The specification of hydrological model requirements for bog restoration

Abstract

Within the scope of biodiversity and sustainable ecosystem development, the restoration of a bog's ecosystem is important because by reducing the drainage effect on the bog, the negative impact on adjacent intact or relatively intact raised bog and other wetland hydrological regime is lowered. Degraded bogs are mires with a disturbed natural hydrological regime, or those partly exploited for peat extraction. However, the hydrological regime can be restored and peat formation is expected within 30 years. The restoration of a bog's hydrological regime can be accelerated by filling up the drainage ditches. In the course of researching scientific literature, the author has found no evidence of a system dynamics model developed to simulate tree cutting intensity in degraded bogs after filling the drainage ditches for the purpose of speeding up the restoration of hydrological regime. Developing system dynamics model to calculate tree cutting intensity is an innovative way of solving the problem. Specification requirement technique is a useful tool for determining the elements that shape a bog's hydrological system and interact with each other, thus providing the design for a simulation model. The next step of the research, following the specification of the requirements, will be the development and verification of the simulation model using real life data.