Changes in vegetation after restoration of Belate peatland (Navarra) observed through diachronic cartography

Published source details Peralta de Andrés J., Heras Pérez P., Infante Sánchez M. & Berastegi Gartziandia A. (2015) Cambios de la vegetación tras la restauración de la turbera de Belate (Navarra) observados mediante cartografía diacrónica. Pages 1823-1831 in: J. delaRiva, P. Ibarra, R. Montorio & M. Rodrigues (eds.) Análisis espacial y representación geográfica: innovación et aplicación. Universidad de Zaragoza, Spain.
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This study is summarised as evidence for the following.

	Action	Category
	Exclude or remove livestock from degraded peatlands Action Link
	Rewet peatland (raise water table) Action Link

Exclude or remove livestock from degraded peatlands

A before-and-after study in 2008–2013 in a historically grazed poor fen in Spain (Peralta de Andrés et al. 2015) reported that after building fences to exclude cattle (along with rewetting), cover of rushes Juncus spp. increased and new populations of Sphagnum moss appeared. No statistical tests were carried out. Before intervention, the fen was covered by dryland grasses and forbs, with no Sphagnum. Four years after intervention, 81% of the peatland area contained rushes: common rush Juncus effusus with some sharp-flowered rush Juncus acutiflorus. Sphagnum mosses also appeared in 3 of 10 monitored quadrats. In 2009, fences were built to exclude cattle. At the same time, the fen was rewetted by blocking/removing drainage channels and building a new inflow ditch. The study does not distinguish between the effects of cattle exclusion and rewetting. Vegetation cover before (2008) and after (2013) intervention was mapped from aerial photos and recorded in ten permanent quadrats (size not reported).

(Summarised by: Nigel Taylor)
Rewet peatland (raise water table)

A before-and-after study in 2008–2013 in a degraded poor fen in Spain (Peralta de Andres et al. 2015) reported that following rewetting (along with cattle exclusion), cover of rushes Juncus spp. increased and new populations of Sphagnum moss appeared. No statistical tests were carried out. Before intervention, the fen was covered by dryland grasses and forbs, with no Sphagnum. Four years after intervention, 81% of the fen area was dominated by rushes: common rush Juncus effusus with some sharp-flowered rush Juncus acutiflorus. Sphagnum mosses also appeared in 3 of 10 monitored quadrats. In 2009, a drained fen was rewetted by blocking drainage ditches, removing a drainage pipe and building a new inflow ditch. The fen was also fenced to exclude cattle. The study does not distinguish between the effects of rewetting and cattle exclusion. Vegetation cover was estimated in 2008 (before restoration) and 2013, in ten permanent quadrats (size not reported) and from aerial photographs.

(Summarised by: Nigel Taylor)