Line Rochefort

• Doctor of Philosophy
• Professor (Full) at Université Laval

Phenolic compounds have been proposed to influence decomposition by inhibiting extracellular enzyme activities, as described in the enzymic latch mechanism (ELM). This study examined the effects of phenolic treatments on Sphagnum decomposition, productivity, and biomass accumulation within a Sphagnum farming system. A split-plot experiment with thr...

The peatland restoration method, the Moss Layer Transfer Technique (MLTT), has been successfully developed and implemented to restore Sphagnum-dominated peatlands in North America. The efficiency of an adapted version of the MLTT using fen plants for minerotrophic (fen) peatland restoration has shown mixed results, especially regarding the recovery...

In the last 25 years, several degraded peatlands in eastern Canada have been restored toward their natural structure. Pools are common in natural peatlands and are important habitats for unique flora and fauna. Because of their ecological value, pools have been created in some restored peatland sites. Nevertheless, the biogeochemistry of created po...

In the last 25 years, several degraded peatlands in eastern Canada have been restored toward their natural structure. Pools are common in natural peatlands and are important habitats for unique flora and fauna. Because of their ecological value, pools have been created in some restored peatland sites. Nevertheless , the biogeochemistry of created p...

Fertilization is a common and effective restoration practice for some ecosystems. However, there are still knowledge gaps about the long-term effectiveness and impact of phosphorus fertilization during the restoration of degraded boreal Sphagnum peatlands using the Moss Layer Transfer Technique. Data gathered from 114 peatland sectors restored 1 to...

Arctic ecosystems are undergoing rapid changes, including increasing disturbance by herbivore populations, which can affect plant species coexistence and community assemblages. Although the significance of mosses in Arctic wetlands is well recognized, the long‐term influence of medium‐sized herbivores on the composition of moss communities has rece...

Since its conception in the late ‘90s, the moss layer transfer technique (MLTT) has been applied to restore several Sphagnum-dominated peatlands (bogs) formerly extracted for horticultural peat across Canada (~2000 ha). Indeed, this ecological restoration method allows restoring not only the hydrological conditions characterized by a high water tab...

Despite bryophytes being well adapted to various ecological settings, they are rarely considered in reclamation projects. In this study, propagation regenerative capabilities of bryophytes on different substrates (sand, amphibolite, and pegmatite) and conditions (with or without peat amendment, shade and shredding) were tested in greenhouse and fie...

The moss layer transfer technique has been developed to restore the carbon sequestration function and typical vegetation of Sphagnum -dominated peatlands after peat extraction in North America. However, the technique does not lead to successful bryophyte establishment when applied to peatlands with a richer residual fen peat. Therefore, we evaluate...

Peatlands cover only 3–4% of the Earth’s surface, but they store nearly 30% of global soil carbon stock. This significant carbon store is under threat as peatlands continue to be degraded at alarming rates around the world. It has prompted countries worldwide to establish regulations to conserve and reduce emissions from this carbon rich ecosystem....

The provision of critical ecosystem services like carbon sequestration by peatlands has been degraded around the globe. Peatland restoration represents an opportunity to tackle the twin global emergencies of climate breakdown and biodiversity decline. Nonetheless, restoration success relies on a sound understanding of recovery trajectories associat...

Monthly variation in accumulation and release of phenolics in bryophytes, and their allelopathic effects are little known despite their ecological significance. We conducted a field transplant experiment to investigate Sphagnum growth and extracellular enzymes that modulate phenolic contents and release along water table level (WTL) gradient. Speci...

In the Anthropocene it is widely recognized that we need to embrace the concept of sustainable transitions. Strangely, ecological restoration is entirely decoupled from the concept of sustainability transitions. We argue that alongside radical changes in socio-technical systems that define sustainability transitions there will also be a need to con...

Much has been achieved by research into ecological restoration as a nature-based solution to the destruction of ecosystems, particularly in Canada. We conducted a national-level synthesis of Canadian restoration ecology research to understand strengths and gaps. This synthesis answers the following questions: Who is studying restoration? What ecosy...

During more than five centuries of human colonization, 50% of original peatlands in Azores have been destroyed or degraded, mainly due to pasture use, resulting in landscape changes and a loss of ecosystem biodiversity and services. This study aims to identify the most effective measures in the recovery and to detect initial responses (2 years). Th...

It is of prime importance to understand feedbacks due to the release of carbon (C) stored in permafrost soils (permafrost‐climate feedback) and direct impacts of climatic variations on permafrost dynamics therefore received considerable attention. However, indirect effects of global change, such as the variation in soil nutrient availability and gr...

