegowuk Council in establishing the remote research sites. We are grateful for logistical support from De Beers Canada Victor Mine and for the support of students and staff from other universities also operating in this remote field location. This research was funded by an NSERC Strategic Grant awarded to NTR and others, and with generous support awarded to LIH from the W. Garfield Weston Foundation Fellowship for Northern Conservation, administered by Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) Canada. We thank several anonymous reviewers whose comments improved the clarity of the manuscript.
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LIH developed the research objectives and methodology, collected and analysed the data, and wrote the manuscript. NTR, TRM, and AJP contributed to the methodology and data interpretation, provided critical comments on the draft manuscript, and gave final approval for publication.
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Harris, L.I., Moore, T.R., Roulet, N.T. et al. Limited effect of drainage on peat properties, porewater chemistry, and peat decomposition proxies in a boreal peatland. Biogeochemistry 151, 43–62 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-020-00707-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-020-00707-1