Assessing moss transplant methods to enhance Sphagnum moss recovery in post-wildfire hydrophobic peat

Wildfire is the dominant disturbance in northern peatlands and can release large quantities of carbon to the atmosphere through combustion. Post-fire peat hydrophobicity can inhibit moss regeneration, thereby decreasing the potential for post-fire carbon sequestration. To investigate how to enhance post-fire recovery we assessed two moss restoration methods (plugs and fragments) in an Alberta poor fen two and three years following wildfire. Post-fire peat hydrophobicity and moss regeneration was characterized in four surface cover types: Severely Burned Feather moss hollows (SB-F), Severely Burned Sphagnum fuscum hummocks (SB-S), Lightly Burned S. fuscum hummocks (LB-S), and Lightly Burned Feather moss lawns (LB-F). We then conducted experiments testing the success of moss plugs and fragments of varying moss species at LB-F and SB-F surface covers, which had high hydrophobicity and low post-fire moss recovery.