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Examination of Wet Meadow Creation as a Restoration Option for Extracted Peatland Sites in Alberta
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- Author / Creator
- Critchley, Michael D
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Question: Can a wet meadow plant community be established on abandoned peatlands through broadcast plant diaspore spreading in western Canada? Does fertilization impact the development and establishment of the wet meadow?
Location: Evansburg, Alberta, Canada
Methods: Wet meadow vascular and non-vascular species were spread under 2 treatments on an abandoned peatland. The effect of spreading and fertilization treatments were tested using a factorial randomized unbalanced design repeated six times. Treatments were used to statistically test main effects and interactions. A barley (Hordeum vulgare) straw mulch cover was applied on all experimental units.
Results: Plant spreading was an effective restoration method for establishing vascular wet meadow vegetation on sites with sufficient moisture. The treatments that included plant spreading had 80% coverage by wetland dependent vegetation and a distinct decline in agronomic and upland species. Fertilization had no significant effect on plant cover.
Conclusion: The use of a modified Sphagnum moss layer transfer method to establish a wet meadow plant community on a post-abandoned peatland was successful and contributes to the development of a new approach towards managing abandoned peatlands in mid-continental boreal Alberta, Canada. -
- Subjects / Keywords
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- Graduation date
- Spring 2014
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- Type of Item
- Thesis
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- Degree
- Master of Science
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- License
- This thesis is made available by the University of Alberta Libraries with permission of the copyright owner solely for non-commercial purposes. This thesis, or any portion thereof, may not otherwise be copied or reproduced without the written consent of the copyright owner, except to the extent permitted by Canadian copyright law.