Publication in limnology: Aquatic effects of peat extraction and peatland forest drainage: a comparative sediment study of two adjacent lakes in Central Finland
KAUPPILA, T., AHOKAS, T., NIKOLAJEV-WIKSTRÖM, L., MÄKINEN, J., TAMMELIN, M.H. & MERILÄINEN, J.J. 2016. Aquatic effects of peat extraction and peatland forest drainage: a comparative sediment study of two adjacent lakes in Central Finland . Environmental Earth Sciences 75: 1473. DOI: 10.1007/s12665-016-6278-x The aquatic effects of forestry practices and peat extraction continue to cause serious concerns. The effect mechanisms of peat extraction on water quality and aquatic ecology of the receiving surface waters are well known, but the impacts are often difficult to differentiate from those of forest management. A pairwise temporal sediment study was conducted on two adjacent lakes in Central Finland to study whether the unique effects of peat extraction can be detected in an area of intensive forest drainage. Both lakes are affected by forestry, but the reference lake has no history of peat extraction in its watershed. The deepest parts...