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How landowners, drainage projectors, and investors worked with the Crown to transform England's waterlogged Fens. 2017 Choice Outstanding Academic Title The draining of the Fens in eastern England was one of the largest engineering projects in seventeenth-century Europe. A series of Dutch and English \"projectors, \" working over several decades and with the full support of the Crown, transformed hundreds of thousands of acres of putatively barren wetlands into dry, arable farmland. The drainage project was also supposed to reform the sickly, backward fenlanders into civilized, healthy farmers, to the benefit of the entire commonwealth. As projectors reconstructed entire river systems, these new, artificial channels profoundly altered both the landscape and the lives of those who lived on it. In this definitive account, historian Eric H. Ash provides a detailed history of this ambitious undertaking. Ash traces the endeavor from the 1570s, when draining the whole of the Fens became an imaginable goal for the Crown, through several failed efforts in the early 1600s. The book closes in the 1650s, when, in spite of the project's enormous difficulty and expense, the draining of the Great Level of the Fens was finally completed. Ash ultimately concludes that the transformation of the Fens into fertile farmland had unintended ecological consequences that created at least as many problems as it solved. Drawing on painstaking archival research, Ash explores the drainage from the perspectives of political, social, and environmental history. He argues that the efficient management and exploitation of fenland natural resources in the rising nation-state of early modern England was a crucial problem for the Crown, one that provoked violent confrontations with fenland inhabitants, who viewed the drainage (and accompanying land seizure) as a grave threat to their local landscape, economy, and way of life. The drainage also reveals much about the political flash points that roiled England during the mid–seventeenth century, leading up to the violence of the English Civil War. This is compelling reading for British historians, environmental scholars, historians of technology, and anyone interested in state formation in early modern Europe.

The area of interest is the Upper Biebrza Valley, located in NE Poland. We examined water exchange at the river-fen interface in a near-natural wetland system using the combined field research-modeling approach. The authors chose the Biebrza River as the research object: it is a specific case of fen marginal valley rivers, and it flows in the peat layer without direct connection to the mineral soil layer. Our case study introduces two new aspects not yet considered in the scientific literature: (1) the riparian aquifer is fen and (2) the river has no direct contact with the mineral layer. The following research questions were investigated: What is the role of the river in feeding and draining a fen? Which drainage paths are important for water exchange in a near-natural river-fen system? How important are the morphological settings for the river-fen relations? We applied a systematic hydrological research approach based on field measurements and observations of the river and surrounding fen hydrological characteristics, as well as on the modelling results. We demonstrated that morphological settings have a significant influence on river-fen relations. We also demonstrated that due to the undeniable need to introduce increased protection and restoration of marginal fens, we may focus on river status in narrow valleys; however, in the wide valleys, the limitation of the drainage layer by decreasing the intensity of evapotranspiration is more promising. We propose to distinguish zones in the fen river valley to include them when proposing protection or conservation plans.

Peatlands represent an important part of the landscape of boreal western Canada, occupying some 365,157 km2. Sixty-three percent of these are minerogenous fens. Scattered among these fens are landscape features that have unique and distinctive patterns—pools and carpets (flarks) separated by raised linear ‘strings’. These patterned fens harbor rare and uncommon species and serve as habitats for endangered wildlife (e.g., woodland caribou, whooping cranes). In this study, utilizing Google Earth Pro (1) we documented 1083 ribbed fens and 250 reticulate fens in the province of Alberta, Canada; (2) determined the regional variation in patterned fen occurrences; (3) described the various morphological forms of patterned fens; and (4) recognized these as six distinctive peatland site-types. Patterned fens are not randomly arranged on the landscape. Ribbed fens are concentrated on regional high elevational uplands and montane benchlands with morainal deposits, while reticulate fens are more numerous on low elevation plains with glacial-fluvial and glacial-lacustrine deposits. Patterned fens vary along minerotrophic vegetation and chemical gradients and have a complex set of morphological types. To our knowledge, this is the first study that provides base line information on the abundance and distribution of patterned fens in Alberta and associates morphological patterned fen types with environmental or geological characteristics. The digital files and maps provide a permanent record against which future change can be compared.

