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Climate change and the associated increased frequency of extreme weather events are likely to alter the emissions of biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) from boreal peatlands. Hydrologically sensitive Sphagnum mosses are keystone species in boreal peatland ecosystems that are known to emit various BVOCs. However, it is not known how their emissions respond to seasonal droughts. In this study, we quantified the effect of severe drought, and subsequent recovery, on the BVOC emissions from Sphagnum mosses using mesocosms originating from wet open and naturally drier treed boreal fens and bogs. Here we report the emissions of 30 detected BVOCs, of which isoprene was the most abundant with an average flux rate of 5.6 µg m-2 h-1 (range 0-31.9 µg m-2 h-1). The experimental 43-day ecohydrological drought reduced total BVOC and isoprene emissions. In addition, in mesocosms originating from bogs, sesquiterpene emissions decreased with the drought, while the emissions of green leaf volatiles were induced. Sesquiterpene emissions remained low even six weeks after rewetting, indicating a long and limited recovery from the drought. Our results further imply that long-term exposure to deep water tables does not decrease sensitivity of Sphagnum to an extreme drought; we did not detect differences in the emission rates or drought responses between Sphagna originating from wet open and naturally drier treed habitats. Yet, the differences between fen and bog originating Sphagna indicate local variability in the BVOC quality changes following drought, potentially altering the climate feedback of boreal peatland BVOC emissions.

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Peatland restoration usually aims at restarting the peatlands' function to store carbon within peat. The soil properties of the near-surface peat can give a first understanding of this process. Therefore, we sampled pH value, total organic carbon content (TOC), total nitrogen content (TN), C/N ratio as well as dry bulk density (BD), and describe the structure of near-surface peats in six restored fens in North-East Germany before (2002-2004) and after (2019-2021) restoration. Before restoration, the study sites showed peat degradation to various extents in their near-surface peats. pH values remained relatively stable over time. Comparing the degraded peat horizons, TOC increased significantly in four study sites, ranging from 35.7% to 47.8% in 2002-2004 and from 42.5% to 54.0% in 2019-2021. TN varied from 1.5% to 3.5% in 2002-2004 and from 1.8% to 3.2% in 2019-2021, but changes were only significant in one site, showing a slight decrease. In three sites, the increase in C/N ratio was significant, indicating lower nutrient availability. BD ranged from 0.08 to 0.48 g/cm3 in 2002-2004 and from 0.10 to 0.16 g/cm3 in 2019-2021, decreasing significantly in four sites. The structure of the degraded peat horizons changed after restoration to a more homogenous, sludge mass with larger re-aggregates. In three sites, new peat moss peat layers above the degraded soil horizon were present in 2019-2021, with a mean thickness of 6.8 to 36.1 cm. The structure was comparable to typical, slightly decomposed peat moss peat. Our findings suggest that within about 17 years after fen restoration, and thereby a water table rise close to surface, TOC of the near-surface peats increased to values that are typical for undisturbed peatlands. This indicates that restoration can lead to the re-establishment of peatlands as potential carbon sinks, with TOC within the near-surface peat as one key factor in this process. Further, we assume that the decrease in nutrient availability, decrease of BD, and new, undisturbed peat layers can favor the establishment of mire-specific biodiversity and support ecosystem services similar to near-natural mires.

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Temperate heathlands and blanket bogs are globally rare and face growing wildfire threats. Ecosystem impacts differ between low and high severity fires, where severity reflects immediate fuel consumption. This study assessed factors influencing fire severity in Scottish heathlands and blanket bogs, including the efficacy of the Canadian Fire Weather Index System (CFWIS). Using remote sensing, we measured the differenced Normalised Burn Ratio at 92 wildfire sites from 2015 to 2021. We used Generalised Additive Mixed Models to investigate the impact of topography, habitat wetness, CFWIS components and 30-day weather on severity. Dry heath exhibited higher severity than wet heath and blanket bog, and slope, elevation and south facing aspect were positively correlated to severity. Weather effects were less clear due to data scale differences, yet still indicated weather's significant role in severity. Rainfall had an increasingly negative effect from approximately 15 days before the fire, whilst temperature had an increasingly positive effect. Vapour Pressure Deficit (VPD) was the weather variable with highest explanatory value, and predicted severity better than any CFWIS component. The best-explained fire severity model (R2 = 0.25) incorporated topography, habitat wetness wind and VPD on the day of the fire. The Drought Code (DC), predicting organic matter flammability at ≥10 cm soil depth, was the CFWIS component with the highest predictive effect across habitats. Our findings suggest that wildfires in wet heath and blanket bogs are typically characterised by low severity, but that warmer, drier weather may increase the risk of severe, smouldering fires which threaten peatland carbon stores.

