title: Ecosystem service restoration after 10 years of rewetting peatlands in NE Germany.
abstract: The restoration of ecosystem services, i.e., production, regulation, and information, is a global challenge, which the federal state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in NE Germany addressed in 2000 by rewetting over 20,000 ha of degraded peatlands within the Mire Restoration Program. We evaluated ecosystem services in 23 rewetted sites by assessing the following mire parameters within a ten year period: (a) dominant vegetation at the ecosystem level, (b) peat formation potential at the landscape level, and (c) aboveground biomass and nutrient levels. Seven to 10 years after rewetting, the wetlands formed a mosaic of vegetation types with the highest potential for peat formation and several dominant, peat-forming species accumulated high levels of aboveground biomass and nutrients (C, N, P). Common reed (Phragmites australis) accumulated the most biomass (up to 24 t dry matter/ha), and N+P during the growing season. A future management option is to annually harvest aquatic and wetland plants to reduce nutrient levels in restored mire ecosystems.
authors: Faculty of Science and Technology, Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, Piazza Università 5, 39100 Bozen, Italy. stefan.zerbe@unibz.it
authors: Stefan
authors: S
authors: Zerbe
authors: Peggy
authors: P
authors: Steffenhagen
authors: Karsten
authors: K
authors: Parakenings
authors: Tiemo
authors: T
authors: Timmermann
authors: Annett
authors: A
authors: Frick
authors: Jörg
authors: J
authors: Gelbrecht
authors: Dominik
authors: D
authors: Zak
mesh_terms: D002244:Carbon / Q000032:analysis; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D017753:Ecosystem; D005858:Germany; D019684:Magnoliopsida / Q000254:growth & development; D009584:Nitrogen / Q000032:analysis; D010758:Phosphorus / Q000032:analysis; D012987:Soil; D053833:Wetlands
chemical_list: D012987:Soil; D010758:Phosphorus; D002244:Carbon; D009584:Nitrogen
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