Abstract

Magellanic Sphagnum peatlands are characterized by their ability to maintain biodiversity and water cycle of subantarctic ecosystems, together with its contribution to the global carbon storage through the slow production and accumulation of peat. Through industrial peat extraction, these wetlands have become an economic resource for the past 30 years, generating impacts on the landscape, hydrology and flora of these ecosystems. To evaluate the effects of peat extraction on peatland vegetation, we studied a Sphagnum peatland exploited 20 years ago in the locality of R