Comparison among Different Rewetting Strategies of Degraded Agricultural Peaty Soils: Short-Term Effects on Chemical Properties and Ecoenzymatic Activities

Abstract

In 2013, a pilot experimental field of about 15 ha was set up within the basin of Lake Massaciuccoli (Tuscany, Italy) in order to compare different management strategies—a paludicultural system (PCS), a constructed wetland system (CWS), a nearly-natural wetland system (NWS)—for peatland restoration after almost a century of drainage-based agricultural use (CS). After five years, changes in peat soil quality were investigated from a chemical, biochemical, and ecoenzymatic perspective. The soil in CS was mainly characterized by oxidant conditions, higher content of overall microbial activity, low levels of easily available phosphorus for vegetation, and medium total carbon content ranging from 25.0% to 30.7%. In PCS, the levels of total carbon and the content of bioavailable P were higher, while the oxidant conditions were lower compared to the other systems. As expected, the soils in CWS and NWS were characterized by the most reduced conditions and by the highest levels of arylsulphatase activity. It was noteworthy that soils in the NWS systems were characterized by the highest level of nonavailable P. Outputs from ecoenzymatic activity confirmed the physico-chemical and biochemical results.