Porewater and soil samples were collected from 64 natural and rewetted peatlands across Germany (47 sites), Poland (5), Estonia (6), Scotland (3), Sweden (2), and Georgia (1) between 1997 and 2017. A total of 812 anoxic porewater samples were taken from water-saturated soil layers (0–0.6 m depth) using dialysis samplers along 10–20 m transects (Hesslein, 1976). Selected fen sites were monitored for 10–20 years post-rewetting to assess seasonal and long-term nutrient dynamics. The peatlands varied in drainage history and land use intensity, resulting in different degrees of decomposition in the upper peat layers (0–0.4 m depth). The dialysis sampling technique enabled unbiased sampling of oxygen-sensitive dissolved solutes and provided vertical concentration profiles of porewater chemistry (Zak et al., 2004). The data were used to compare porewater composition between rewetted and natural peatlands (bogs and fens), (ii) evaluate the influence of peat characteristics on porewater chemistry in rewetted sites, (iii) examine seasonal variations in nutrient concentrations in rewetted fens, and (iv) assess long-term changes in porewater composition following rewetting.

Further projects and funding: Ursachen und zeitlich Entwicklung der Phosphorfreisetzung und des Phosphorrūckhaltes in wiedervernässten Niedermooren (Beispielgebiet Peenetal bei Dargun), Award: Department of Environment of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF) WETSCAPES2.0, Web: https://botanik.uni-greifswald.de/experimentelle-pflanzenoekologie/wetscapes2/, Award: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) - Transregio Collaborative Research Centre 410