Title: Assessing moss transplant methods to enhance Sphagnum moss recovery in post-wildfire hydrophobic peat
Citation: Gage, H. J., Moore, P. A., MacKinnon, B., Granath, G., Wilkinson, S. L.& Waddington, J. M. (2024). Assessing moss transplant methods to enhance Sphagnum moss recovery in post-wildfire hydrophobic peat [Dataset]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.11377728
Study Site: Utikuma Region Study Area, Alberta
Purpose: Wildfire is the dominant disturbance in northern peatlands and can release large quantities of carbon to the atmosphere through combustion. Post-fire peat hydrophobicity can inhibit moss regeneration, thereby decreasing the potential for post-fire carbon sequestration. To investigate how to enhance post-fire recovery we assessed two moss restoration methods (plugs and fragments) in an Alberta poor fen two and three years following wildfire.
Abstract: Post-fire peat hydrophobicity and moss regeneration was characterized in four surface cover types: Severely Burned Feather moss hollows (SB-F), Severely Burned Sphagnum fuscum hummocks (SB-S), Lightly Burned S. fuscum hummocks (LB-S), and Lightly Burned Feather moss lawns (LB-F). We then conducted experiments testing the success of moss plugs and fragments of varying moss species at LB-F and SB-F surface covers, which had high hydrophobicity and low post-fire moss recovery.
Supplemental Information Summary:
Research:
Further Info: H.J.M. Gage, P.A. Moore, B. MacKinnon, G. Granath, S.L. Wilkinson, J.M. Waddington,
Assessing moss transplant methods to enhance Sphagnum moss recovery in post-wildfire hydrophobic peat, Ecological Engineering, Volume 205, 2024, 107292, ISSN 0925-8574, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoleng.2024.107292.
Status: Complete
Keywords:
vegetation,
reclamation/restoration,
fen,
wildfire,
Geographical coordinates: North: 55.98, South: 55.98 East: -115.19 West: -115.19
Bounding Temporal Extent: Start Date: 2013-05-01, End
Date: 2015-08-31
