ABSTRACT
In Finland there are about 10 million ha of peatlands, which is some 30 percent of the area of the country. Approximately 14 million ha of peatlands have been drained for forestry worldwide. The two main peatland complex types encountered in Finland are aapa mires and ombrotrophic bogs. The bog area can be divided into concentric and eccentric bogs, while the aapa mire area is divided into the southern, main, and northern complex types. The chapter analyzes local and regional effects of forest drainage on the species diversity of drained peatlands. The data was used to compare the species diversity–biomass relationships in the field and moss layers between undrained and drained peatlands. Vegetation coverage was measured and biomass harvested from 10 to 30 systematically laid-out quadrats of 1 m. Biomass samples were taken in the middle of these quadrats from an area of 0.5, 0.25, or 0.0625 m.
