About us

Since 1992, the research team of the Peatland Ecology Research Group is directed by Line Rochefort of the Department of Plant Sciences of Université Laval (Quebec, Canada). The PERG brings together several research teams in Canada and internationally.

To develop knowledge about peatlands and wetlands, and their ecological restoration in an effort to guide society's choices regarding their responsible management through education and research.

In collaboration with Canadian and international research teams, the PERG conducts research projects aiming the restoration of:

• Peatland plant communities:
  • Sphagnum ecology;
  • propagation and species transfer in degraded ombrotrophic and minerotrophic peatlands;
  • return of biodiversity;
  • characterization of reference ecosystems;
  • evaluation of the success of peatland restoration through monitoring.
• Typical peatland hydrology:
  • return of hydrological functions of restored peatlands;
  • study of the geochemistry and microbiology of natural peatlands, in extraction and in restoration;
  • impact of peatland extraction activities on water quality.
• Carbon sequestration functions of peatlands:
  • greenhouse gas exchange of natural peatlands, after peat extraction and after restoration.

As well as:

• The development of Sphagnum farming which aims at the production of Sphagnum moss fibre in a cyclical and renewable way;
• The development of restoration techniques for degraded wetlands, effective and applicable on a large scale, specific to several types of degradation: oil platforms, roads, horticultural peat extraction sites, cranberry fields;
• The evaluation of the quality of habitats created for wildlife (birds, insects, amphibians).