Wetlands are vulnerable to hydrological change and the increase in temperature as a result of global warming. A warmer condition may accelerate the rate of decomposition and release of nutrients. WATERAGRI Partners from Lund University investigated the effect of climate change on water quality in peatland and constructed wetland ecosystems subject to water level management.
Results showed that the effect of the climate scenario is significantly different for peatlands and constructed wetlands (interactive effect) for the combined chemical variables. The utilization of nutrients by the plants and microbial community readily exceeds the mineralization under a limited nutrient content when the temperature rises. However, concerning the extreme scenario, the peatlands have shown a tendency to have reverse processes.
