Porewater and soil samples were collected from 64 natural and rewetted peatlands across Germany (47 sites), Poland (5), Estonia (6), Scotland (3), Sweden (2), and Georgia (1) between 1997 and 2017. A total of 812 anoxic porewater samples were taken from water-saturated soil layers (0–0.6 m depth) using dialysis samplers along 10–20 m transects (Hesslein, 1976). Selected fen sites were monitored for 10–20 years post-rewetting to assess seasonal and long-term nutrient dynamics. The peatlands varied in drainage history and land use intensity, resulting in different degrees of decomposition in the upper peat layers (0–0.4 m depth). The dialysis sampling technique enabled unbiased sampling of oxygen-sensitive dissolved solutes and provided vertical concentration profiles of porewater chemistry (Zak et al., 2004). The data were used to compare porewater composition between rewetted and natural peatlands (bogs and fens), (ii) evaluate the influence of peat characteristics on porewater chemistry in rewetted sites, (iii) examine seasonal variations in nutrient concentrations in rewetted fens, and (iv) assess long-term changes in porewater composition following rewetting.
Vertical profile of porewater database provides vertical porewater profiles from peatland sites, detailing chemical, physical, and diffusion-related parameters across measured depths. Site-level information includes site name, country, peatland type, hydrological status, and sampling date. Depth-specific measurements include soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP) and ammonium (NH₄⁺-N) concentrations, pH, and additional notes where relevant.
The dataset further provides parameters used to estimate diffusion, including molecular diffusion coefficients for phosphorus and ammonium at 25 °C, temperature, water content, water density, dynamic viscosity, peat density, loss-on-ignition (LOI), and calculated porosity. Recalculated diffusion coefficients for SRP and NH₄⁺ under in-situ temperature and peat conditions are also given (cm²/s).