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The Society for Ecological Restoration (SER) published the second edition of its International Principles and Standards for the Practice of Ecological Restoration in 2019. We conducted a pan‐Canadian study using semi‐structured interviews with restoration professionals to explore the extent to which restoration practitioners are aware of the document and use it. Overall, we found that direct uptake of the document by practitioners was lower than expected, with approximately 37.7% of all participants that were both aware of and consulting the publication for guidance in their practice of ecological restoration. This is due in part to low awareness of the document itself, with only a small majority (56.5%) of interviewees being aware of it. Other reasons listed by practitioners such as the structure of the publication, its added value, and its suitability for on‐the‐ground work revealed why some individuals aware of the existence of the document still failed to consult it. Here, we present a more nuanced assessment of these observations and share our findings with the ecological restoration community to address this disconnection. With intensifying pressures to achieve restoration success internationally, SER's guidance is critical. We analyze why it seems guidance from SER is not being taken up as fully as it might, and ways in which future versions may be improved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Across Canada's boreal forest, disturbances from in situ oil sands mining, including well‐pads, significantly impact vast areas of the landscape. The creation of well‐pads requires removal of vegetation and placement of mineral fill, which essentially stops any carbon (C) sequestration on the once peatland ecosystem. It is important that, once no longer in use, these well‐pads are restored as long‐term C (peat) accumulation is what defines peatland ecosystem. However, little is known about the recovery of greenhouse gas exchange post‐restoration of these features. We studied a decommissioned well‐pad located in a treed poor fen that was restored using three soil adjustment treatments (SATs): (1) complete mineral fill removal (Peat‐Dec); (2) partial pad removal and burial under peat layer (BUPL); and (3) mixing mineral and peat by inversion (Mixed‐P‐M). The recreated peat surface was revegetated with donor peatland species using the moss layer transfer technique (MLTT). The objectives of this paper were to (1) quantify plot‐scale seasonal carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) exchange of the SATs, 2–4 years post‐restoration compared to reference sites and (2) determine the influence of several environmental variables on CO2 and CH4 exchange. All SATs proved effective in recreating a soil surface needed to support peatland vegetation as shown by similar rates of net ecosystem exchange (NEE). Equally, both types of vegetation reintroduced led this site on a trajectory toward functioning as a net C sink. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Peatland pools present unique fauna and flora and contribute significantly to peatland biodiversity. The ecological functionality of artificial pools in restored peatlands is poorly documented. In this study, we investigated arthropod assemblages of 21 artificial pools in a restored fen in southeastern Canada and 16 pools from four pristine fens as reference ecosystems. Three years following restoration, predacious diving beetles (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae) and spiders (Araneae) were sampled within and around pools using minnow traps and pitfall traps, respectively. We used Bayesian community occupancy models to document arthropod recolonization. Twenty‐one dytiscid species were captured in pools. Dytiscid species richness was higher in artificial pools than in reference pools. Three dytiscid species were more likely to occur in deeper pools. Dytiscid species composition in artificial pools differed from reference pools. Seventy‐seven spider species were captured around pools. Spider species richness was higher around artificial pools than around reference pools. Seventeen spider species responded to vegetation cover, either positively or negatively. In contrast, spider species composition was similar between artificial and reference pools. We conclude that artificial pools should be along a gradient of pool depth, but also that fast‐growing vegetation should be introduced on pool margins to foster a quicker return of arthropod assemblages similar to reference ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fen plant growth in peat contaminated with groundwater discharges of oil sands process water (OSPW) was assessed in a greenhouse over two growing seasons. Three treatments (non-diluted OSPW, diluted OSPW and rainwater) were tested on five vascular plants and four mosses. All vascular plants tested can grow in salinity and naphthenic acids levels currently produced by oil sands activity in northwestern Canada. No stress sign was observed after both seasons. Because of plant characteristics, Carex species (C. atherodes and C. utriculata) and Triglochin maritima would be more useful for rapidly restoring vegetation and creating a new peat-accumulating system. Groundwater discharge of OSPW proved detrimental to mosses under dry conditions and ensuring adequate water levels would be crucial in fen creation following oil sands exploitation. Campylium stellatum would be the best choice to grow in contaminated areas and Bryum pseudotriquetrum might be interesting as it has spontaneously regenerated in all treatments. