Shirin Karimi

Restoration of drained wetlands to more pristine conditions is considered as one of the most important strategies to avoid the catastrophic effects of hydrological extremes. This includes avoiding both flooding during large precipitation events and streams from drying out during droughts. However, the science underpinning this strategy is largely missing, and in fact, the few scientific studies of pristine wetland systems in Sweden do not support the notion that wetland restoration necessarily is the best strategy to alleviate extreme weather impacts. To that goal, in my project, I’m using the before-after-control-impact (BACI) approach to assess the effects of ditch cleaning and wetland restoration practices on water storage and release dynamics. Together with several (post)doctoral researchers, we are taking full advantage of one of the most advanced field research infrastructures, the Krycklan Catchment Study (KCS) as our reference catchment, and a diverse set of sites with different management activities in the Trollberget Experimental Area (TEA).