Artificial drainage of peatlands: hydrological and hydrochemical process and wetland restoration

TLDR

Peatlands have been drained for centuries to meet agricultural, forestry, horticultural, and energy demands and to reduce flood risk, but this practice has caused significant environmental problems that have spurred a recent shift toward wetland restoration. The study aims to describe the environmental problems of peat drainage and to evaluate how hydrological and hydrochemical processes change, advocating a process‑based approach for effective peatland restoration. The authors find that conventional black‑box water‑balance models reveal little about wetland dynamics, indicating that catchment responses to peat drainage remain poorly understood.

Abstract

Peatlands have been subject to artificial drainage for centuries. This drainage has been in response to agricultural demand, forestry, horticultural and energy properties of peat and alleviation of flood risk. However, there are several environmental problems associated with drainage of peatlands. This paper describes the nature of these problems and examines the evidence for changes in hydrological and hydrochemical processes associated with these changes. Traditional black-box water balance approaches demonstrate little about wetland dynamics and therefore the science of catchment response to peat drainage is poorly understood. It is crucial that a more process-based approach be adopted within peatland ecosystems. The environmental problems associated with peat drainage have led, in part, to a recent reversal in attitudes to peatlands and we have seen a move towards wetland restoration. However, a detailed understanding of hydrological, hydrochemical and ecological process-inter-actions will be fundamental if we are to adequately restore degraded peatlands, preserve those that are still intact and understand the impacts of such management actions at the catchment scale.