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While wetlands are major sources of biogenic methane (CH4), our understanding of resident microbial metabolism is incomplete, which compromises the prediction of CH4 emissions under ongoing climate change. Here, we employed genome-resolved multi-omics to expand our understanding of methanogenesis in the thawing permafrost peatland of Stordalen Mire in Arctic Sweden. In quadrupling the genomic representation of the site's methanogens and examining their encoded metabolism, we revealed that nearly 20% of the metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) encoded the potential for methylotrophic methanogenesis. Further, 27% of the transcriptionally active methanogens expressed methylotrophic genes; for Methanosarcinales and Methanobacteriales MAGs, these data indicated the use of methylated oxygen compounds (e.g., methanol), while for Methanomassiliicoccales, they primarily implicated methyl sulfides and methylamines. In addition to methanogenic methylotrophy, >1,700 bacterial MAGs across 19 phyla encoded anaerobic methylotrophic potential, with expression across 12 phyla. Metabolomic analyses revealed the presence of diverse methylated compounds in the Mire, including some known methylotrophic substrates. Active methylotrophy was observed across all stages of a permafrost thaw gradient in Stordalen, with the most frozen non-methanogenic palsa found to host bacterial methylotrophy and the partially thawed bog and fully thawed fen seen to house both methanogenic and bacterial methylotrophic activities. Methanogenesis across increasing permafrost thaw is thus revised from the sole dominance of hydrogenotrophic production and the appearance of acetoclastic at full thaw to consider the co-occurrence of methylotrophy throughout. Collectively, these findings indicate that methanogenic and bacterial methylotrophy may be an important and previously underappreciated component of carbon cycling and emissions in these rapidly changing wetland habitats.IMPORTANCEWetlands are the biggest natural source of atmospheric methane (CH4) emissions, yet we have an incomplete understanding of the suite of microbial metabolism that results in CH4 formation. Specifically, methanogenesis from methylated compounds is excluded from all ecosystem models used to predict wetland contributions to the global CH4 budget. Though recent studies have shown methylotrophic methanogenesis to be active across wetlands, the broad climatic importance of the metabolism remains critically understudied. Further, some methylotrophic bacteria are known to produce methanogenic by-products like acetate, increasing the complexity of the microbial methylotrophic metabolic network. Prior studies of Stordalen Mire have suggested that methylotrophic methanogenesis is irrelevant in situ and have not emphasized the bacterial capacity for metabolism, both of which we countered in this study. The importance of our findings lies in the significant advancement toward unraveling the broader impact of methylotrophs in wetland methanogenesis and, consequently, their contribution to the terrestrial global carbon cycle.

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The literature offers various methods for measuring sound localization. In this study, we aimed to compare these methods to determine their effectiveness in addressing different research questions by examining the effect sizes obtained from each measure. Data from 150 participants who identified the location of a sound source were analyzed to explore the effects of speaker angle, stimuli, HPD type, and condition (with/without HPD) on sound localization, using six methods for analysis: mean absolute deviation (MAD), root-mean-squared error (RMSE), very large errors (VLE), percentage of errors larger than the average error observed in a group of participants (pMean), percentage of errors larger than half the distance between two consecutive loudspeakers (pHalf), and mirror image reversal errors (MIRE). Results indicated that the MIRE measure was the most sensitive to the effects of speaker angle and HPD type, while the VLE measure was most sensitive to the effect of stimuli type. The condition variable provided the largest effect sizes, with no difference observed between measures. The data suggest that when effect sizes are substantial, all methods are adequate. However, for cases where the effect size is expected to be small, methods that yield larger effect sizes should be considered, considering their alignment with the research question.