We investigated recent changes in spatial patterning of fen and bog zones in five boreal aapa mire complexes (mixed peatlands with patterned fen and bog parts) in a multiproxy study. Comparison of old (1940–1970s) and new aerial images revealed decrease of flarks (wet hollows) in patterned fens by 33–63% in middle boreal and 16–42% in northern boreal sites, as lawns of bog Sphagnum mosses expanded over fens. Peat core transects across transformed areas were used to verify the remote sensing inference with stratigraphic analyses of macrofossils, hyperspectral imaging, and age-depth profiles derived from 14C AMS dating and pine pollen density. The transect data revealed that the changes observed by remote sensing during past decades originated already from the end of the Little Ice Age (LIA) between 1700–1850 CE in bog zones and later in the flarks of fen zones. The average lateral expansion rate of bogs over fen zones was 0.77 m y−1 (range 0.19–1.66) as estimated by remote sensing, and 0.71 m y−1 (range 0.13–1.76) based on peat transects. The contemporary plant communities conformed to the macrofossil communities, and distinct vegetation zones were recognized as representing recently changed areas. The fen-bog transition increased the apparent carbon accumulation, but it can potentially threaten fen species and habitats. These observations indicate that rapid lateral bog expansion over aapa mires may be in progress, but more research is needed to reveal if ongoing fen-bog transitions are a commonplace phenomenon in northern mires.

Climate change‐driven vegetation changes can alter the ecosystem functions of northern peatlands. Several case studies have documented fen‐to‐bog transition (FBT) over recent decades, which can have major implications, as increased bog growth would likely cause cooling feedback. However, studies beyond individual cases are missing to infer if a common trajectory or many alternatives of FBT are in progress. We explored plant community and hydrology patterns during FBT of 23 boreal aapa mire complexes in Finland. We focused on mires where comparisons of historical (1940–1970) and new (2017–2019) aerial photographs indicated an expansion of Sphagnum‐dominated zones. Vegetation plot and water chemistry data were collected from string‐flark fens, transition zones with indications of Sphagnum increase, and bog zones; thus, in a chronosequence with a decadal time span. We ask, is there a common trajectory or many alternatives of FBT in progress, and what are the main characteristics (species and traits) of transitional plant communities? We found a pattern of fen‐bog transitions via an increase in Sphagnum sect. Cuspidata (mainly S. majus and S. balticum), indicating a consistently high water table. Indicators only of transitional communities were scarce (Sphagnum lindbergii), but FBT had apparently facilitated shallow‐rooted aerenchymatous vascular plants, especially Scheuchzeria palustris. Water pH consistently reflected the chronosequence with averages of 4.2, 3.9, and 3.8, from fen to transition and bog zones. Due to weak minerotrophy of string‐flark fens, species richness increased towards bogs, but succession led to reduced beta diversity and homogenization among bog sites. Decadal chronosequence suggested a future fen‐bog transition through a wet phase, instead of a drying trend. Transitional poor‐fen vegetation was characterized by the abundance of Sphagnum lindbergii, S. majus, and Scheuchzeria palustris. Sphagnum mosses likely benefit from longer growing seasons and consistently wet and acidic conditions of aapa mires. We studied recent fen‐bog transitions and the characteristics of transitional plant communities in 23 boreal aapa mires in a spatial chronosequence with a decadal time span. We found a pattern of fen‐bog transitions via an increase in wet Sphagna (Sphagnum lindbergii, S. majus, and S. balticum) and Scheuchzeria palustris, highlighting the fact that under climate change, boreal fens may experience a shift to Sphagnum‐dominated bogs through a wet phase.

