Restored or reinvented?Assessing the success of peatland restoration pilot projects in the Northumberland National Parks using environmental DNA(eDNA)

泥炭地是碳捕获的有力工具，有助于减缓全球排放、应对气候变化和实现联合国可持续发展目标。然而，在英格兰，142万公顷泥炭地中有87%因人为活动而退化，比如集约化农业。DEFRA的泥炭行动计划提出了第一个关于生态系统恢复的国家政策倡议，以减轻泥炭地的进一步退化，其中自然英格兰承诺5000万英镑支持整个英格兰的恢复，包括诺森伯兰国家公园（NNP）。根据全球公认的做法，NNP退化泥炭地的恢复目前在野生动物信托基金的指导下进行，重点是重新湿润1500公顷。“恢复”泥炭地的诊断特征包括净碳汇、碳储量、生物多样性、水质、文化支持和可持续利用，但未能建立生物地球化学特征，以区分处于原始状态的“恢复”泥炭地和“重塑”泥炭地（即重新湿润的退化表面）。在全球保护中，环境DNA （environmental DNA, eDNA）作为生物多样性监测的工具已被证明是成功的。在泥炭地恢复中，微生物群落评估的价值已经确定，但尚未在活跃的泥炭地恢复地点进行调查。该项目旨在综合eDNA和微生物群落评估的方法，以解决为恢复的泥炭地开发基线特征的挑战。野外工作将在Whitelee Moor （Northumberland Wildlife Trust）退化和恢复的泥炭地进行，并将使用下一代测序（NGS） eDNA分析和使用EcoPlates进行常规代谢分析对微生物群落进行比较分析。这些基线数据集将有助于自然英格兰围绕恢复最佳实践的国家政策。

Peatlands are a powerful tool for carbon capture as a mitigation against global emissions, combatting climate change and delivering on the UN Sustainable Development Goals. However, in England 87% of the 1.42m hectares of peatlands are degraded from anthropogenic activity, such as intensive farming. DEFRA's Peat Action Plan presented the first national policy initiative for ecosystem restoration to mitigate against further peatland degradation in which Natural England committed £50m to support restoration across the England, including the Northumberland National Park (NNP). Following globally recognised practices, restoration of degraded peatlands in the NNP are currently under the direction of Wildlife Trust and are focussed on rewetting 1500 ha. Diagnostic features of a 'restored' peatland include net carbon sink, carbon store, biodiversity, water quality, cultural support and sustainable use but has failed to establish a biogeochemical signature for distinguishing a 'restored' peatland in a pristine state from a 'reinvented' peatland (i.e., a rewetted degraded surface). In global conservation, environmental DNA (eDNA) has demonstrated success as a tool for biodiversity monitoring. In peatland restoration, the value of microbial community assessment has been identified but has yet to be investigated at active peatland restoration sites. This project aims to synthesise approaches in eDNA and microbial community assessment to address the challenge of developing a baseline signature for a restored peatland. Fieldwork will be conducted at degraded and restored peatland sites across Whitelee Moor (Northumberland Wildlife Trust site) and comparative analysis of the microbial communities using next-generation sequencing (NGS) eDNA analysis and conventional metabolic analyses using EcoPlates will be carried out. These baseline datasets will contribute to Natural England's national policy around restoration best practice.