Restoration ecology: aiding and abetting secondary succession on abandoned peat mines in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, Canada

The efficacy of using vegetative clumps derived from seeds with a variety of origins to establish nuclei for regeneration of bog vegetation on abandoned peat mines in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick (Canada) was tested using seeds within scats (excrement) and seeds from berries, various techniques for creating clumps, and different clump sizes. Direct placement of scat pieces on peat in the field did not produce successful colonisation. Vegetative clumps begun in a greenhouse, whether from seeds extracted from scats or berries, were 60–100 % successful when transplanted into abandoned peat mines depending on the initial size of the transplant. Based on annual growth rate, Vaccinium oxycoccos has the greatest capacity to quickly colonise abandoned peat mines. Other promising taxa were Vaccinium vitis-ideae and the genus Empetrum.