Data for: Drainage reduces the resilience of a boreal peatland

Drier conditions caused by drainage for infrastructure development, or associated with global climate warming, may test the resilience of carbon-rich northern peatlands. Feedbacks among biological and hydrological processes maintain the long-term stability of peatlands, but if hydrological thresholds are passed, these feedbacks may be weakened, causing a shift in ecosystem state and potentially large losses of carbon (C). To determine peatland response to hydrological change, we examined the structure (vegetation composition and hydrology) and biogeochemical function (carbon dioxide exchange) of a pristine bog and a bog subject to ~7 years localised drainage (caused by regional groundwater drawdown due to mine dewatering) in the Hudson Bay Lowland, Canada. Water tables at the drained bog were ~1 m below the hummock surface at the time of study compared to ~0.3 m at the pristine bog. For hummocks and intermediate microforms at the drained bog, plant production was significantly less than...