Peatlands are unique and rare ecosystems that, despite covering only around 3-4% of the planet’s land surface, contain up to one-third of the world’s soil carbon, which is twice the amount found in the entire Earth’s forest biomass. Keeping this carbon locked away is absolutely critical for achieving global climate goals. However, about 12% of curr...

The Society for Ecological Restoration (SER) published the second edition of its International Principles and Standards for the Practice of Ecological Restoration in 2019. We conducted a pan‐Canadian study using semi‐structured interviews with restoration professionals to explore the extent to which restoration practitioners are aware of the docume...

Nutrient availability for tundra vegetation could change drastically due to increasing temperatures and frequency of nitrogen deposition in the Arctic. Few studies have simultaneously examined the response of plant communities to these two pressures over a long period. This study aims to assess which driver between increasing nitrogen (N) and phosp...

Peatlands cover about 400 million hectares (ha), or 3% of the land surface of our planet. Yet they store more carbon, more effectively and for longer periods, than any other ecosystem on land. Intact peatlands also provide essential ecosystem services such as regulating water cycles, purifying water, and supporting a wealth of biodiversity. Since p...

Peatland ecosystem restoration following oil mining activities in Alberta, Canada, aims at reestablishing crucial peatland functions, such as wildlife habitat, water storage and filtration, peat accumulation and carbon sequestration. To reinstate peatland functions, characteristic hydrological conditions are necessary to support the establishment a...

Information on restoration science and practice is dispersed across large numbers of scientific papers, reports, books, and other resources, and there is a lack of synthetic approaches and of linkages between ecological theory and practice. With recent calls for scaling up ecological restoration, there is an urgent need for improving the effectiven...

A low rate of establishment in brown mosses is generally observed following large-scale restoration of fens. As brown mosses are important components in peat accumulation in fens, their low recovery rate has been a concern in the past decade. It was suggested that the restoration method used for bogs, the Moss Layer Transfer Technique (MLTT) should...

Fire plays a major role in the structuring and functioning of boreal ecosystems. As peatlands are important components of boreal forests, the impact of fire upon these wetter ecosystems is increasingly studied, but with the focus on treed peatlands and Sphagnum-dominated bogs so far. Important fires occurring more frequently in the past decade in s...

Litter decomposition is a key process controlling carbon (C) sequestration in Sphagnum dominated peatlands. Peatland drainage lowers the water table, increases vascular plant richness, and alters species evenness. We hypothesized that abiotic and biotic changes following peatland drainage would greatly accelerate litter decomposition. This hypothes...

Over the last several decades, peat has been extracted from bogs of temperate, populated regions of Eastern Canada, leaving large areas devoid of vegetation if unrestored. For the last 25 years, projects have been conducted in these regions to re-establish vegetation and facilitate recolonization by wildlife. We tested whether vegetation structure...

Bogs are known to be relatively resistant and resilient to fire, due to the dominance of wet Sphagnum mosses. Indeed, Sphagnum mosses by holding water, ensure bog resistance, and by regenerating from any fragments left post-fire, ensure bog resilience. The return of several ecological attributes has been reported in the literature post-restoration....

Across Canada's boreal forest, disturbances from in situ oil sands mining, including well-pads, significantly impact vast areas of the landscape. The creation of well-pads requires removal of vegetation and placement of mineral fill which essentially stops any carbon (C) sequestration on the once peatland ecosystem. It is important that, once no lo...

In this study, our goal was to adapt the Moss Layer Transfer Technique (MLTT), first developed to restore degraded Sphagnum-dominated peatland explicitly with a bryophyte layer, to a former in-situ oil sands well-pad constructed with nearby mineral fill in northwestern Alberta, Canada. Mineral fill was either completely removed or partially removed...

Mineral roads in peatlands change the nature of the substrate, influence the water table level of the peatland on either side of the road and the physicochemical characteristics of the water and peat. These changes can in turn affect plant community composition. The efficiency of an innovative and affordable method for the restoration of peatlands...

The Institut de Recherche et de Développement en Agroenvironnement (IRDA) in partnership with Peatland Ecology Research Group (PERG) and the Hydraulic Laboratory of the Université Laval has been expanding the range of technology options for ecological restoration, including microgeneration of renewable energy, the use of low-cost equipment for expe...

Daily measurements of the water table depth are sometimes needed to evaluate the influence of seasonal water stress on Sphagnum recolonization in restored ombrotrophic peatlands. However, continuous water table measurements are often scarce due to high costs and, as a result, water table depth is more commonly measured manually bimonthly with daily...