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Since the early 1990s, restoration techniques have been developed for milled and cutover peatlands in eastern Canada. These techniques are based on the active reintroduction of peatland plant diaspores, blocking drain- age, and the use of straw mulch to improve surface conditions. This study examines the effectiveness of using shallow (20 cm deep) basins of various widths to improve the success of current peatland restoration techniques. It comprises three different experiments, each spanning three or four growing seasons and combining both small-scale manual and large-scale mechanized plant reintroductions. Cover data recorded in two of the experiments were regressed against a series of environmental factors to determine how Sphagnum establishment success was related to abiotic variables such as moisture, water ponding, surface roughness, and mulch cover. Results of these experiments demonstrate that shallow basins were generally effective at promoting Sphagnum establishment and that this effect extends beyond the positive impact that basins have on hydrological conditions. Basins of various widths were equally successful. Soil-moisture content (linear positive effect) and duration and severity of flooding events (quadratic effect) were shown to be determinant of plant recovery. Other factors such as the density of straw cover (positive effect) and surface roughness (negative effect) were also instrumental in explaining local variation in Sphagnum cover. Plant cover after three and four growing seasons averaged 20-25% in mechanical reintroductions and 40-60% in manual reintroductions, demonstrating the overall effectiveness of the restoration techniques used. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies in tundra ecology provide evidence for sensitivity of the vegetation-soil complex to climate. Short-term experiments (≤10 yr) suggest that climate change may have a decade-scale effect on soil moisture, decomposition and nutrient availability, plant phenology, and plant growth. In contrast, there exists little evidence to confirm or refute the role of climate in structuring tundra vegetation over longer time scales (10 to 1000 yr). This study accordingly examines ∼1500 yr in the stratigraphy of two permafrost sediment cores from a High Arctic, polygon-patterned, graminoid-moss tundra. Present-day bryophyte-environment relationships are quantified, and the radiocarbon-dated macrofossil record of bryophytes is used to reconstruct past changes in soil moisture. The paleoecological record is characterized by pronounced variability during polygon development. As the hydrology of tundra polygons is controlled by known climatic and geomorphologic mechanisms, the recurrent development of polygon vegetation (cf. hydrologic change) is compared to an independent paleoclimatic proxy for net radiation (Rn). Based on this comparison, the vegetation provides support for a pronounced shift to colder and wetter conditions during the Little Ice Age (∼ 300-465 yr BP), though the long-term response to past climate change is otherwise equivocal. We suggest accordingly that autogenic geomorphologic-vegetation processes may have been generally more important than climate in the long-term development of the polygon-patterned wetland examined. A framework for such processes is presented. We caution that previous research to simulate and describe the effects of climate warming might not have properly accounted for the dynamic role of geomorphology in regulating tundra microclimate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary 1. As an aid for restoration projects, the relative potential for plants to immigrate to sites after severe disturbance was investigated and an index developed to determine their relative immigration potential. The goal was to establish baseline knowledge for the species pool in severely disturbed sites prior to restoration. The method was based on the identification of potential colonists, inventories of populations in surrounding vegetation and autecological information on their maximum fecundity and dispersal by wind, water or animals. 2. The method was applied to milled peatlands in south-eastern Quebec, Canada, after the cessation of peat extraction activities. Thirty-two species, ranging from mosses to trees, which are common in natural or abandoned milled peatlands in southern Quebec, were selected as potential colonists. 3. Populations of study species differed markedly in edges of milled peatlands in terms of their abundance, presence and presence of fertile plants. An edge effect was apparent where the populations of many species varied as a function of distance from milled surfaces, caused, in part, by drainage. 4. Mosses had relatively high potential to immigrate to milled bogs because of their high fecundity and the wind-dispersal ability of their spores. The scarcity of mosses in abandoned milled bogs did not appear to be a result of the lack of immigrant propagules. Herbs had relatively low immigration potential, due to their rarity in edges, but herbs such as Eriophorum vaginatum were able to recolonize milled bogs in spite of this low potential. Shrub species generally had high immigration potential because of their abundance at edges and the high dispersal ability of propagules by wind, water and animals. Trees had high immigration potential due to their abundance at edges and their wind-dispersal abilities. 5. Synthesis and applications. An index of immigration potential provides information on the probable initial species pool after... [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Basins 20-, 10-, and 4-m wide were excavated 15 to 20 cm into cutover peat fields near Lac Saint Jean, Québec, Canada to facilitate the establishment of Sphagnum mosses. Sphagnum diaspores (fragments) and straw mulch were spread over the excavated surfaces, a control peat field, and a mulch-protected site without basins. Mean water tables in the 20-, 10-, and 4-m wide basins and the mulch-protected site were 27.2, 8.3, 11.4, and 9.7 cm higher, respectively, than in the control peat field in May to August 1996. Similar improvements were observed in 1997 (a drier summer). The higher water table was due to lowering of the peat surface with respect to the local water table, retention of meltwater and stormwater by the peripheral ridges formed during excavation, retention of water during drier periods by the groundwater mound beneath the ridges, and mulch. Soil moisture was always higher in the experimental basins than in the control peat field or in the mulch-protected site, demonstrating the superior soil wetness characteristic of sites with basins and straw mulch. Water tension data signaled the absence of the capillary fringe (i.e., capillary drainage) near the surface for some finite period, thus possibly limiting water for best Sphagnum growth. At the experimental basins and mulch-protected site, 100% of these periods lasted four or fewer days. In the control peat field, 20% of the periods when capillary drainage had occurred lasted more than four days, with one period of 17 days. The mulch protection alone provided considerable improvement in hydrological conditions compared with the control peat field, but the additional water retained in the experimental basins protected against Sphagnum desiccation and loss during more extreme dry periods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

