Impacts of historical ditching on peat volume and carbon in northern Minnesota USA peatlands
Open accessAbstract
Peatlands play a critical role in terrestrial carbon (C) storage, containing an estimated 30% of global soil C, despite occupying only 3% of global land area. Historic management of peatlands has led to widespread degradation and loss of important ecosystem services, including C sequestration. Legacy drainage features in the peatlands of northern Minnesota, USA were studied to assess the volume of peat and the amount of C lost in the ~100 years since drainage. Using high-resolution Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) data, we measured elevation changes adjacent to legacy ditches to model pre-ditch surface elevations, which were used to calculate peat volume loss. We established relationships between volume loss and site characteristics from existing geographic information systems datasets and used those relationships to scale volume loss to all mapped peatland ditches in northern Minnesota (USA). We estimated that 0.165 ± 0.009 km 3 of peat have been lost along almost 4000 km of peatland ditches. Peat loss upslope of ditches was significantly less than downslope (P < 0.001). Mean width of the entire ditch-effect zone was 333 ± 8.32 m. Using our volume loss estimates, literature estimates of oxidation, and mean bulk density and peat C% values from Minnesota peatlands, we calculate a total historic loss 3.847 ± 0.364 Tg C. Assuming a constant oxidation rate during the 100 years since drainage, euic and dysic peatlands within the ditch effect zone have lost 0.26 ± 0.08 and 0.40 ± 0.13 Mg C ha-1 yr-1, respectively, comparable to IPCC estimates. Our spatially-explicit peat loss estimates could be incorporated into decision support tools to inform management decisions regarding peatland C and other ecosystem services.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
The creation of ditches, especially in organic soils, causes adjacent terrestrial soils to dry out, which leads to extensive soil subsidence, oxidation, and carbon dioxide emissions.
“The creation of ditches, especially in organic soils (Fig. 1D, F, H), causes adjacent terrestrial soils to dry out, which leads to extensive soil subsidence, oxidation, and carbon dioxide emissions 163 .”
From Lines in the landscape (2025) · cites this paper as [163]
Cites
R: A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing
R Core Team (2000) · doi:10.32614/r.manuals · Cited by 355,706 · see citing works
Anthropogenic and Natural Radiative Forcing
Myhre, G., Shindell, D., & Pongratz, J. (2014) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9781107415324.018 · Cited by 4,634 · see citing works
Unbiased Recursive Partitioning: A Conditional Inference Framework
Hothorn, T., Hornik, K., & Zeileis, A. (2006) · Journal of Computational and Graphical Statistics · doi:10.1198/106186006x133933 · Cited by 4,021 · see citing works
Griscom, B. W., Adams, J., Ellis, P. W., Houghton, R. A., Lomax, G., Miteva, D. A., Schlesinger, W. H., Shoch, D., Siikamäki, J. V., Smith, P., et al. (2017) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.1710465114 · Cited by 3,481 · see citing works
PEATMAP: Refining estimates of global peatland distribution based on a meta-analysis
Xu, J., Morris, P. J., Liu, J., & Holden, J. (2017) · CATENA · doi:10.1016/j.catena.2017.09.010 · Cited by 910 · see citing works
Subsidence and carbon loss in drained tropical peatlands
Hooijer, A., Page, S., Jauhiainen, J., Lee, W. A., Lu, X., Idris, A., & Anshari, G. Z. (2012) · Biogeosciences · doi:10.5194/bg-9-1053-2012 · Cited by 628 · see citing works
A synthesis of methane emissions from 71 northern, temperate, and subtropical wetlands
Turetsky, M. R., Kotowska, A., Bubier, J. L., et al. (2014) · Global Change Biology · doi:10.1111/gcb.12580 · Cited by 607 · see citing works
Hydrological feedbacks in northern peatlands
Waddington, J. M., Morris, P. J., Kettridge, N., Granath, G., Thompson, D. K., & Moore, P. A. (2014) · Ecohydrology · doi:10.1002/eco.1493 · Cited by 513 · see citing works
Rezanezhad, F., Price, J. S., Quinton, W. L., et al. (2016) · Chemical Geology · doi:10.1016/j.chemgeo.2016.03.010 · Cited by 468 · see citing works
Expert assessment of future vulnerability of the global peatland carbon sink
Loisel, J., Gallego-Sala, A. V., Amesbury, M. J., Magnan, G., Anshari, G. Z., Beilman, D. W., Benavides, J. C., Blewett, J., Camill, P., Charman, D. J., et al. (2020) · Nature Climate Change · doi:10.1038/s41558-020-00944-0 · Cited by 459 · see citing works
Greenhouse gas fluxes from tropical peatlands in south‐east Asia
Couwenberg, J., Dommain, R., & Joosten, H. (2009) · Global Change Biology · doi:10.1111/j.1365-2486.2009.02016.x · Cited by 454 · see citing works
