Drainage reduces the resilience of a boreal peatland

• Published in: Environmental Research Communications Vol. 2; no. 6; pp. 65001 - 65015
• Main Authors: Harris, Lorna I, Roulet, Nigel T, Moore, Tim R
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: IOP Publishing 01.06.2020
• Subjects: boreal peatlands; carbon dioxide flux; drainage; ecohydrological feedbacks; ecosystem resilience; Hudson Bay Lowland; peat accumulation

Drier conditions caused by drainage for infrastructure development, or associated with global climate warming, may test the resilience of carbon-rich northern peatlands. Feedbacks among biological and hydrological processes maintain the long-term stability of peatlands, but if hydrological threshold...