An Evaluation of Restoration Techniques for a Small Scale All-Terrain-Vehicle Disturbance in the Lake Charlotte Peatland

Abstract

A peatland near Lake Charlotte, Nova Scotia that had been damaged by all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) was identified as a compensatory mitigation site. Restoration practices commonly used for harvested peatlands were applied to small sections of ATV damaged peatland. In the test plots, treatments of moss and shrub transplantation, fertilizer application, and straw mulch addition were applied in various combinations to determine the optimum restoration approach for specific areas within the Lake Charlotte peatland complex. The overall objective of this research was to recommend a procedure for the complete restoration of the damaged portions of the peatland. A number of different hydrological, physio-chemical and biological parameters were monitored throughout the 2009 growing season to evaluate the effectiveness of the different treatments. In conclusion, this study demonstrated that techniques developed to restore peatlands degraded by peat extraction activities are also effective for restoring peatlands impacted by ATV use.