CARBON, NITROGEN, AND PHOSPHORUS MINERALIZATION IN NORTHERN WETLANDS
Bridgham, S. D., Updegraff, K., & Pastor, J. (1998) · Ecology · doi:10.1890/0012-9658(1998)079[1545:cnapmi]2.0.co;2 · Cited by 426 · see citing works
Peatlands and Global Change: Response and Resilience
Page, S. E., & Baird, A. J. (2016) · Annual Review of Environment and Resources · doi:10.1146/annurev-environ-110615-085520 · Cited by 396 · see citing works
Intact and managed peatland soils as a source and sink of GHGs from 1850 to 2100
Leifeld, J., Wüst‐Galley, C., & Page, S. (2019) · Nature Climate Change · doi:10.1038/s41558-019-0615-5 · Cited by 328 · see citing works
Greenhouse gas emission factors associated with rewetting of organic soils
Earthy Matters Environmental Consultants, D., Wilson, D., Blain, D., et al. (2016) · Mires and Peat · doi:10.19189/map.2016.omb.222 · Cited by 269 · see citing works
Tropical peatland carbon storage linked to global latitudinal trends in peat recalcitrance
Hodgkins, S. B., Richardson, C. J., Dommain, R., Wang, H., Glaser, P. H., Verbeke, B. A., Winkler, B. R., Cobb, A. R., Rich, V. I., Missilmani, M., et al. (2018) · Nature Communications · doi:10.1038/s41467-018-06050-2 · Cited by 237 · see citing works
Fokkema, M., Smits, N., Zeileis, A., Hothorn, T., & Kelderman, H. (2017) · Behavior Research Methods · doi:10.3758/s13428-017-0971-x · Cited by 223 · see citing works
Long-term effect of forest drainage on the peat carbon stores of pine mires in Finland
Minkkinen, K., & Laine, J. (1998) · Canadian Journal of Forest Research · doi:10.1139/x98-104 · Cited by 204 · see citing works
Damman, A. W. H. (1986) · Canadian Journal of Botany · doi:10.1139/b86-055 · Cited by 161 · see citing works
Minkkinen, K., & Laine, J. (2006) · Plant and Soil · doi:10.1007/s11104-006-9016-4 · Cited by 138 · see citing works
A conceptual model of volume-change controls on the hydrology of cutover peats
Kennedy, G. W., & Price, J. S. (2004) · Journal of Hydrology · doi:10.1016/j.jhydrol.2004.06.024 · Cited by 135 · see citing works
Drexler, J. Z., de Fontaine, C. S., & Deverel, S. J. (2009) · Wetlands · doi:10.1672/08-97.1 · Cited by 134 · see citing works
Important physical properties of peat materials
Boelter, D. H. (1968) · Cited by 126 · see citing works
Multi‐year net ecosystem carbon balance of a restored peatland reveals a return to carbon sink
Nugent, K. A., Strachan, I. B., Strack, M., Roulet, N. T., & Rochefort, L. (2018) · Global Change Biology · doi:10.1111/gcb.14449 · Cited by 125 · see citing works
Carbon dioxide and methane fluxes from drained peat soils, southern Quebec
Glenn, S., Heyes, A., & Moore, T. R. (1993) · Global Biogeochemical Cycles · doi:10.1029/93gb00469 · Cited by 123 · see citing works
The Patterned peatlands of Minnesota
(1993) · Choice Reviews Online · doi:10.5860/choice.30-5575 · Cited by 119 · see citing works
Gorham, E., Janssens, J. A., & Glaser, P. H. (2003) · Canadian Journal of Botany · doi:10.1139/b03-036 · Cited by 103 · see citing works
Fokkema, M., Edbrooke-Childs, J. H., & Wolpert, M. (2020) · Psychotherapy Research · doi:10.1080/10503307.2020.1785037 · Cited by 91 · see citing works
Emissions of CO2, CH4 and N2O from undisturbed, drained and mined peatlands in Estonia
Salm, J., Maddison, M., Tammik, S., et al. (2011) · Hydrobiologia · doi:10.1007/s10750-011-0934-7 · Cited by 87 · see citing works
Water table drawdown around an open ditch in organic soils
Boelter, D. H. (1972) · Journal of Hydrology · doi:10.1016/0022-1694(72)90046-7 · Cited by 78 · see citing works
Long-term rewetting of degraded peatlands restores hydrological buffer function
Ahmad, S., Liu, H., Günther, A. B., Couwenberg, J., & Lennartz, B. (2020) · The Science of The Total Environment · doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.141571 · Cited by 75 · see citing works
Effects of Moor-Draining on the Hydrology and Vegetation of Northern Pennine Blanket Bog
Stewart, A. J. A., & Lance, A. N. (1991) · Journal of Applied Ecology · doi:10.2307/2404228 · Cited by 73 · see citing works
(2015) · CRC Press eBooks · doi:10.1201/b18996 · Cited by 73 · see citing works
Pronger, J., Schipper, L. A., Hill, R. B., et al. (2014) · Journal of Environmental Quality · doi:10.2134/jeq2013.12.0505 · Cited by 72 · see citing works
Rewetting strategies to reduce nitrous oxide emissions from European peatlands
Liu, H., Wrage, N., & Lennartz, B. (2020) · Communications Earth & Environment · doi:10.1038/s43247-020-00017-2 · Cited by 58 · see citing works
Multi-decadal Changes in Water Table Levels Alter Peatland Carbon Cycling
Chimner, R. A., Pypker, T. G., Hribljan, J. A., Moore, P. A., & Waddington, J. M. (2016) · Ecosystems · doi:10.1007/s10021-016-0092-x · Cited by 52 · see citing works