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There is little information about moisture changes in different altitudinal belts in mountainous regions of the southern Russian Far East. We present ecological and taxonomic compositions of the diatom flora and identify the botanical composition of peat in small mountain lake/mire complexes located in the Central Sikhote-Alin Mountains, within large landslides on the paleovolcanic slopes. Frequent changes in diatom assemblages and peat-forming plants indicate unstable hydroclimatic conditions with varying degrees of wet and dry conditions up to the overgrowth of the lakes. Frequent change in sphagnum mosses with different trophic preferences was identified. The chronology is based on 11 radiocarbon dates. Accumulation rates reached 1.7-1.9 mm/year, and the temporal resolution for the reconstructions was up to 30-40 yr. The tendencies of lake evolution depended on different scale hydroclimatic changes over the last 4400 yr. The most detailed data for the last 2600 yr were obtained from the Nizhnee Lake sequence, which is more sensitive to climatic changes. The main reason for the change in the hydrological regime of the lakes was variations in precipitation during short-term climatic changes. The sediment record of moisture fluctuations is relatively well correlated with regional patterns reflecting summer monsoon intensity and cyclogenesis activity.

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Managed boreal peatlands are widespread and economically important, but they are a large source of greenhouse gases (GHGs). Peatland GHG emissions are related to soil water-table level (WT), which controls the vertical distribution of aerobic and anaerobic processes and, consequently, sinks and sources of GHGs in soils. On forested peatlands, selection harvesting reduces stand evapotranspiration and it has been suggested that the resulting WT rise decreases soil net emissions, while the tree growth is maintained. We monitored soil concentrations of CO2, CH4, N2O and O2 by depth down to 80 cm, and CO2 and CH4 fluxes from soil in two nutrient-rich Norway spruce dominated peatlands in Southern Finland to examine the responses of soil GHG dynamics to WT rise. Selection harvesting raised WT by 14 cm on both sites, on average, mean WTs of the monitoring period being 73 cm for unharvested control and 59 cm for selection harvest. All soil gas concentrations were associated with proximity to WT. Both CH4 and CO2 showed remarkable vertical concentration gradients, with high values in the deepest layer, likely due to slow gas transfer in wet peat. CH4 was efficiently consumed in peat layers near and above WT where it reached sub-atmospheric concentrations, indicating sustained oxidation of CH4 from both atmospheric and deeper soil origins also after harvesting. Based on soil gas concentration data, surface peat (top 25/30 cm layer) contributed most to the soil-atmosphere CO2 fluxes and harvesting slightly increased the CO2 source in deeper soil (below 45/50 cm), which could explain the small CO2 flux differences between treatments. N2O production occurred above WT, and it was unaffected by harvesting. Overall, the WT rise obtained with selection harvesting was not sufficient to reduce soil GHG emissions, but additional hydrological regulation would have been needed.

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Mesh tracks on peatlands are often granted permits on a temporary basis under the presumption that the tracks are either removed at the end of their permitted use or remain unused in situ. However, the fragility of peatland habitats and poor resilience of the specialist plant communities within them, mean that these linear disturbances may persist post-abandonment or post-removal. We removed sections of mesh track, abandoned five years earlier, from a blanket peatland using two different removal treatment methods (mown and unprepared) and studied a third treatment with sections left in place over a period of 19 months. On abandoned tracks, invasive species including Campylopus introflexus and Deschampsia flexulosa had established, while track removal led to extensive loss of Sphagnum species. Loss of surficial nanotopographic vegetation structures during track removal was extensive, and micro-erosion features were prevalent in both removal treatments. Abandoned sections of track performed comparably better across all metrics than removed sections. However, similarity between the vegetation assemblage of the abandoned track and the controls was <40% at the study outset, with NMDS (Non-metric Multidimensional Scaling) highlighting divergences. There was a mean species loss of 5 per quadrat for the removed sections. Bare peat was present in 52% of all track quadrats by the finish of the study. Our findings suggest that mesh tracks left in situ and track removal both present significant barriers to recovery and additional conservation interventions may be required after peatland tracks are abandoned.