The research was carried out in calcareous fen habitats which share coverage with Natura 2000 sites designated under the EU Habitats and the Birds Directive. A total of 27 taxa of molluscs were recorded: 23 gastropod and 4 bivalve species. Anisus vorticulus, one of the species of Community interest whose conservation requires designation of special conservation areas within the Habitats Directive Natura 2000, was subrecedent and accedent in mollusc communities. Calcareous fen habitats offer the aquatic organisms harsh environmental conditions including a relatively high temperature of the water up to 33.29 °C (undrained fens), oxygen deficits in the water, high pH of up to 11.08 (fen pools) and conductivity above 3000 μS cm−1 (fen ditches). Therefore molluscs have to face extreme environmental conditions. Temperature of the water, pH, dissolved oxygen and conductivity were the parameters most associated with the distribution of mollusc species in the calcareous fen habitats. The abundance of submerged and floating macrophytes, the degree of habitat persistence and the fish predation pressure on molluscs also exerted a significant effect on their distribution. The calcareous fen habitats that are listed in Annex I of the European Union Habitats Directive create a unique valuable ecosystem that contributes to the natural diversity of aquatic organisms.

Northern mires (fens and bogs) have significant climate feedbacks and contribute to biodiversity, providing habitats to specialized biota. Many studies have found drying and degradation of bogs in response to climate change, while northern fens have received less attention. Rich fens are particularly important to biodiversity, but subject to global climate change, fen ecosystems may change via direct response of vegetation or indirectly by hydrological changes. With repeated sampling over the past 20 years, we aim to reveal trends in hydrology and vegetation in a pristine boreal fen with gradient from rich to poor fen and bog vegetation. We resampled 203 semi‐permanent plots and compared water‐table depth (WTD), pH, concentrations of mineral elements, and dissolved organic carbon (DOC), plant species occurrences, community structure, and vegetation types between 1998 and 2018. In the study area, the annual mean temperature rose by 1.0°C and precipitation by 46 mm, in 20‐year periods prior to sampling occasions. We found that wet fen vegetation decreased, while bog and poor fen vegetation increased significantly. This reflected a trend of increasing abundance of common, generalist hummock species at the expense of fen specialist species. Changes were the most pronounced in high pH plots, where Sphagnum mosses had significantly increased in plot frequency, cover, and species richness. Changes of water chemistry were mainly insignificant in concentration levels and spatial patterns. Although indications toward drier conditions were found in vegetation, WTD had not consistently increased, instead, our results revealed complex dynamics of WTD as depending on vegetation changes. Overall, we found significant trend in vegetation, conforming to common succession pattern from rich to poor fen and bog vegetation. Our results suggest that responses intrinsic to vegetation, such as increased productivity or altered species interactions, may be more significant than indirect effects via local hydrology to the ecosystem response to climate warming. We studied global change effects on vegetation and hydrology in a pristine boreal mire in a decadal time‐span. We repeated over 200 measurements of plant species cover, water‐table depth, and several water chemistry variables, after a marked shift to warmer conditions. We did not find significant changes in water chemistry, while remarkable vegetation changes were observed, suggesting that responses intrinsic to vegetation were more significant than indirect effects via local hydrology to the ecosystem response to recent warming. ​

