Fen restoration on a bog harvested down to sedge peat: A hydrological assessment

The main loss of water was through evapotranspiration and the principal input was precipitation. The main difference in the water budget between study years was that pre-rewetting was climatologically wetter than post-rewetting. Despite more available water before rewetting, before-after-control-impact design ANOVA indicated the water table was significantly higher at the cutover area after rewetting. In 2011 a wetness gradient remained evident within the cutover section of the peatland; however the mean seasonal water table was close (within 20 cm) to the peat surface at all measured wells. An interior section of Bic-Saint-Fabien remained saturated for nearly all of 2011 and had mean seasonal water table of +2.4 cm, and volumetric soil moisture content and soil water pressure, measured 5 cm below the surface, of 86% and +4 mbar, respectively, compared to −15.4 cm, 67% and −13 mbar, respectively, at a nearby (∼100 m) peripheral section. Systematic differences in wetness across the site suggest that a uniform prescription for vegetation re-establishment in the rewetted section may not be appropriate.