Assessing the impact of peatland restoration on freshwater ecosystems

Decades of degradation have turned the UK's peatlands from sinks to sources of organic carbon, with adverse consequences for adjacent freshwater ecosystems. However, restoration efforts which broadly aim to raise the water table and re-establish vegetation are accelerating. Restoration not only slows erosion and thus particle export to rivers and streams, it also fundamentally alters the soil processes which dictate the chemical composition of the waters exported. Outflow water composition is governed by a dynamic array of biological, hydrological and geochemical processes occurring in the peat itself; results can be highly site dependent and difficult to predict. Such unforeseen interactions could limit the success of these measures in safe-guarding nearby freshwater ecosystems. Thus it is of critical importance to quantify the effect restoration has on the biogeochemistry of the peatland itself in order to predict its effect on surrounding freshwater ecosystems. The student, with our multi-disciplinary team, alongside the Brecon Beacons National Park Authority works to: 1) Determine how soil biogeochemistry changes during peatland restoration 2) Identify how these changes impact the freshwater microbiota in adjacent rivers and streams. Conduct studies at two peatlands in the Brecon Beacons of differing lithology, restoration status and specific water quality issues. Collect porewater depth profiles across areas of undisturbed, degraded and restored peat; trace the flow of water into surrounding rivers and streams. Geochemically characterize and compare porewater to solid phase analyses of peat cores collected in the same area (geochemistry, mineralogy and microbial community structure). Analyse stream water samples to determine the extent to which processes in the streams themselves influence nutrient fractionation and organic matter content. Process organic matter within the streams and simulate the impact of these fluxes on freshwater microbiota.