Landscape analysis of nutrient-enriched margins (lagg) in ombrotrophic peatlands

Scientific knowledge of the wet zone - the lagg - that tends to form at the edge of ombrotrophic peatlands is surprisingly limited. In this study, we aim to improve the understanding of the ecohydrological functions of this transition by describing the form and abiotic controls of the laggs and margins of bog peatlands. Data collected in wells and piezometers along 10 transects (within 6 bogs), of the New Brunswick Eastern Lowlands are used to analyse the hydraulic and hydrochemical gradients, while airborne LiDAR data provides new insight on the geomorphology and the vegetation patterns of the bog-lagg-mineral transition zone. Based on their geomorphic character, the study transects are placed into 2 categories: confined and unconfined. Laggs of confined transition are found in a topographic depression, between the bog and a mineral slope >1%, while laggs of unconfined transitions are adjacent to a flat (<= 1%) or receding mineral slope (sloping away from the lagg). Water level (4 +/- 9 cm vs. -3 +/- 9 cm), pH (4.8 +/- 0.9 vs. 4.2 +/- 0.4), electrical conductivity (ECcorr) (105 +/- 52 mu S cm(-1) vs. 52 +/- 28 mu S cm(-1)) and peat depth (55 +/- 9 cm vs. 30 +/- 9 cm) are found to be higher, respectively, for the confined laggs than for the unconfined. Saturated hydraulic conductivity (K-sat) of the lagg's upper peat layer resembles that of bog environments, but quickly reduces with depth, impeding Vertical water flow. The greatest abiotic control of the lagg appears to be topography, which affects water flow rates and direction, thus water chemistry, nutrient transport and availability, hence vegetation characteristics. Our results suggest that the features of the transition zone that include the lagg, influence the quantity and variability of water within the adjacent peatland, and should be considered as integral part of the peatland complex. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.