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Themes |
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10.
Peatlands |
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Theme
organiser: |
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Line
Rochefort
(University of Quebec, Canada; IPS), Hans
Joosten (University of Greifswald, Germany; IMCG) |
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Session
10A: Sphagnum bog restoration for biodiversity |
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Research on the
restoration of Sphagnum dominated peatlands has been developing rapidly
in the last twenty years. Essentially two modes of restoration have
emerged following the two main patterns of peatland development in the
Northern Hemisphere: restoration by inundation (terrestrialisation) and
restoration by moss reintroduction (paludification). Are we successful
over a wide range of conditions or over the long-term in recreating a
peat-accumulating system, that is the main characteristic defining
peatland ecosystem? This session invites papers on the return of the
structure and functions of Sphagnum bog ecosystems after restoration.
Session organisers/chairs: Line
Rochefort (University of Quebec, Canada; IPS), Catherine
Farrell (Bord na Mona, Ireland) |
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Session
10B: Fen restoration for
biodiversity |
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Fen restoration
is a much broader subject
than bog restoration, because of the enormous variety in hydrological
conditions, plant communities and management strategies. Even though
the destruction of fen habitats has been more severe than that of
ombrotrophic mires worldwide, there has been less attention given to
their restoration. This session calls for papers about the restoration
of the structure and functions of fens including peat accumulation as a
long term goal.
Session organisers/chairs: Hans
Joosten (University
of Greifswald, Germany; IMCG), Wiktor
Kotowski (IMUZ Warszawa, Poland) |
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Session 10C: Restoring peatlands for
environmental regulation |
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The regulation
(environmental) services of
mires and peatlands are
manifold and include regulation of global and local climates, flood
control and guaranteed base flow, groundwater denitrification, and
surface water reduction of B.O.D., solids, P, and N. Some of these
functions are restricted to actively peat accumulating systems, others
are performed as long as peat is still available. This session
addresses the restorability of various regulation functions and their
mutual influence.
Session organiser/chair: Jack Rieley
(University of Nottingham, UK) |
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Session 10D: Restoring peatlands for
sustainable productive use |
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Peatland
agriculture and forestry are
generally associated with drainage, leading to a loss of peatland
functions like biodiversity conservation, carbon storage and
sequestration, and water regulation. Over the last few years,
alternative uses of rewetted degraded peatlands are being developed to
optimize between commercial production and environmental concern. This
session invites papers on sustainable agricultural and forestry use of
rewetted peatlands.
Session organisers/chairs: NN, Wendelin Wichtmann
(University of Greifswald, Germany) |
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Session 10F: Peatland restoration in the
tropics |
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In the tropical
zone there has not been the
historical utilization of peatlands that occurred throughout parts of
the northern hemisphere. Consequently, there has been no requirement to
consider either after use or restoration of these extensive wetlands.
In recent decades, however, large-scale utilization of tropical
peatlands has led to both on- and off-site environmental impacts,
including land subsidence, increased fire risk, degradation of carbon
stores, and downstream acidification and flooding, and the restoration
of tropical peatlands is now a matter of urgent concern. The papers
presented in this session will cover restoration of ecological
functions (biodiversity, hydrology, carbon storage), fire management,
landscape and strategic planning, alternative land use options, and
applications of remote sensing and GIS.
Session organiser/chair: Susan Page (University
of Leicester, UK) |
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Session
10G: Restoration of Peatland Soils for Agricultural Use |
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Long term
intensive
cultivation and
agricultural use of peatlands leads to the degradation and
mineralization of peat organic matter and initiates the
moorshing
process. These practices result in
subsidence and soil compaction as well as in peat losses
through
biochemical breakdown. It causes changes in peat structure and nutrient
dynamics. The rate of this process depends on the following factors:
type of peat, degree of peat decomposition, density and thickness of
the peat layer, drainage depth, climate, drainage duration. Long
term intensive land use of former fen areas resulted in
changes in
biochemical and physical properties as well as in chemical composition
and
molecular structure of the humic substances. The main cause of this is
the lowering of the groundwater level to permit intensive utilization.
The development of peat soils after drainage involves a complex of
phenomena: the properties of reclaimed soils and crop yields, the
degree of drainage and local peculiarities of climate and
hydrogeology.
The aim of this session is to discuss the processes and mechanisms of
peat soil degradation as result of agriculture use, the measures to
slow down or halt these processes, and the perspectives of
restoration of severely degraded peat soils for agricultural use.
Session organisers/chair: Lech Szajdak
(Polish Academy of Sciences,
Poznañ,
Poland), Ryszard Oleszczuk
(Warsaw Agricultural University, Poland) |
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