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Regular spatial patterns of sharply bounded ridges and hollows are frequently observed in peatlands and ask for an explanation in terms of underlying structuring processes. Simulation models suggest that spatial regularity of peatland patterns could be driven by an evapotranspiration-induced scale-dependent feedback (locally positive, longer-range negative) between ridge vegetation and nutrient availability. The sharp boundaries between ridges and hollows could be induced by a positive feedback between net rate of peat formation and acrotelm thickness. Theory also predicts how scale-dependent and positive feedbacks drive underlying patterns in nutrients, hydrology, and hydrochemistry, but these predictions have not yet been tested empirically. The aim of this study was to provide an empirical test for the theoretical predictions; therefore, we measured underlying patterns in nutrients, hydrology, and …