Self-citationHill, B. H., Jicha, T. M., Lehto, L. P., et al. (2016) · The Science of The Total Environment · doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.01.178 · Cited by 46 · see citing works
Water table levels at different drainage intensities on deep peat in Northern Norway
Brække, F. H. (1983) · Forest Ecology and Management · doi:10.1016/0378-1127(83)90070-1 · Cited by 31 · see citing works
Historical peat loss explains limited short-term response of drained blanket bogs to rewetting
Williamson, J., Rowe, E. C., Reed, D., et al. (2016) · Journal of Environmental Management · doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2016.12.018 · Cited by 30 · see citing works
Chapter 13: Terrestrial Wetlands. Second State of the Carbon Cycle Report
Kolka, R. K., Trettin, C., Tang, W., et al. (2018) · doi:10.7930/soccr2.2018.ch13 · Cited by 27 · see citing works
Self-citationMcFarlane, K. J., Hanson, P. J., Iversen, C. M., Phillips, J. R., & Brice, D. J. (2018) · Radiocarbon · doi:10.1017/rdc.2018.37 · Cited by 25 · see citing works
Methane and carbon dioxide fluxes from open and blocked ditches in a blanket bog
Green, S. M., Baird, A. J., Evans, C., et al. (2018) · Plant and Soil · doi:10.1007/s11104-017-3543-z · Cited by 23 · see citing works
Recovery of the CO2 sink in a remnant peatland following water table lowering
Ratcliffe, J. L., Campbell, D. I., Schipper, L. A., Wall, A. M., & Clarkson, B. R. (2019) · The Science of The Total Environment · doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.134613 · Cited by 19 · see citing works
Soils of Peatlands: Histosols and Gelisols
Kolka, R., Bridgham, S. D., & Ping, C. (2015) · CRC Press eBooks · doi:10.1201/b18996-16 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
Self-citationGlobal High-Resolution Soil-Water Balance
Trabucco, A., & Zomer, R. J. (2019) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.7707605.v2 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
A new method for restoring ditches in peatlands: ditch filling with fiber bales
Chimner, R. A., Cooper, D. J., Bidwell, M. D., et al. (2018) · Restoration Ecology · doi:10.1111/rec.12817 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
Self-citationThe reaction of swamp forests to drainage in northern Minnesota
Averell, J. L., McGrew, P. C., Waters, et al. (1929) · Medical Entomology and Zoology · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Hanson, M. J. (1987) · Mitchell Hamline Open Access (Hamline University) · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Ecological and floristic studies of the Red Lake peatland: final report to Peat Program
Gorham, E., & Wright, H. E. (1979) · University of Minnesota Digital Conservancy (University of Minnesota) · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Peatland Organic Matter Chemistry Trends Over a Global Latitudinal Gradient
Verbeke, B. A., Hodgkins, S. B., Carson, M. A., et al. (2017) · AGUFM · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Clifford, C., Bieroza, M., Clarke, S. J., Pickard, A., Stratigos, M. J., Hill, M. J., Raheem, N., Tatariw, C., Wood, P. J., Arismendi, I., et al. (2025) · Communications Earth & Environment · doi:10.1038/s43247-025-02699-y · Cited by 16 · see citing works
- Authors
- Krause, L., McCullough, K. J., Kane, E. S., Kolka, R. K., Chimner, R. A., & Lilleskov, E. A.
- Affiliations
- Michigan Technological University (US)
- US Forest Service (US)
- Corresponding author
- Lilleskov, Erik A.
- Venue
- Journal of Environmental Management
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2021-10
- Volume
- 296
- Pages
- 113090
- ISSN
- 0301-4797 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W3179843962
- Cited by
- 23
- References
- 51
- Citations by year
- 2026: 6 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 3
- FWCI
- 1.75
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Journal of Environmental Management (acceptedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Digital Commons - Michigan Tech (Michigan Technological University) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- U.S. Forest Service
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecology › Peatlands and Wetlands Ecology
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Atmospheric Science › Climate change and permafrost
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Soil Science › Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics
- Keywords
- peatland drainage, carbon loss, peat oxidation, peatland carbon sequestration, surface elevation change, LiDAR, carbon balance
- MeSH terms
- Carbon, Minnesota, Soil, Ecosystem
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
