CLRA National Announces the 2022 IN-TECH Reclamation Award (Group) Recipient: Peatland Ecology Research Group (PERG)
Canada is home to a significant proportion (27 percent) of the world's peatlands. In their natural state, peatlands provide a specific habitat for many species of flora and fauna, and they provide many ecosystem services useful to human populations, especially the sequestration of carbon as accumulated peat.
For 30 years, the Peatland Ecology Research Group (PERG) has been able to establish itself as one of the leaders in ecological restoration and reclamation of degraded peatlands, not only in Canada but also around the world.
In 1992, Line Rochefort of Université Laval (Quebec, Canada), established the Peatland Ecology Research Group (PERG) called in French “Groupe de recherche en écologie des tourbières” (GRET), the result of a concerted effort between different actors bringing together university scientists from various disciplines (vegetation, wildlife, hydrology, geochemistry), the Canadian peat industry, and federal and provincial government agencies.
The first restoration experiments were conducted on post-ex-traction peatlands in Quebec and New Brunswick. In 1994, the first trial aiming at mechanizing some steps of the future restoration methods took place. After early successes in experimental restoration techniques, the first Peatland Restoration Guide for peatland managers was published in 1997 (Quinty & Rochefort, 1997), describing what was at that time called "The Canadian Approach to Peatland Restoration”.
Known and used by the Canadian peat industry, The Peatland Restoration Guide has been updated twice since its first publication, providing more detailed and up-to-date instructions on restoration techniques as research progresses (Quinty & Rochefort 2003; Quinty et al. 2019, 2020a, b, c). PERG members have also published the results of their research on peatlands and peatland restoration and reclamation in nearly 200 refereed scientific articles, 22 book chapters, 12 books and monographs, 53 conference proceedings, at least 24 reports, and 14 popular articles. They’ve given presentations and presented posters at several hundred symposia, conferences, and congresses, and PERG researchers have been involved in the organization of international conferences, such as those of Quebec 2000, the International Symposium on Responsible Peatland Management and Growing Media Production (2011) and the upcoming RE3 Conference: Reclaim, Restore, Rewild (2023). Many PERG researchers and students are CLRA members and participate in the annual meetings of the various chapters.
The long-term funding of PERG researchers by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and the non-stop support of the Canadian horticultural peat industry through the 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s has allowed the group to have unique databases, covering restoration sites across Canada and long-term monitoring of the efficiency of restoration and reclamation actions. NSERC and peat industry funding continue to support the PERG research in the 2020s.
Advances in peatland restoration and reclamation are the result not only of the development of the expertise of PERG researchers but also of the training of highly qualified personnel, including 135 graduate students, 20 postdoctoral fellows, and more than 16 research professionals.
A growing number of stakeholders involved in the world of peatlands (not only peat producers) are now informed of the different ways of managing these ecosystems after disturbances. PERG annual symposia and technology transfer workshops, as well as the Écho tourbières newsletter, and a website that provides summaries of research publications, ensure a practical knowledge transfer to the various stakeholders including regulators.
PERG's success in peatland restoration has led governments in various provinces in Canada to modify their policies on wetlands and peatlands. The Moss Layer Transfer Technique MLTT is at the origin of the Peat Policy adopted by the Government of New Brunswick, which paved the road for wetland and peatland regulation in most other provinces where the peat industry is active, especially Quebec, Manitoba, and Alberta, where peatland restoration is now required.
PERG's work has demonstrated the importance of conserving peatland ecosystems in their natural state. When this isn’t possible, PERG has proven that restoring disturbed peatlands allows the return of functional ecosystems, in terms of biodiversity, water regime, and carbon sequestration. The PERG and its members have been involved in restoration and conservation projects targeting peatlands with conservation status, including the Grande Plée Bleue (QC), Mer Bleue (ON), Wainflet Bog (ON), and Burns Bog (BC).
The painting below was awarded to our 2022 IN-TECH Reclamation Award recipient Peatland Ecology Research Group (PERG) at the CLRA National 2023 AGM that took place in Québec City as a part of the RE3 Conference on June 13, 2023.
The painting is a rendition of a drone photo showing a restored fen and a natural one in South Julius, Manitoba, separated by a main or primary ditch. Co-ordinates of the site: N 49° 55'46.61”; W 96° 14'11.03". The restored site is divided into three main sectors, and it is surrounded by a shrubby and a graminoid natural fen. The site was restored by the joint collaboration of CSPMA and (PERG/GRET), thanks to Sun Gro’s restoration work.