An undesired succession of rich fens leads to the formation of dense Sphagnum carpets that outcompete brown mosses and some vascular plants, resulting in biodiversity loss in fen habitats of high conservation importance. Small-scale Sphagnum removal is a rarely implemented conservational measure, whose success may depend on soil alkalinity and fertility (i.e., nutrient availability). Therefore, characterizing the effects of pH and fertility levels would potentially allow for the development of better Sphagnum removal strategies. Two experiments were conducted across 24 rich fens of different alkalinity and fertility located in an area of ~32,000 km² spanning from the Bohemian Massif to the Western Carpathians (Europe). We hypothesized that high alkalinity and low fertility support the restoration of rich fen vegetation after Sphagnum removal. Our study focused on four different Sphagnum groups. In Experiment 1, the treatment plots remained unfenced. In Experiment 2, the treatment plots were fenced off and target brown mosses were transplanted from the surroundings to overcome dispersal limitations. A repeated-measures design was used, with vegetation composition recorded over a 5-year period. High alkalinity rather than fertility facilitated species richness and the appearance of target brown mosses. High alkalinity generally hindered Sphagnum recovery, whereas high fertility supported the recurrence of S. teres and S. recurvum agg. Under high pH conditions, enhanced fertility further correlated with the spread of nonsphagnaceous generalist bryophytes of low conservation value. Despite sustaining a significant overall reduction, all Sphagnum taxa began to recover throughout the experiment, albeit less obviously in fens with S. warnstorfii. Sphagnum removal may reverse biodiversity loss and allow for the restoration of brown mosses in rich fens where Sphagnum cover had increased due to slight eutrophication, acidification, or a decrease in the water table. In alkaline and nutrient-poor conditions (e.g., S. warnstorfii fens), the effect is evident and long lasting and the intervention may not be extensive. In fens dominated by S. teres or S. recurvum agg., repeated or large-scale removal may be needed if high nutrient availability (potassium, phosphorus) or lowalkalinity supports Sphagnum recolonization. Treatment plots with S. subgenus Sphagnum exhibited the least promising brown-moss restoration prospects.

Peatlands are effective carbon sinks as more biomass is produced than decomposed under the prevalent anoxic conditions. Draining peatlands coupled with warming releases stored carbon, and subsequent rewetting may or may not restore the original carbon sink. Yet, patterns of plant production and decomposition in rewetted peatlands and how they compare to drained conditions remain largely unexplored. Here, we measured annual above- and belowground biomass production and decomposition in three different drained and rewetted peatland types: alder forest, percolation fen and coastal fen during an exceptionally dry year. We also used standard plant material to compare decomposition between the sites, regardless of the decomposability of the local plant material. Rewetted sites showed higher root and shoot production in the percolation fen and higher root production in the coastal fen, but similar root and leaf production in the alder forest. Decomposition rates were generally similar in drained and rewetted sites, only in the percolation fen and alder forest did aboveground litter decompose faster in the drained sites. The rewetted percolation fen and the two coastal sites had the highest projected potential for organic matter accumulation. Roots accounted for 23–66% of total biomass production, and belowground biomass, rather than aboveground biomass, was particularly important for organic matter accumulation in the coastal fens. This highlights the significance of roots as main peat-forming element in these graminoid-dominated fen peatlands and their crucial role in carbon cycling, and shows that high biomass production supported the peatlands’ function as carbon sink even during a dry year.

Northern aapa mire complexes are characterized by patterned fens with flarks (wet fen surfaces) and bog zone margins with Sphagnum moss cover. Evidence exists of a recent increase in Sphagnum over fens that can alter ecosystem functions. Contrast between flarks and Sphagnum moss cover may enable remote sensing of these changes with satellite proxies. We explored recent changes in hydro-morphological patterns and vegetation in a south-boreal aapa mire in Finland and tested the performance of Landsat bands and indices in detecting Sphagnum increase in aapa mires. We combined aerial image analysis and vegetation survey, repeated after 60 years, to support Landsat satellite image analysis. Aerial image analysis revealed a decrease in flark area by 46% between 1947 and 2019. Repeated survey showed increase in Sphagnum mosses (S. pulchrum, S. papillosum) and deep-rooted vascular plants (Menyanthes trifoliata, Carex rostrata). A supervised classification of high-resolution UAV image recognized the legacy of infilled flarks in the patterning of Sphagnum carpets. Among Landsat variables, all separate spectral bands, the Green Difference Vegetation Index (GDVI), and the Automated Water Extraction Index (AWEI) correlated with the flark area. Between 1985 and 2020, near-infrared (NIR) and GDVI increased in the central flark area, and AWEI decreased throughout the mire area. In aapa mire complexes, flark fen and Sphagnum bog zones have contrasting Landsat NIR reflectance, and NIR band is suggested for monitoring changes in flarks. The observed increase in Sphagnum mosses supports the interpretation of ongoing fen–bog transitions in Northern European aapa mires, indicating significant ecosystem-scale changes.