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Iron (Fe) oxides can stabilize organic carbon (OC) through adsorption and co-precipitation, while microbial Fe reduction can disrupt Fe-bound OC (Fe-OC) and further increase OC mineralization. The net effects of OC preservation and mineralization mediated by Fe oxides are still unclear, especially for old carbon (formed from plant litters over millions of years) and crystalline Fe oxides. Accelerating the recovery of wetland carbon sinks is critical for mitigating climate change and achieving carbon neutrality. Quantifying the net effect of Fe-mediated OC mineralization and preservation is vital for understanding the role of crystalline Fe oxides in carbon cycling and promoting the recovery of soil carbon sinks. Here, we explored the OC balances mediated by hematite (Hem) and lignite addition (Lig) to freshwater wetland (FW, rich in C and Fe) and saline-alkaline wetland (SW, poor in C and Fe) soil slurries, incubated under anaerobic conditions. Results showed that Lig caused net OC accumulation (FW: 5.9 ± 3.6 mg g-1; SW: 8.3 ± 3.2 mg g-1), while Hem caused dramatic OC loss, particularly in the FW soils. Hem inhibited microbial Fe(III) reduction by decreasing the relative abundance of Fe respiration reducers, while substantially enhancing OC mineralization through the shift in the microbial community structure of FW soils. Lig resulted in carbon emission, but its contribution to preservation by the formation of Fe-OC was far higher than that which caused OC loss. We concluded that crystalline Fe oxide addition solely favored the increase of OC mineralization by adjusting the microbial community structure, while old carbon enriched with an aromatic and alkyl promoted Fe-OC formation and further increased OC persistence. Our findings could be employed for wetland restoration, particularly for the recovery of soil carbon sinks.

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Soil macroinvertebrates as ecosystem engineers play significant, but largely ignored, roles in affecting mercury (Hg) cycle by altering soil physical-chemical properties. Ant is likely expanded into boreal mires with climate warming, however, its impacts on Hg cycle remained poorly understood. We compared total Hg (THg) and methylmercury (MeHg) contents in soils from antmounds (Lasius flavus) and the nearby ambient in a boreal mire in Northeast China. The present work seeks to unravel factors that controlling MeHg levels in case of ant appearance or absence. The average THg was 179 µg/kg in the ant mound and was 106.1 µg/kg in nearby soils, respectively. The average MeHg was 10.9 µg/kg in the ant mound and was 12.9 µg/kg in nearby soils, respectively. The ratios of MeHg to THg (%MeHg) were 7.61% in ant mounds and 16.75% in nearby soils, respectively. Ant colonization caused THg enrichment and MeHg depletion, and this change was obvious in the 10-20 cm depth soil layer where ants mainly inhabited. Spectrometry characteristics of soil dissolved organic matter (DOM) exert a stronger control than microorganisms on MeHg variation in soils. A structural equation model revealed that the molecular weight of DOM inhibited MeHg irrespective of ant presence or absence, while humification conducive to MeHg significantly in ant mound soils. Microorganisms mainly affected Hg methylation by altering the molecular weight and humification of DOM. We propose that the effects of ant colonization on MeHg rested on DOM feature variations caused by microorganisms in boreal mires.

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Common pastures were once the dominant type of land use in many European regions. However, during the past 150 years, they have declined dramatically. Recent studies have shown that they are hotspots for rare plant, butterfly, and bird species in the study area, the Bavarian pre-Alps (southern Germany). However, studies on the value of these pastures for Orthoptera (hereinafter termed "grasshoppers") have been scarce. Here, we studied the effects of traditional summer grazing in common pastures on grasshopper assemblages. Our study revealed that grasshopper species richness did not differ between common pastures (n = 57) and controls (n = 57). By contrast, density of all and of threatened species varied between common pastures and controls in all plots and within the two vegetation types with the highest grasshopper abundance, grasslands on mineral soil and fens. Two threatened species, Pseudochorthippus montanus and Stethophyma grossum, were identified as indicators for common pastures; controls had no indicative species. Traditional low-intensity grazing in common pastures has resulted in open and heterogeneous swards with some bare ground, a low cover of litter and an intermediate vegetation height favouring high densities of grasshopper species in general and threatened species in particular. This is especially true for the two most productive vegetation types, grasslands on mineral soil and fens. To promote biodiversity in general and grasshopper densities in particular, we recommend maintaining traditional cattle grazing (stocking capacities: 0.5-2.0 livestock units/ha) in common pastures. Where possible, this grazing regime should also be introduced in the surrounding landscape.