Sphagnum cultivation is the production of biomass on rewetted bogs. Sphagnum moss cultivation offers an option for the sustainable restoration of drained peatlands and allows the use of peatlands without degrading the remaining peat horizons. A water management simulation model was used to investigate the suitability of drainage and irrigation syst...

Northern peatlands are substantial carbon sinks because organic matter in peat is highly stable due to the low rate of decomposition. Waterlogged anaerobic conditions induce accumulation of Sphagnum-derived phenolic compounds that inhibit peat organic matter decomposition, a mechanism referred to as the “enzymic latch”. Recent studies have predicte...

Peatland pools present unique fauna and flora and contribute significantly to peatland biodiversity. The ecological functionality of artificial pools in restored peatlands is poorly documented. In this study, we investigated arthropod assemblages of 21 artificial pools in a restored fen in southeastern Canada and 16 pools from four pristine fens as...

Geese can profoundly affect arctic ecosystems directly (e.g., by grazing vegetation) and indirectly (e.g. by changing nutrient cycling resulting from faces inputs and by reducing plant litter). In the Arctic, behavior and abundance of geese have changed due to climate and land-use change. While the short-term effects of increased goose populations...

In-situ oil extraction activities impact the vast mosaic of boreal wetlands and uplands. Peatland restoration in these regions aims at reestablishing crucial peatland functions, such as peat accumulation and carbon (C) sequestration. In order to assess the success of fen restoration, we evaluated the biogeochemical conditions, the seasonal carbon b...

The relative importance of global versus local environmental factors for growth and thus carbon uptake of the bryophyte genus Sphagnum—the main peat‐former and ecosystem engineer in northern peatlands—remains unclear. We measured length growth and net primary production (NPP) of two abundant Sphagnum species across 99 Holarctic peatlands. We tested...

The addition of phenolic compounds to peatland soils has been proposed as a means of enhancing the suppression of enzymes, reducing the rate of organic matter decomposition and increasing below-ground carbon sequestration. This study evaluated the potential of phenolic enrichment as a peatland restoration strategy by adding wood chips from common t...

As a rise in sea level is expected with climate change, peat-extracted peatlands located in coastal zones are more vulnerable to saltwater intrusion. Seawater contamination may prevent revegetation of typical bog species (e.g., Sphagnum, ericaceous shrubs) generally intolerant to saline conditions. Spontaneous revegetation was studied in a 27-year...

Restoration of degraded peatland ecosystems (by rewetting) is undertaken to bring back key ecosystem services. However, the restoration process can have a range of ecohydrological effects, due to the associated physical and biogeochemical disturbance. In the case of northern peatlands drained by large and deep ditches, the rewetting effects are rel...

In ecological restoration, especially in projects aiming at introducing a diverse plant community, species that do not establish are rarely reported Yet, knowledge gained from identifying and understanding the reasons why species did not establish is useful to improve restoration techniques. In this paper, we used Sphagnum dominated peatlands resto...

This presentation is intended to help develop the hacking skills that ecological researchers need to start doing Data Science. Google Collaboratory ® web application has been selected as a teaching platform since this application combines code and computational results with narrative text, mathematics, images, video and any other media that a moder...

The study central goal was to analyze secondary succession in a degraded peatland: (1) Sphagnum distribution trends and (2) successional patterns. Main study sites were adjacent abandoned pastures, where grazing was carried out in former peatland and where degradation had occurred, hereafter referred as degraded peatland. (1) Degraded peatland was...

Aims Separating the effect of resource competition from allelopathy in plants is challenging and it has never been attempted in closely related co-occurring bryophytes. In peatlands, peat mosses (Sphagnum spp.) show niche differentiation along water table level (WTL) gradient. Our aim was to evaluate whether the hummock species, S. magellanicum wou...

The study reported here used spatial analysis to assess the effectiveness of the legal nature protection framework in supporting the conservation of peatlands on Terceira Island (Azores archipelago, Portugal) and identify potential improvements. Terceira has 3011 ha of peatland, of which 44 % is forested. Bogs and fens account for 14 % and 3 % of t...

Managers of restoration projects need readily applicable tools that give them an unequivocal declaration of success or failure based on primary goals that may vary according to different jurisdictions. We used restored extracted Sphagnum peatlands in Canada to illustrate how different types of plant communities assigned to different restoration out...

