Using palaeoecology to support blanket peatland management

泥炭地覆盖了世界表面的3%，但储存了高达30%的土壤碳，这比任何其他陆地储存都要多（Parish等人，2008年）。在英国，地毯式泥炭地构成了最大的陆地碳储量（Cannell et al., 1999），占全球所有地毯式泥炭地的10-15%。由于污染、过度放牧、人工排水和燃烧等众多原因，这些地点的退化（Holden, 2007）以及随后认识到它们在碳储存、提供饮用水、可能的洪水管理和作为野生动物保护领域方面的重要性，导致了实施恢复计划的广泛尝试。尽管泥炭地在英国广泛存在，但恢复计划很少考虑到该地区以前的泥炭地发展历史。恢复意味着回归到先前的、更原始的状态，但如果不知道原始的、原始的状态，就不可能知道是否达到了这样的目标。古生态学技术可以帮助我们了解泥炭地生态系统在数千年来是如何变化的，包括它们的植被和地表湿度历史。它们提供了一种将泥炭地现状背景化的方法，这样就可以根据“自然”泥炭地应该是什么样子的具体地点的证据进行定制修复（Chambers et al. 1999, Chambers & Daniell 2011）。然而，来自古生态学分析的证据很少被从业者要求或利用。通过与修复机构的密切合作，将突出古生态工作对指导修复计划的好处。这种针对特定地点的方法可以提供更合适和可实现的恢复目标。例如，当恢复发生时，种植Sphagnum是一种标准做法，但有证据表明，尽管Sphagnum是泥炭形成的重要组成部分，但英国毯状沼泽可能相对缺乏Sphagnum （Blundell和Holden， 2015）。据设想，这项研究可以遵循两层方法，包括i)现场分析和ii)基于实验室的显微镜工作。前者提供泥炭深度，泥炭和木炭的证据，将提供一个空间视角，而后者通过主岩心可以分析花粉，木炭，大型化石，遗属变形虫和腐殖质，允许对地点的植被和水文发展以及人类引起的变化进行具体但非常详细的重建。这项工作将试图突出和对比人类在过去几个世纪对这些地层式泥炭地遗址的重大影响，以便建立当前状态的非典型性质。将通过AMS放射性碳定年法寻求可靠的年表，但候选人可以探索其他补充技术。虽然该项目的主要目的是为全面泥炭地管理提供信息，但其他好处包括重建区域气候和环境变化（Blundell et al., 2018）。地层分析和泥炭深度也将允许对特定地点的碳储量进行详细估计。该项目将向合作伙伴传播调查结果，并希望对修复实践产生更好的影响。

Peatlands cover 3% of the world's surface but store up to 30% of soil carbon, which is more organic carbon than any other terrestrial store (Parish et al., 2008). In the UK, blanket peatlands constitute the greatest terrestrial carbon reserves (Cannell et al., 1999) and represent up to 10-15% of all blanket peatlands worldwide. Degradation of these sites via numerous causes such as pollution, overgrazing, artificial drainage and burning (Holden, 2007) and a subsequent recognition of their importance in terms of carbon storage, provision of potable water, possible flood management and as areas for wildlife conservation have led to extensive attempts to implement restoration schemes.Although widespread in the UK, restoration schemes are rarely carried out with consideration of the location's previous history of peatland development. Restoration implies a return to some previous, more pristine state, but knowing whether such a goal has been achieved is not possible if that original, pristine state is not known. Palaeoecological techniques can help us to understand how peatland ecosystems have changed over thousands of years, including their vegetation and surface-wetness histories. They provide a means to contextualise the present state of the peatland so that restoration can be tailored around site-specific evidence of what a "natural" peatland should look like (Chambers et al. 1999, Chambers & Daniell 2011). However, evidence from palaeoecological analyses is rarely requested or utilised by practitioners. By cooperating closely with restoration agencies, the benefits of palaeoecological work to guide restoration plans will be highlighted. This site-specific approach can provide restoration goals that are more appropriate and achievable. For example, Sphagnum planting is a standard practice when restoration occurs but there is evidence that - although an important peat-building constituent - UK blanket bogs can be relatively devoid of Sphagnum (Blundell and Holden, 2015). It is envisaged that the study could follow a two-tier approach involving i) in-field analyses and ii) laboratory-based microscope work. The former providing peat depths, evidence of Sphagnum and charcoal, would supply a spatial perspective whereas the latter via master core could be analysed for pollen, charcoal, macrofossils, testate amoebae and humification allowing point specific but highly detailed reconstruction of the site's vegetation and hydrological development and human induced change. This work will seek to highlight and contrast the substantial influence of humans on these blanket peatland sites over the last few centuries so the atypical nature of the present state can be established. Robust chronologies would be sought via AMS radiocarbon dating but the candidate could explore other complementary techniques.Although a primary aim of the project will be to inform blanket peatland management, other benefits include reconstruction of regional climate and environmental change (Blundell et al., 2018). Stratigraphic analyses and peat depths would also permit detailed site-specific estimates of carbon storage. This project would disseminate findings to partners and hope to influence restoration practice for the better.