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This article presents the findings of the authors' study of the mire ecosystem vascular plants of the island of Bolshoy Shantar, which is the largest island in the Shantar archipelago. Bolshoy Shantar Island is an insular ecosystem, the study of which can provide insight into the natural "polygons" of evolution at work. The botanical research was conducted through the application of traditional techniques of floristic and geobotanical studies. The material for this article was drawn from 73 floristic and 54 geobotanical descriptions made between 2016-2018 in the north-eastern part of Bolshoy Shantar Island on four mire massifs associated with various hypsometric surfaces. The findings of this study indicate that the flora of vascular plants of the mires of Bolshoy Shantar Island reflect the peculiarities of a regional mire type that formed in the insular conditions of the Pacific. The species richness of the vascular flora of the island's mire ecosystems is evidenced by a total species count of 158, composed of 109 genera and 48 families, which accounts for more than one quarter (26.3%) of the Shantar archipelago's flora. Over half of these species (63.7%) form the core of the mire flora.

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Large areas in the northern hemisphere are covered by extensive wetlands, which represent a complex mosaic of raised bogs, eutrophic fens, and aapa mires all in proximity to each other. Aapa mires differ from other types of wetlands by their concave surface, heavily watered by the central part, as well as by the presence of large-patterned string-flark complexes. In this paper, we characterized microbial diversity patterns in the surface peat layers of the neighboring string and flark structures located within the mire site in the Vologda region of European North Russia, using 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The microbial communities in raised strings were clearly distinct from those in submerged flarks. Strings were dominated by the Alpha- and Gammaproteobacteria. Other abundant groups were the Acidobacteriota, Bacteroidota, Verrucomicrobiota, Actinobacteriota, and Planctomycetota. Archaea accounted for only 0.4% of 16S rRNA gene sequences retrieved from strings. By contrast, they comprised about 22% of all sequences in submerged flarks and mostly belonged to methanogenic lineages. Methanotrophs were nearly absent. Other flark-specific microorganisms included the phyla Chloroflexi, Spirochaetota, Desulfobacterota, Beijerinckiaceae- and Rhodomicrobiaceae-affiliated Alphaproteobacteria, and uncultivated groups env.OPS_17 and vadinHA17 of the Bacteroidota. Such pattern probably reflects local anaerobic conditions in the submerged peat layers in flarks.

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A new species of pseudoscorpions, Neobisium (Neobisium) adjaricumsp. nov., is described and diagnosed. It was collected in the Sphagnum habitats of Ispani lowland mires in Transcaucasia (Republic of Adjara, Georgia). The habitat of N. (N.) adjaricumsp. nov. is described. The holotype of N. (N.) vilcekii Krumpál, 1983, a species most similar morphologically to N. (N.) adjaricumsp. nov., known from the North Caucasus (Republic of North Ossetia-Alania, Russia), is redescribed. Diagnostic characters of the relative Caucasian species of the subgenus Neobisium Chamberlin, 1930 are analysed.

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Rising temperatures may endanger fragile ecosystems because their character and key species show different habitat affinities under different climates. This assumption has only been tested in limited geographical scales. In fens, one of the most endangered ecosystems in Europe, broader pH niches have been reported from cold areas and are expected for colder past periods. We used the largest European-scale vegetation database from fens to test the hypothesis that pH interacts with macroclimate temperature in forming realized niches of fen moss and vascular plant species. We calibrated the data set (29,885 plots after heterogeneity-constrained resampling) with temperature, using two macroclimate variables, and with the adjusted pH, a variable combining pH and calcium richness. We modelled temperature, pH and water level niches for one hundred species best characterizing European fens using generalized additive models and tested the interaction between pH and temperature. Fifty-five fen species showed a statistically significant interaction between pH and temperature (adj p Ë‚ .01). Forty-six of them (84%) showed a positive interaction manifested by a shift or restriction of their niche to higher pH in warmer locations. Nine vascular plants and no moss showed the opposite interaction. Mosses showed significantly greater interaction. We conclude that climate significantly modulates edaphic niches of fen plants, especially bryophytes. This result explains previously reported regional changes in realized pH niches, a current habitat-dependent decline of endangered taxa, and distribution changes in the past. A warmer climate makes growing seasons longer and warmer, increases productivity, and may lower the water level. These effects prolong the duration and intensity of interspecific competition, support highly competitive Sphagnum mosses, and, as such, force niches of specialized fen species towards narrower high-pH ranges. Recent anthropogenic landscape changes pose a severe threat to many fen species and call for mitigation measures to lower competition pressure in their refugia.