In a controlled field experiment, we tested the effect of plant biodiversity on carbon accumulation in a formerly-extracted peatland that was rewetted and re-vegetated. We monitored carbon fluxes in experimental units re-vegetated with different numbers and types of characteristic minerotrophic peatland species, planted in monoculture and mixed tre...

Managers of restoration projects need readily applicable tools that give them an unequivocal declaration of success or failure based on primary goals that may vary according to different jurisdictions. We used restored extracted Sphagnum peatlands in Canada to illustrate how different types of plant communities assigned to different restoration out...

13. Sucessão Regenerativa de Turfeiras Pastoreadas Cândida Mendes1, Eduardo Dias1 e Line Rochefort2 1 – CBA Centro de Biotecnologia, Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e do Ambiente da Universidade dos Açores. Rua Capitão João d'Ávila. 9700-042 Angra do Heroísmo. Portugal. 2 - Université Laval Groupe de Recherche en Écologie des Tourbières, Canada....

This restoration project has been conducted on two peatlands where access roads were constructed under powerlines. A mineral road placed within a peatland changes the nature of the substrate and influences the water table level and the physicochemical characteristics of the water and peat. These changes can modify the composition of the plant commu...

The moss layer transfer technique is effective at restoring extracted peatland surfaces. However, remnant peatlands persist on the periphery of extracted surfaces. These remnant peatlands drop steeply to extracted surfaces, producing artificial ecotones that are more challenging to restore. We asked to what degree natural ecotones at undisturbed re...

Seed introduction is a current practice for the conservation and restoration of plant populations and communities. In many cases, however, seeds of target wild species must be collected from natural populations and then stored in proper conditions until re-introduction. Peatland pool margin specialists rarely recolonize their habitat once a peatlan...

Peatlands after drainage and extraction are large sources of carbon (C) to the atmosphere. Restoration, through re‐wetting and revegetation, aims to return the C sink function by re‐establishing conditions similar to that of an undrained peatland. However, the time needed to re‐establish C sequestration is not well constrained due to the lack of mu...

Rain-fed peatlands are dominated by peat mosses (Sphagnum sp.), which for their growth depend on nutrients, water and CO2 uptake from the atmosphere. As the isotopic composition of carbon (12,13C) and oxygen (16,18O) of these Sphagnum mosses are affected by environmental conditions, Sphagnum tissue accumulated in peat constitutes a potential long-t...

_______________________________________________________________________________________ SUMMARY Sphagnum farming-the production of Sphagnum biomass on rewetted bogs-helps towards achieving global climate goals by halting greenhouse gas emissions from drained peat and by replacing peat with a renewable biomass alternative. Large-scale implementation...

There are very few studies on the spontaneous revegetation of cutover fens or bogs from which peat has been extracted to the minerotrophic layers. Most peatlands with fen-type residual peat have problems regenerating a plant cover satisfactorily from a restoration point of view. We nevertheless found a site (Moss Spur, Manitoba, Canada) presenting...

Sphagnum mosses are often reintroduced for peatland restoration or needed for the initiation of cultivation basins for Sphagnum farming. Finding Sphagnum dominated peatland where plant collection is permitted can be challenging and hampers peatland restoration in some regions. Theoretically, starting from small initial collections in natural areas,...

Peatlands are abundant in the boreal region of Canada but little is known about their restoration on oil sands well pads. The goal of this study is to compare the reintroduction of different peatland plant communities and substrate amendments/decompaction in order to rehabilitate peatland vegetation on former in situ well pads constructed in wetlan...

In the original publication, the Table 1 was published incorrectly. The correct version of Table 1 is given in this correction. The original article has been corrected. © 2018 Springer Science+Business Media B.V., part of Springer Nature

There is an increasing interest in considering ecosystem processes after fen restoration, and not solely species composition. To evaluate the success of ecological restoration, comparisons with targets from reference ecosystems are required. We documented net primary production (NPP) and decomposition of the main vegetation components in order to d...

Pool margins and wet depressions (hollows) contribute considerably to peatland biodiversity by sheltering specific plant assemblages. In peatlands restored after peat extraction, the typical communities associated with pools generally fail to re-establish if only the moss layer transfer technique is applied, a common approach on flat bare peatlands...

Ecosystem restoration frequently involves the reintroduction of plant material in the degraded ecosystem. When there are no plant nurseries or seeds available on the market, the plant material has to be harvested in the wild, in a “donor ecosystem”. A comprehensive assessment of donor ecosystem recovery is lacking, especially for Sphagnum‐dominated...

