Northern peatlands are generally resilient to disturbances. Numerous autogenic ecohydrological feedbacks operate within peatlands that regulate their response to changes in seasonal water deficit. However, the foundational research upon which this peatland resilience framework understanding was based were undertaken in deep and large peatlands where a water table is ever-present. In contrast, little research has been undertaken on shallow and small-scale peat-accumulating systems and as such their vulnerability to disturbance remains unknown. To address this research gap, this study examines the ecohydrological processes that control water storage dynamics, moss water stress, depth of burn, and carbon fluxes in peatlands varying in average peat depth. Shallower peatlands had greater water table variability, water table depths, water table drawdown rates, moss moisture stress and depths of burn than deeper peatlands. Comparing depth of burn to estimates of pre-fire soil depth revealed a strong negative relationship between pre-fire peat depth and the proportion of the profile that was combusted. Sphagnum moss had nearly twice the likelihood of being moisture stressed at shallow sites compared to deep sites. Mean summer water table depth was found to be significantly correlated with summer total net ecosystem CO2 exchange and GEP, where wet summers with a water table close to the peat surface sequestered more than twice the amount of CO2 than dry summers. These results suggest that peat depth is important in controlling the strength and sign of autogenic ecohydrological feedbacks and in determining peatland vulnerability to drought and wildfire.