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The Dynamics of a Cotton-Grass (Eriophorum Vaginatum L.) Cover Expansion in a Vacuum-Mined Peatland, Southern Queâ Bec, Canada

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The Dynamics of a Cotton-Grass (Eriophorum Vaginatum L.) Cover Expansion in a Vacuum-Mined Peatland, Southern Queâ Bec, Canada WETLANDS, Vol. 25, No. 1, March 2005, pp. 64±75 q 2005, The Society of Wetland Scientists THE DYNAMICS OF A COTTON-GRASS (ERIOPHORUM VAGINATUM L.) COVER EXPANSION IN A VACUUM-MINED PEATLAND, SOUTHERN QUE BEC, CANADA Claude Lavoie1, Kathleen Marcoux1, Annie Saint-Louis1, and Jonathan S. Price2 1Centre de recherche en ameÂnagement et deÂveloppement Universite Laval Sainte-Foy, QueÂbec, G1K 7P4, Canada E-mail: [email protected] 2Department of Geography and Wetlands Research Centre University of Waterloo Waterloo, Ontario, N2L 3G1, Canada Abstract: We studied from 1998 to 2003 the ®ne-scale vegetation dynamics of an abandoned vacuum- mined bog located in southern QueÂbec in which cotton-grass (Eriophorum vaginatum) has become dominant. A water table no deeper than 30±40 cm below the soil surface combined with a volumetric peat water content .70% in the surface peat layer favored the increase in cotton-grass cover in abandoned peat ®elds. In one of the two peat ®elds that was monitored, the density of living tussocks was 30,750/ha in 1998. The density decreased constantly to reach 25,900/ha in 2002, a 16% decrease. The expansion of cotton-grass cover was mainly the result of the growth of established tussocks following a rise of the water table. The strong relationship between cotton-grass cover and water table suggests that the latter could be used as a predictor for cotton-grass cover change in mined bogs. The present study does not provide evidence that cotton-grass facilitates the establishment of moss species. At the study site, moss establishment was more highly associated with particular hydrologic characteristics (volumetric peat water content $85%) than with the presence of a dense cotton-grass cover. The use of cotton-grass to facilitate the establishment of Sphag- num colonies in mined peatlands is questionable, particularly where other ef®cient restoration techniques are available. Key Words: biological invasion, cotton-grass, Eriophorum vaginatum, mire, monitoring, peatland, QueÂbec, restoration INTRODUCTION to re-establish a plant cover rapidly and restore site fertility, which may subsequently improve establish- Invasive plants produce reproductive offspring, of- ment conditions for other species (D'Antonio and ten in very large numbers at considerable distances Meyerson 2002). If the vegetation assemblage domi- from parent plants, and thus have the potential to nated by the invasive species persists for only a few spread over a considerable area (Richardson et al. years or decades, the introduction of the invader may 2000). They are generally perceived as weeds because represent an alternative to costly restoration tech- they often negatively impact the diversity of plant niques. communities. Invaders may compete for natural re- Mined peatlands are one of these particular cases sources, transform entire ecosystems by changing the where invasive plants may be useful for restoration. nutrient composition of soils, and alter the frequency Peatland mining is a widespread industrial activity, es- and intensity of natural disturbances (Lodge 1993, pecially in Canada (QueÂbec, New Brunswick) and Mack and D'Antonio 1998, Mack et al. 2000, Ehren- Germany, where peat is used for horticulture or agri- feld 2003). In most cases, eradication or control of culture, and in Finland and Ireland, where peat is used invasive plants is essential for maintaining the ecolog- for domestic heating or energy generation. Extraction ical integrity of ecosystems. There are, however, some activities cover approximately 50,000 km2 and are re- particular cases where invasive species may be used sponsible for 10% of peatland area losses in the non- by managers to improve the environmental conditions tropical world (Joosten and Clarke 2002). Peatland of highly disturbed sites, especially where site condi- mining is a major anthropogenic disturbanceÐbogs tions are so degraded that few plant species are able are drained, vegetation is removed, and a thick layer to establish and survive. Invasive species may be used of soil is extractedÐand usually occurs over a period 64 Lavoie et al., COTTON-GRASS IN MINED PEATLANDS 65 of several decades. A post-mined peatland is a harsh matic conditions facilitating the establishment and environment for plants, and current mining techniques growth of other plants, particularly Sphagnum species seriously hamper the natural capacity of bog ecosys- (Grosvernier et al. 1995, Matthey 1996, Marcoux tems to regenerate after a disturbance. For instance, 2000, Tuittila et al. 2000a, Lavoie et al. 2003). On the most sites that have been mined using vacuum ma- other hand, cotton-grass may also be considered as an chines are almost totally devoid of plants after decades invading weed prohibiting the re-initiation of peat for- of abandonment (Lavoie et al. 2003). There are, how- mation, impeding restoration activities and enhancing ever, some vacuum-mined bogs that have been invad- greenhouse gas emissions (Pfadenhauer and KloÈtzli ed (.60% cover) by cotton-grass (Cyperaceae: Erio- 1996, Frenzel and Rudolph 1998, Kumolainen et al. phorum vaginatum L.). Although cotton-grass is a na- 1998, Frenzel and Karofeld 2000, Greenup et al. 2000, tive species in regions with peatland mining activities, Rinnan et al. 2003, Marinier et al. 2004). this plant species never dominates plant assemblages To our knowledge, no detailed study on the dynam- in undisturbed ombrotrophic peatlands. For instance, ics of a cotton-grass cover expansion in a mined peat- the plant cover occupied by cotton-grass in southern land has been reported. This study, based on ®ve years QueÂbec's bogs usually ranges from 1 to 5%, and very of detailed monitoring of tussock individuals and cot- rarely exceeds 25% (Gauthier and Grandtner 1975, D. ton-grass cover, has two main objectives, i.e., to un- Lachance and C. Lavoie, unpublished data). derstand which factors facilitate an increase in cotton- Cotton-grass has many characteristics facilitating its grass cover, and to verify whether the establishment establishment and survival in nutrient-poor environ- of typical bog plants is facilitated by the presence of ments such as mined bogs that have been drained. This cotton-grass. Our working hypothesis is that the re- plant species can tolerate prolonged drought periods establishment of moss colonies is more rapid in mined because of its deep root system (Wein 1973). Numer- sites invaded by cotton-grass than in sites with a low ous cotton-grass seeds are produced each year and are cotton-grass cover. easily dispersed by wind (Salonen 1987, Campbell et al. 2003). Seeds germinate at high (23±35 8C) temper- STUDY SITE AND METHODS atures (Wein and MacLean 1973, Gartner et al. 1986), and such temperatures are common during the summer One peatland, in which cotton-grass has become a season just above the peat surface of abandoned mined dominant species, was selected for this study. The bogs (Matthey 1996, Price et al. 1998, Marcoux 2000). Saint-Henri peatland is located 16 km southwest of Cotton-grass forms long-lived (.100±200 years) tus- QueÂbec City, QueÂbec, Canada (468 429 N; 718 039 W) socks (Mark et al. 1985), in which the growth of new and covers 150 ha (Figure 1). Before the beginning of leaves is supported almost entirely by nutrient retrans- mining activities, this ombrotrophic peatland was location from older leaves that are senescing (Jonasson dominated by black spruce (Picea mariana [Mill.] and Chapin 1985, Cholewa and Grif®th 2004). Fur- B.S.P.), tamarack (Larix laricina [Du Roi] Koch), er- thermore, this non-mycorrhizal plant can absorb or- icaceous shrubs, and Sphagnum species, with scattered ganic nitrogen directly and use it as its sole nitrogen cotton-grass individuals. In 2003, approximately 80% source (Chapin et al. 1993). of the bog area had been mined for the production of With only minimal water management, it is possible horticultural peat, mainly using the block-cut method to increase the cotton-grass cover in disturbed peat- during the 1960s and the vacuum method since the lands substantially. For instance, the cotton-grass cov- beginning of the 1970s (Marcoux 2000). Data from er increased from 1 to 60±70% two years after the the meteorological station at QueÂbec City indicate that rewetting of a drained fen, and from 18 to 34% ®ve the mean annual temperature is 4 8C. January is the years after the rewetting of a mined bog in southern coldest month (mean temperature: 212 8C) and July Finland (Komulainen et al. 1998, 1999, Tuittila et al. the warmest month (mean temperature: 19 8C). The 2000b). In southern QueÂbec and New Brunswick, sev- mean annual precipitation is 1208 mm, 27% of which eral abandoned and rewetted mined sites with a .60% falls as snow (Environnement Canada 1993). cotton-grass cover have been identi®ed (LeQueÂre and In 2003, approximately 40% of the mined area of Samson 1998, Lavoie et al. 2003). Whether such in- the bog had been abandoned. Some abandoned sites vasions are bene®cial or detrimental to abandoned with a very thin (,20 cm) peat cover were colonized mined peatlands remains a controversial issue. Paleo- by gray birch (Betula populifolia Marsh.), while the ecological studies suggest that cotton-grass is an `eco- others were colonized by cotton-grass. For this study, system engineer' or a nurse plant facilitating the re- we selected two large (180 3 24 m) vacuum-mined establishment of Sphagnum species in mined bogs peat ®elds (A and B) bordered by drainage ditches and (Buttler et al. 1996, Hughes and Dumayne-Peaty abandoned the same year (Figure 1). Peat ®eld A 2002). Cotton-grass is presumed to create microcli- (mined between 1979 and 1993) was bordered by oth- 66 WETLANDS, Volume 25, No. 1, 2005 Figure 1. Aerial photograph of the Saint-Henri ombrotrophic peatland, southern QueÂbec, Canada taken in 1993. Approxi- mately 80% of the bog area was mined using vacuum machines.
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