A multi-disciplinary research framework for assessing peatland rewetting effects on ecosystem functioning and societal values

About 1.5-2.0 million hectares of natural peatlands in Sweden have been drained during the past century with the aim to increase timber production. These drainage activities have largely affected soil biogeochemistry and vegetation dynamics with consequences for several key ecosystem services, including reduced benefits for climate and biodiversity. At present, there is a high interest and activity level within the Swedish governmental agencies and forest stakeholders to restore these disturbed ecosystems back towards a more natural state via rewetting measures. However, these activities currently lack well-developed policy support as well as a comprehensive empirical assessment of synergies and tradeoffs among these different ecosystem services under drained and rewetted conditions.

Project implementation

With the goal to fill this knowledge gap, we have established a multi-disciplinary program, bridging science and management, to explore questions related to climate impact (WP1), biodiversity (WP2) and policy & societal values (WP3) in drained and rewetted peatland forests in boreal Sweden.

The specific research questions to be answered in each of the WPs are as follows:

WP1: What is the impact of peatland rewetting on the carbon and greenhouse gas balances, soil biogeochemistry and run-off water quality in a high-productive boreal peatland forest?
WP2: How does vegetation composition, epigaeic insect assemblages composition and pollinator diversity change following peatland rewetting?
WP3: Which social parameters, with emphasis on policy support, social acceptance and impact on human well-being, are essential for promoting peatland rewetting?
Synthesis: Sharing of the knowledge gained across the various fields and disciplines is central to this project. A synthesis of the results from WP1-3 will, by the end of the project, allow us to evaluate the potential synergies and trade-offs of boreal peatland restoration in terms of ecosystem functioning and societal values. The results from this project will therefore create an urgently needed empirical database to guide management decisions toward sustainable and climate-friendly forestry.

Publications

Nordstrand, I (2025) Peatland restoration in Västerbotten, Sweden: A vegetation composition survey assessing the effects of restoration. Second cycle, A2E. Umeå: SLU, Dept. of Wildlife, Fish and Environmental Studies

Suárez-Rojas C, Widmark C (2025) A policy analysis of peatland-related policies - pressures, ecosystem services, conservation and restoration. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forpol.2025.103642