Research Team:
- Mark Browning, Research Biologist
- Matthew Purvis, Research Biologist
Project Objectives/Overview:
Wainfleet Bog (1460 ha) is the largest remaining peatland in the Carolinian zone of Ontario. It has been severely disturbed by 80 years of peat mining resulting in a drier peatland with little living Sphagnum, subject to frost heaving, frequent fires and extensive colonization by the non-native European birch. However, the site still supports regionally and provincially rare species.
The bog is now under public ownership and a restoration plan has been implemented. Peat dams were constructed on the drain system to return saturated surface conditions and help re-establish peat accumulation processes. The plan included two years of baseline measurements prior to any manipulations, leaving the eastern portion of the bog unaltered as a reference area, and on-going monitoring of hydrology, vegetation and wildlife.
Significant increases in water table position, surface water elevation and surface peat water content have occurred due to peat dams and the return of Beaver. Beaver dams have a greater relative impact on water table position during periods of drought. Changing hydrology is driving plant community change. Re-saturation has killed large stands of European Birch and facilitated establishment of bog plants including tawny cotton grass, leatherleaf and sundews. Dispersal is still limiting the colonisation by other species including Sphagnum and transplanting of these may be necessary.
Collaborators and Participants:
- Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority
- MNR Vineland Office
- Laurentian University
- Trent University
Interesting Fact! Katharine Yagi (2010) has found that with the changing hydrology, spotted turtles at Wainfleet now have increased home range sizes and decreased time spent in summer aestivation.
Read about it here: Yagi, K.T. 2010. The effect of flooding on the spatial ecology and thermoregulation of spotted turtles (Clemmys guttata) in a southern Ontario population. M.Sc.Thesis, Laurentian University, Sudbury, ON.