. Bogs, economically valuable wetlands, are subjected to exploitation in southern Canada. We addressed plant conservation within bogs mined for peat, in which small undisturbed remnants are left, mostly at the margins of the mined areas. The main goal of the study was to test whether these remnants act as refuges for plants which could recolonize areas that are planned for restoration after mining is completed. Mosses, lichens and vascular plants were sampled in remnants of 24 mined bogs in southeastern Canada during the summer of 1997. The vegetation was also sampled at the margins and centres of 24 nearby natural bogs in plots similar in size to these remnants. Using similarity analysis and ordination techniques, we found that plant species assemblages in remnants of mined bogs differ from those near the margins of natural bogs, and that certain species are associated with the centre of natural bogs, due to the presence of pools. We also showed that water conditions of remnants are affected by drainage due to peat mining. Sphagnum moss showed itself to be a key indicator of mining effects on vegetation. Implications for peat resource management and bog conservation are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This project was established to evaluate the feasibility of black chokeberry [Aronia melanocarpa (Michx.) Ell.] culture on Canadian cut-over peatlands and to define its appropriate production practices. We tested the effects of different fertilizer rates, application methods, and mulches on the vegetative development and berry production of seedlings over a 6-year period (2000 to 2006). Fertilization was essential for survival of the plants. A low fertilizer rate (131 g/plant of 1.7N-4.1P-12K) ensured adequate vegetative development for good establishment. Applying such a rate for 2 consecutive years proved to be more beneficial than a single dose of fertilizer for increasing plant height, crown width, and height growth. However, fruit yield was best when fertilized with the highest dose tested (550 g/plant of 3.4N-8.3P-24.2K). Black plastic mulch had a positive effect on height, width, and growth of the plants. More weeds were observed when the fertilizer was applied to the surface as compared with soil incorporation. However, this study revealed that black chokeberry is tolerant of weeds. Based on these results, black chokeberry is a promising plant for the management of cut-over peatlands for both vegetative growth and fruit production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The moss layer transfer technique has been developed to restore the carbon sequestration function and typical vegetation of Sphagnum-dominated peatlands after peat extraction in North America. However, the technique does not lead to successful bryophyte establishment when applied to peatlands with a richer residual fen peat. Therefore, we evaluated an alternative method of active rewetting and passive vegetation establishment using vegetation surveys and carbon dioxide and methane (CH 4 ) flux measurements at a post-extracted fen in southern Manitoba, Canada. After one growing season post-rewetting, wetland vegetation established and the site was a net carbon sink over the growing season. However, high abundance of Carex lasiocarpa 10 years post-treatment led to higher CH 4 emissions than the reference ecosystem. Successful establishment of wetland vegetation is attributed to the area being surrounded by undisturbed fens that can provide a local source of plant propagules. Bryophyte expansion was less successful than vascular plants, likely due to episodic flooding and shading from the sedge communities. Therefore, careful management of water levels to just below the peat surface is needed if reference vegetation community recovery is the goal of restoration. Water level management will also play a key role in controlling CH 4 emissions to maximize carbon sequestration potential., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Peatlands after drainage and extraction are large sources of carbon (C) to the atmosphere. Restoration, through re-wetting and revegetation, aims to return the C sink function by re-establishing conditions similar to that of an undrained peatland. However, the time needed to re-establish C sequestration is not well constrained due to the lack of multi-year measurements. We measured over 3 years the net ecosystem exchange of CO 2 (NEE), methane ( F CH 4 ), and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) at a restored post-extraction peatland (RES) in southeast Canada (restored 14 years prior to the start of the study) and compared our observations to the C balance of an intact reference peatland (REF) that has a long-term continuous flux record and is in the same climate zone. Small but significant differences in winter respiration driven by temperature were mainly responsible for differences in cumulative NEE between years. Low growing season inter-annual variability was linked to constancy of the initial spring water table position, controlled by the blocked drainage ditches and the presence of water storage structures (bunds and pools). Half-hour F CH 4 at RES was small except when Typha latifolia-invaded drainage ditches were in the tower footprint; this effect at the ecosystem level was small as ditches represent a minor fraction of RES. The restored peatland was an annual sink for CO 2 (-90 ± 18 g C m -2  year -1 ), a source of CH 4 (4.4 ± 0.2 g C m -2  year -1 ), and a source of DOC (6.9 ± 2.2 g C m -2  year -1 ), resulting in mean net ecosystem uptake of 78 ± 17 g C m -2  year -1 . Annual NEE at RES was most similar to wetter, more productive years at REF. Integrating structures to increase water retention, alongside re-establishing key species, have been effective at re-establishing the net C sink rate to that of an intact peatland., (© 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)