SPHAGNUM AND CELLULOSE DECOMPOSITION IN DRAINED AND NATURAL AREAS OF AN ALBERTA PEATLAND

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Abstract
A 50-ha area of a forested peatland in north central Alberta was drained in 1984. The average water table height 5 m from the drainage ditch was 36 cm lower than in the adjacent natural peatland. This was reflected in lower substrate moisture content at both 10- and 30-cm levels in the drained area. Temperatures at 10- and 30-cm levels in the drained area peaked at 14.6 and 11.8 °C, respectively, compared to 11.7 and 9.2 °C in the natural site. In both the drained and natural areas, loss of mass of cellulose and Sphagnum samples from nylon mesh bags after 1 yr was high compared to reported studies. The drained area had greater reduction in mass than the natural site for both cellulose and Sphagnum, at the 30-cm levels. The differences were largest for cellulose where loss was 80.8% in the drained peatland compared to 48.6% in the natural site. Key words: Peatland, mire, decomposition, drainage, temperature