Undisturbed peatlands are effective carbon sinks and provide a variety of ecosystem services. However, anthropogenic disturbances, especially land drainage, strongly alter peat soil properties and jeopardize the benefits of peatlands. The effects of disturbances should therefore be assessed and predicted. To support accurate modeling, this study determined the physical and hydraulic properties of intact and disturbed peat samples collected from 59 sites (in total 3,073 samples) in Finland and Norway. The bulk density (BD), porosity, and specific yield (Sy) values obtained indicated that the top layer (0\uffe2\uff80\uff9330\uffc2\uffa0cm depth) at agricultural and peat extraction sites was most affected by land use change. The BD in the top layer at agricultural, peat extraction, and forestry sites was 441%, 140%, and 92% higher, respectively, than that of intact peatlands. Porosity decreased with increased BD, but not linearly. Agricultural and peat extraction sites had the lowest saturated hydraulic conductivity, Sy, and porosity, and the highest BD of the land use options studied. The van Genuchten\uffe2\uff80\uff90Mualem (vGM) soil water retention curve (SWRC) and hydraulic conductivity (K) models proved to be applicable for the peat soils tested, providing values of SWRC, K, and vGM\uffe2\uff80\uff90parameters (\uffce\uffb1 and n) for peat layers (top, middle and bottom) under different land uses. A decrease in peat soil water content of \uffe2\uff89\uffa510% reduced the unsaturated K values by two orders of magnitude. This unique data set can be used to improve hydrological modeling in peat\uffe2\uff80\uff90dominated catchments and for fuller integration of peat soils into large\uffe2\uff80\uff90scale hydrological models.Question: We studied the development and persistence of the effects of nutrient pulses on biomass production and species composition in a fen meadow.
Location: Nature reserve, central Netherlands, 5 m a.s.l.
Methods: Single pulse fertilization with N and P in a factorial design on an undrained central and a drained margin site in a species\uffe2\uff80\uff90rich fen meadow (Cirsio dissecti\uffe2\uff80\uff90Molinietum). Biomass production and species composition were monitored during four years.
Results: At the central site, N addition boosted biomass production, but only during one year. The species composition was not changed. P fertilization increased the biomass production and changed the species composition from a vegetation dominated by Carex panicea to a grassland community with abundant Holcus lanatus, but not before the second year. At the margin site, P fertilization changed the species composition in a similar way, but biomass production was not increased. N fertilization had no effect. At both sites the P induced shift in species composition persisted for four years although the P effect declined during the experiment.
Conclusions: The biomass responses show that N was limiting in the central site. Another nutrient, besides N and P (probably K) must have been limiting in the marginal site. The fast decline of the N effect on biomass is ascribed to increased denitrification and biomass removal. The delay in the P effect on biomass and species composition and the persistence of the P effect on species composition are ascribed to fast immobilisation and subsequent slow release of fertilizer P in the peat soil. Recurrence of the P pulses is expected to cause permanent changes in species composition.
", "keywords": ["peat soils", "0106 biological sciences", "enrichment", "tundra", "availability", "netherlands", "fens", "01 natural sciences", "7. Clean energy", "nitrogen", "diversity", "flooding", "vegetation", "mineral-nutrition", "phosphorus", "plant ecology", "2. Zero hunger", "biomass", "species diversity", "Aquatic Ecology", "nature reserves", "04 agricultural and veterinary sciences", "wild plants", "15. Life on land", "eutrophication", "community", "0401 agriculture", " forestry", " and fisheries", "gelderland"], "contacts": [{"organization": "van der Hoek, D., van Mierlo, A.J.E.M., van Groenendael, J.M.,", "roles": ["creator"]}]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1654-1103.2004.tb02276.x"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Journal%20of%20Vegetation%20Science", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.1111/j.1654-1103.2004.tb02276.x", "name": "item", "description": "10.1111/j.1654-1103.2004.tb02276.x", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.1111/j.1654-1103.2004.tb02276.x"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2004-01-01T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.14214/sf.503", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-10-06T16:18:38Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2014-09-30", "title": "Effects Of Wood, Peat And Coal Ash Fertilization On Scots Pine Foliar Nutrient Concentrations And Growth On Afforested Former Agricultural Peat Soils", "description": "Undisturbed peatlands are effective carbon sinks and provide a variety of ecosystem services. However, anthropogenic disturbances, especially land drainage, strongly alter peat soil properties and jeopardize the benefits of peatlands. The effects of disturbances should therefore be assessed and predicted. To support accurate modeling, this study determined the physical and hydraulic properties of intact and disturbed peat samples collected from 59 sites (in total 3,073 samples) in Finland and Norway. The bulk density (BD), porosity, and specific yield (Sy) values obtained indicated that the top layer (0\uffe2\uff80\uff9330\uffc2\uffa0cm depth) at agricultural and peat extraction sites was most affected by land use change. The BD in the top layer at agricultural, peat extraction, and forestry sites was 441%, 140%, and 92% higher, respectively, than that of intact peatlands. Porosity decreased with increased BD, but not linearly. Agricultural and peat extraction sites had the lowest saturated hydraulic conductivity, Sy, and porosity, and the highest BD of the land use options studied. The van Genuchten\uffe2\uff80\uff90Mualem (vGM) soil water retention curve (SWRC) and hydraulic conductivity (K) models proved to be applicable for the peat soils tested, providing values of SWRC, K, and vGM\uffe2\uff80\uff90parameters (\uffce\uffb1 and n) for peat layers (top, middle and bottom) under different land uses. A decrease in peat soil water content of \uffe2\uff89\uffa510% reduced the unsaturated K values by two orders of magnitude. This unique data set can be used to improve hydrological modeling in peat\uffe2\uff80\uff90dominated catchments and for fuller integration of peat soils into large\uffe2\uff80\uff90scale hydrological models.