The extent and magnitude of edge effects on woody vegetation in road‐bisected treed peatlands in boreal Alberta, Canada

Abstract

Abstract Treed peatlands can exhibit dramatic shifts in woody plant cover when they are bisected by roads, a product of change in the flow of surface and subsurface water; however, the edge effects that roads have on overstory cover remain poorly understood. We examined how road and environmental conditions influence woody cover in treed fens in northeastern Alberta, Canada. We used generalized linear mixed models to explain variation in cover as measured using airborne laser scanning (ALS) data obtained for 48 road‐bisected fens. Over half of the study fens had >10% differences in canopy cover between the upstream and downstream sides. Variation in cover was best explained by a complex interaction between road side, distance, and type, as well as distance to upland forest and open water, in both rich and poor treed fens. Substrate texture (fine vs. coarse) further explained cover in rich fens. Gravel roads appeared to have the most dramatic effect on cover adjacent to roads (0–20 m) in both fen types, with differences persisting beyond 100 m. In fens bisected by gravel and paved roads, differences in cover between road sides tended to be ameliorated within 200 m, except for unimproved roads where changes were more linear. This study demonstrates the complexity of landscape conditions under which roads built through peatlands can cause structural changes in woody cover and the usefulness of ALS data for studying this phenomenon.