Response of blanket bog vegetation to drain-blocking: Drain-blocking and blanket bog vegetation

TLDR: In this paper, the authors investigated the effect of blocking of moorland drains on bog vegetation on blanket peat and found that drain blocking had a negative effect on vegetation indicative of drier conditions and bog degradation.

Abstract: Question: Does blocking of moorland drains increase bog vegetation on blanket peat? Location: Two sites with blocked drains and two with unblocked drains on Forsinard Flows National Nature Reserve, Sutherland, UK. Methods: Vegetation cover was recorded from 70 locations, with 12 sampling points at different distances (0.5-14.5 m) from moorland drains in each location. Gradients in the cover of species indicative of wet and dry conditions, as well as bog recovery and degradation in relation to distance from drain, were compared from a sample of drains at two sites with blocked drains and two with unblocked drains. Results: There was evidence for drain-blocking having a negative effect on vegetation indicative of drier conditions and bog degradation. One of the blocked sites had the lowest values of these indices near to the drain and increasing at greater distances perpendicular from the drain. The two unblocked sites, and the other blocked site, had a contrasting pattern of highest values of these indices close to the drain declining with distance. Cover of species indicative of bog recovery was greater where the drains had been blocked for the longest time. Conclusions: In some cases drain-blocking can improve the ecological functioning of blanket bogs by increasing cover of healthy bog vegetation. Further studies into the causes of such variability in restoring vegetation through drain-blocking are needed to aid targeting of peatland restoration projects to areas or methods most likely to be effective.