Intervention/exposure group | Definition |
---|---|
Cropped-vs-bare | Actively cropped fields compared to those with no vegetation (extracted or de-vegetated) |
Drained and restored-vs-undrained | Drained and then restored peatlands compared to pristine fen |
Drained-vs-undrained | Drained peatlands compared to pristine/undrained peats, or heavily drained peatlands compared to lightly drained peats |
Dry-vs-wet | Dry peat soils compared to wetter soils |
Extracted and restored-vs-natural | Both extracted and then restored peats compared to unextracted/pristine peats |
High intensity farmed-vs-low intensity farmed | Intensively compared with extensively farmed peats (in terms of a wide variety of unspecified farming activities) |
Fertilised and grazed-vs-unfertilised and mown | Both fertilised and grazed compared to unfertilised and ungrazed but mown peats |
Fertilised-vs-less fertilised | High fertilisation rates compared to low fertilisation rates |
Grass-vs-forest | Grass fields compared to forested fields |
Grazed-vs-mown | Grazed peatlands compared to ungrazed but mown fields |
Irrigated-vs-non-irrigated | Rain fed irrigated peatlands compared to non-irrigated peats |
Mineral soil dressed-vs-undressed | Peats with added mineral soil compared to soils lacking mineral addition |
Old abandoned-vs-recently abandoned | Peats abandoned for a longer period compared to more recently abandoned peats |
Old afforested-vs-recently afforested | Peats planted with trees for a longer period compared to more recently planted forest peatlands |
Poor-vs-rich | Peats described by authors as ‘poor’ compared to those described as ‘rich’ (corresponding to natural gradients in nutrient status and acidity) |
Restored-vs-unrestored | Previously extracted peats with deliberately raised water tables compared to extracted and unaltered peatlands |