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Permafrost thaw is a major potential feedback source to climate change as it can drive the increased release of greenhouse gases carbon dioxide (CO2 ) and methane (CH4 ). This carbon release from the decomposition of thawing soil organic material can be mitigated by increased net primary productivity (NPP) caused by warming, increasing atmospheric CO2 , and plant community transition. However, the net effect on C storage also depends on how these plant community changes alter plant litter quantity, quality, and decomposition rates. Predicting decomposition rates based on litter quality remains challenging, but a promising new way forward is to incorporate measures of the energetic favorability to soil microbes of plant biomass decomposition. We asked how the variation in one such measure, the nominal oxidation state of carbon (NOSC), interacts with changing quantities of plant material inputs to influence the net C balance of a thawing permafrost peatland. We found: (1) Plant productivity (NPP) increased post-thaw, but instead of contributing to increased standing biomass, it increased plant biomass turnover via increased litter inputs to soil; (2) Plant litter thermodynamic favorability (NOSC) and decomposition rate both increased post-thaw, despite limited changes in bulk C:N ratios; (3) these increases caused the higher NPP to cycle more rapidly through both plants and soil, contributing to higher CO2 and CH4  fluxes from decomposition. Thus, the increased C-storage expected from higher productivity was limited and the high global warming potential of CH4 contributed a net positive warming effect. Although post-thaw peatlands are currently C sinks due to high NPP offsetting high CO2 release, this status is very sensitive to the plant community's litter input rate and quality. Integration of novel bioavailability metrics based on litter chemistry, including NOSC, into studies of ecosystem dynamics, is needed to improve the understanding of controls on arctic C stocks under continued ecosystem transition.

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BACKGROUND: Drainage activities have caused widespread wetland loss, groundwater drawdown and impairment of ecosystem services. There are now several national programs for wetland restoration, primarily focused on reintroducing ecosystem services such as habitats and nutrient retention. In Sweden, recent dry summers have also reinforced interest in hydrological functions such as the potential for enhanced groundwater storage, both in and around the wetland. However, there are several knowledge gaps regarding groundwater storage effects of restoration, including if they extend beyond the wetland and how they vary with local conditions. Therefore, we have systematically reviewed groundwater storage effects from the interventions of restoring, constructing or draining boreo-temperate wetlands. Drainage was included primarily to evaluate to what degree restoration can reverse drainage effects. METHODS: We searched 8 databases for scientific journal publications in English, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, French, German and Polish. Gray literature was searched in English and Swedish. Articles were included based on their relevance for Swedish conditions, i.e., in previously glaciated areas with boreal or temperate climate. Extracted outcome data were groundwater level changes, along with other variables including type of wetland and intervention and, when reported, distance between sampling point and intervention. Meta-analyses were conducted separately for studies that reported groundwater levels at different distances and studies that reported overall effects. Included studies were subject to critical appraisal to evaluate their susceptibility to bias, primarily selection bias, performance bias, and detection bias. Critical appraisal results were used in sensitivity analysis. REVIEW FINDINGS: Out of 11,288 screened records, 224 articles fulfilled the criteria, and from these, 146 studies were included in meta-analysis. Most studies (89%) investigated peatlands, primarily from Finland, the UK and Canada. Restoration and drainage studies were equally common. Only nine studies reported measurements beyond the wetland area. Our synthesis is therefore primarily focused on effects within wetlands. In peatland restoration, the observed groundwater level rise decreased exponentially with distance from the restored ditch and was reduced to 50% after 9 [95% confidence interval: 5, 26] m. Drainage reached somewhat farther, with 50% of the groundwater drawdown remaining at 21 [11, 64] m. On average, restoration increased groundwater levels by 22 [16, 28] cm near the intervention, whereas drainage caused a drawdown of 19 [10, 27] cm. Assuming that sampling was unbiased, effects were similar for bogs, fens and mires. Restricting the meta-analysis to the 58% of studies that were of high validity did not alter conclusions. CONCLUSIONS: Effects of peatland restoration and drainage were of similar magnitudes but opposite directions. This indicates that, on average, rewetting of drained peatlands can be expected to restore groundwater levels near the ditch. However, restoration may not reach all the area affected by drainage, and there was a strong dependence on local context. For managers of wetland projects, it is thus important to follow up and monitor restoration effects and reinforce the intervention if necessary. Our results also point to a need for better impact evaluation if increased storage beyond the restored wetland area is desired.