Rain-fed peatlands are dominated by peat mosses (Sphagnum sp.), which for their growth depend on elements from the atmosphere. As the isotopic composition of carbon (12,13C) and oxygen (16,18O) of these Sphagnum mosses are affected by environmental conditions, the dead Sphagnum tissue accumulated in peat constitutes a potential long-term archive th...

Regenerative succession of Azorean Peatlands after pasture removal.

Lecture at the invitation of Laval University in Canada to present the Azorean peatlands.

Northern peatlands are sinks for atmospheric carbon (C), but peat extraction converts these ecosystems to C sources. Due to a dry regional climate, undisturbed bog peatlands in western Canada often have a tree cover of Picea mariana (Mill.) B.S.P. Thus, a coniferous forest plantation may be an appropriate land use for cutover peatlands. This study...

Sphangum farming is the production of undecomposed sphagnum biomass under a sustainable and renewable approach. This technology allows the production of alternative substrates to natural blond peat. For the production of sphagnum biomass, water management is one of the most important items. The objective of this project was to show an economic alte...

Sphagnum farming is defined as the sustainable production of non-decomposed Sphagnum biomass on a cyclical and renewable basis. In this article, the influence and necessity of mowing graminoid plants to optimise Sphagnum growth in Sphagnum farming basins are examined. Repeated mowing was applied to reduce graminoid plant cover at two different stag...

Glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (GDGTs) are membrane-spanning lipids from Bacteria and Archaea that are ubiquitous in a range of natural archives and especially abundant in peat. Previous work demonstrated that the distribution of bacterial branched GDGTs (brGDGTs) in mineral soils is correlated to environmental factors such as mean annual ai...

Choosing past and present-day indicators could strengthen the reference ecosystem used for ecological restoration projects. Based on the paleoecological analysis of four peat cores and the characterization of 13 contemporary natural sites, the reference ecosystem for minerotrophic peatlands in southeastern Canada is composed of two broad categories...

La méthode de restauration nord-américaine des tourbières ombrotrophes (bogs) par la technique de transfert muscinal, nécessite la récolte de diaspores (matériel végétal) dans des tourbières naturelles qu’on nomme sites d’emprunt. Aucune étude jusqu’à maintenant ne s’est penchée sur la régénération de la végétation dans ces sites suite à la récolte...

Several studies contributed to the development of restoration techniques for open Sphagnum-dominated habitats on peat-extracted bogs. Yet, in exception to some afforestation efforts, connectivity between restored sites and surrounding landscapes has received little attention. The general goal of this study is to ameliorate management of very shallo...

The study of plant regeneration mechanism after natural disturbances can often be interesting and necessary to develop restoration methods appropriated to disturbed ecosystems. For example, in burned ombrotrophic peatlands (bogs), a facilitation relation was highlighted between Polytrichum strictum and Sphagnum mosses. This study allowed us to impr...

Background and AimsPeatland methane (CH4) fluxes may vary between plant types; however, in mixed communities, the specific role of each species is difficult to distinguish. The goal of this study was to determine the individual and interacting effect of moss, graminoid and shrub plant functional types on CH4 dynamics of experimentally planted plots...

Peatland restoration in North America (NA) was initiated approximately 25 years ago on peat-extracted bogs. Recent advances in peatland restoration in NA have expanded the original concepts and methodology. Restoration efforts in NA now include restoring peatlands from many diverse types of disturbances (e.g. roads, agriculture, grazing, erosion, f...

As part of the Society of Ecological Restoration World Conference in 2015, we held a Global Peatland Restoration symposium, where we gave experts from around the world the mandate to provide an updated picture of peatland restoration in their part of the world and scan the horizon to identify challenges and opportunities to come. This special secti...

We have developed an approach to restore bogs after peat extraction, but, when sedge-peat layers are exposed, the minerotrophic remnant peat conditions require restoration towards a fen ecosystem. Three restoration techniques, all including rewetting actions, were tested to assist fen vegetation recovery. None of the restoration techniques were eff...

Coastal bogs that are used for peat extraction are prone to contamination by seawater during storm events. Once contaminated, they remain mostly bare because of the combination of high salinity, low pH, high water table and low nutrient availability. The goal of this research was to investigate how plant colonisation at salt-contaminated bogs can b...

Peatlands provide globally important ecosystem services through climate and water regulation or biodiversity conservation. While covering only 3% of the earth's surface, degrading peatlands are responsible for nearly a quarter of carbon emissions from the land use sector. Bringing together world-class experts from science, policy and practice to hi...