The Hydrology of Peatlands

Abstract

Hydrogeologic investigations over the past 20 years have largely confirmed the concepts developed by peatland ecologists that stress the close linkage between hydrology and peatland ecology. However, these studies have also shown how groundwater flow systems interacting with the climate, geology, and biota of large peat basins largely shape the ecological development of these waterlogged ecosystems. Hydrogeologic methodology therefore provides a rigorous quantitative approach based on first principles of chemistry and physics to constrain the largely empirical statistical methods favored by ecologists.