Development impacts on the hydrology of peat bogs, vancouver, british columbia

摘要

Much of metropolitan Vancouver is located on or around the Fraser River lowland in southwest British Columbia. Sphagnum moss Peat bogs are widespread over the Vancouver region, most have been subjected to considerable agricultural and urban development pressures. The area covered by individual bogs range up to 45 km2 (17.6 sq. miles) and peat thickness range up to 8m (26 feet). Typical seasonal rates of runoff range from 3 to 17 litres/second/kn~2 (102 to 578 gpm/sq. mi.) Groundwater levels range from near surface to depths of about 0.5m below ground. Sphagnum peat water is characterised with a pH in the range 4 to 6 and an electrical conductivity ranging from 40 to 80 #mu#S/cm. The water quality, and in some cases, water levels in some of the region's bogs have been impacted by cranberry farming, peat mining, construction of foundations, solid waste disposal and urban runoff. However, wherever properly designed diversion ditches have been installed to control storm runoff and maintain predevelopment water levels in the bogs, the impacts on the nearby bog hydrology and related ecology has been minimal.