Impact of local- and regional-scale restoration measures on a vulnerable rich fen in the Naardermeer nature reserve (the
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Impact of local- and regional-scale restoration measures on a vulnerable rich fen in the Naardermeer nature reserve (the Netherlands) Annegreet Veeken
. Martin J. Wassen
Received: 28 January 2020 / Accepted: 10 June 2020 Ó The Author(s) 2020
Abstract Restoration of rich fens is commonly attempted through local-scale measures, such as removal of sod or blockage of ditches. However, regional-scale restoration measures, that aim to reestablish the original hydrology in which rich fens developed, might have a more long-lasting effect. We investigated the effect of local- and regional-scale restoration measures on a vulnerable rich fen in the Naardermeer nature reserve in the Netherlands. We compared water quality and vegetation composition of the fen before and after the restoration measures, almost 30 years apart. Overall rich fen species increased and although this indicates the desired increased supply of fresh mineral-rich groundwater to the fen, continued succession towards poor fen vegetation has not been prevented in the entire fen.
Despite sod layer removal, we observed an increase in a Polytrichum-dominated vegetation in patches that are primarily fed by rainwater. Our findings confirm results from a previous study which showed that brackish palaeo-groundwater is still contributing substantially to the water balance of the fen, especially in periods of precipitation deficit. We conclude that the local- and regional-scale restoration measures have been successful in increasing the abundance of rich fen species in parts of the fen. However, considering the pressures of climate change and high atmospheric N-deposition on the fen, it is uncertain whether rich fen species can be sustained in quite nutrient-poor conditions in the future. Therefore, there is a need for continued management that keeps the nutrient-poor and mineral-rich conditions of the fen intact.
Communicated by Marjan Jongen.
Keywords Vegetation Water quality Poor fen Nutrients Management Succession
Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-020-01049-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Introduction
A. Veeken School of Geography, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK M. J. Wassen (&) Environmental Sciences, Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development, Utrecht University, PO Box 80115, 3508 TC Utrecht, the Netherlands e-mail: [email protected]
Rich fens are a wetland type with a particularly high value for nature conservation because of their species richness and their high proportion of endangered species (Bedford and Godwin 2003; Haapalehto et al. 2011). Rich fens are fed by surface water and/or groundwater that is generally high in minerals, hence
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Plant Ecol
the name ‘rich’ fen (Sjors and Gunnarsson 2002). The fact that many fen species are endangered is related to a number of adverse human impacts on fens. In Europe as well as in North America, the greater part of the o
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