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BACKGROUND: The paper is based on the dataset whose purpose was to deliver, in the form of GBIF-mediated data, diverse materials on the biodiversity of a large mire, Shichengskoe mire (Vologda Region, north-western Russia), including its various mire sites and intra-mire water bodies. The dataset was based on our materials collected for two decades (from 2000 to 2021) in different parts and biotopes of the Shichengskoe mire and complemented by scarce data obtained previously by other researchers. The data contain materials on the diversity of Animalia (2886 occurrences), Bacteria (22), Chromista (256), Fungi (111), Plantae (2463) and Protozoa (131). Within the study period, the most detailed and long-term biodiversity studies were carried out for higher plants and invertebrates. On the other hand, the data on the composition of lichens, protozoa, algae, basidiomycetes, some groups of invertebrates and, to a lesser extent, lichens and vertebrates are far less comprehensive and require further substantial research efforts. The list includes occurrences from both the peatland (mire sites and mire margins different in typology) and the objects of the mire hydrographic network. In a standardised form, this article summarises both already published (mainly in Russian) and unpublished materials. NEW INFORMATION: The paper summarises the results of long-term research on the biodiversity of a boreal mire, including its hydrographic network. A total of 5869 occurrences were included in the dataset published in the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF, gbif.org) for the first time. According to the GBIF taxonomic backbone, the dataset covers 1358 taxa, including 1250 lower-rank taxa (species, subspecies, varieties, forms) and 108 taxa identified to the genus level. Several species found in the Shichengskoe mire, mainly belonging to Bacteria, Chromista and Protozoa, have never been listed in GBIF for the territory of Russia before. The overwhelming majority of occurrences and identified species came from the territory of Shichengskiy Landscape Reserve. Due to our work, this Reserve is now the most studied regional reserve in the Vologda Region with respect to biodiversity. By the number of revealed species, it is close to two federal protected areas: Darwinskiy State Nature Biospheric Reserve and National Park "Russkiy Sever".

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Splachnum pensylvanicum (Brid.) Grout ex H.A.Crum is recorded for the first time in Lithuania and it is its fourth discovery at a third locality in Europe. It was found for the first time in 2000 in Kamanos mire, the largest peatland complex in the northern part of this East Baltic country. Targeted investigations at this site in 2017 resulted in the discovery of 14 populations and it is apparently the largest and most abundant locality of the species in Europe. Splachnum pensylvanicum is briefly described and illustrated along with some taxonomic notes and a detailed description of its habitat requirements. The global geographical distribution of S. pensylvanicum is reviewed and mapped. It is a Euro-Eastern North American temperate species and deeply penetrates into the Neotropics at montane stations in Venezuela and SE Brazil in South America.

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An assessment of the socio-ecological system of the Nature Park "Numto" in West Siberia was carried out based on ecosystem services (ES) mapping, applying a "cascade approach" which was modified according to the specific conditions of low commercial land-use by Indigenous Peoples and adopted with a focus on making it practicable and understandable by decision-makers. The ES values were defined through stakeholder analysis, while the mapping was based on the biophysical traits of the ecosystems and related spatial distribution of ecosystem functions. The mapped ecosystem values differ from the perceived ones. The assessment identified conflicting land uses and groups of stakeholders, including Indigenous Peoples vulnerable to future climate change-induced deficits in access to ES. The ES that are important for climate change mitigation and adaptation are not valued highly by Indigenous Peoples. ES mapping is suggested as an appropriate method for the development of straightforward recommendations for Nature Park management.

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