A sensitive high-resolution record of late Holocene climatic change from a raised bog in northern England

Barber, Keith; Chambers, Frank M.; Maddy, Darrel; Stoneman, R. E.; Brew, J.S.

doi:10.1177/095968369400400209

Cited by 318 publications

(279 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…In the absence of recent disturbance, the extent of peat decay generally increases with depth such that preferential decay is more commonly invoked to explain surface depletion in N rather than surface enrichment. To a first order, the intensity of peat decay varies with the duration that peat remains within the periodically oxygenated acrotelm (Malmer and Wallén (2004), and thus is expected to show periodic fluctuations in response to changing climate (Barber et al, 1994) and peat drainage (Blackford and Chambers, 1991). It is on this basis that Wang et al (2015) attribute their observed increase in N concentration with depth in the peat to preferential loss of C during peat decomposition.…”

Section: N and P Enrichment In Surface Peatmentioning

confidence: 99%

Long-term macronutrient stoichiometry of UK ombrotrophic peatlands

Schillereff

Boyle

Toberman

et al. 2016

Science of The Total Environment

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• C, N and P concentrations and longterm burial rates in UK peat are of similar magnitude to published values elsewhere.• The long-term burial flux in UK peat of P is broadly consistent with atmospheric deposition rates; N burial exceeds atmospheric deposition, consistent with substantial N fixation by peat bogs.• N and P concentrations in peat are strongly associated in both UK and sites elsewhere in the world, consistent with a key role for P in biological fixation of N and C. In this paper we report new data on peat carbon (C), nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) concentrations and accumulation rates for 15 sites in the UK. Concentrations of C, N and P measured in peat from five ombrotrophic blanket mires, spanning 4000-10,000 years to present were combined with existing nutrient data from ten Scottish ombrotrophic peat bogs to provide the first UK perspective on millennial scale macronutrient concentrations in ombrotrophic peats. Long-term average C, N and P concentrations (0-1.25 m) for the UK are 54.8, 1.56 and 0.039 wt%, of similar magnitude to the few published comparable sites worldwide. The uppermost peat (0-0.2 m) is enriched in P and N (51.0, 1.86, and 0.070 wt%) relative to the deeper peat (0.5-1.25 m, 56.3, 1.39, and 0.027 wt%). Long-term average (whole core) accumulation rates of C, N and P are 25.3 ± 2.2 gC m −2 year −1 (mean ± SE), 0.70 ± 0.09 gN m −2 year −1 and 0.018 ± 0.004 gP m −2 year −1 , again similar to values reported elsewhere in the world. The two most significant findings are: 1) that a regression model of N concentration on P concentration and mean annual precipitation, based on global meta data for surface peat samples, can explain 54% of variance in N concentration in these UK peat profiles; and 2) budget calculations for the UK peat G R A P H I C A L A B S T R A C T a b s t r a c t a r t i c l e i n f o Contents lists available at ScienceDirectScience of the Total Environment j o u r n a l h o m e p a g e : w w w . e l s e v i e r . c o m / l o c a t e / s c i t o t e n v cores yield an estimate for long-term average N-fixation of 0.8 g m −2 year −1 . Our UK results, and comparison with others sites, corroborate published estimates of N storage in northern boreal peatlands through the Holocene as ranging between 8 and 15 Pg N. However, the observed correlation of N% with both mean annual precipitation and P concentration allows a potential bias in global estimates that do not take this into account. The peat sampling data set has been deposited at the NERC Data Centre (Toberman et al., 2016).

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Section: N and P Enrichment In Surface Peatmentioning

confidence: 99%

Long-term macronutrient stoichiometry of UK ombrotrophic peatlands

Schillereff

Boyle

Toberman

et al. 2016

Science of The Total Environment

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“…Ordination techniques (PCA and DCA) have been used to create a single index of mire surface wetness based on the total sub-fossil dataset for a peat profile (Barber et al, 1994;Mauquoy et al, 2004b;Sillasoo et al, 2007), in which it is assumed that the principal axis of variability in the dataset is linked to hydrology. Quantitative reconstructions of local water-table depths are also possible, based on water table/ surface vegetation modelling (Väliranta et al, 2007).…”

Section: Plant Macrofossilsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Nevertheless there are problems in using these techniques. For example, in using DCA, Barber et al (1994) had to combine the records of Sphagnum magellanicum with S. imbricatum, because otherwise the first component in the data was the stratigraphic difference between the lower horizons dominated by S. imbricatum, and the upper horizons, dominated by S. magellanicum, which seemed to be its direct replacement. This example cautions researchers to be fully aware of the patterns in the dataset, and not to assume that the first component will automatically be hydrological.…”

Section: Plant Macrofossilsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Based on studies at Bolton Fell Moss, northern England, Barber (1981) refuted the internal (autogenic) cyclic regeneration hypothesisdthe prevailing paradigm that had inhibited climate research on bogsdand instead proposed that raised mires provided a continuous record of past hydroclimatic change, as they were 'directly coupled' to the atmosphere. Barber et al (1994) then showed how plant macrofossil analysis could be used to provide a semi-quantiative record of past climate variability. Though omitted as a climate archive from the Bradley (1999) compendium, studies on bogs in north-west and west-central Europe have gained greater prominence during the last decade (Chambers and Charman, 2004;.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Development and refinement of proxy-climate indicators from peats

Chambers

Booth

Vleeschouwer

et al. 2012

Quaternary International

158

104

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OATAO is an open access repository that collects the work of Toulouse researchers and makes it freely available over the web where possible. This is an author-deposited version published in : http://oatao.univ-toulouse.fr/ Eprints ID : 11364 The Netherlands a b s t r a c t Peat, especially from acidic mires (bogs), is a natural archive of past environmental change. Reconstructions of past climate from bogs commenced in the 19th Century through examination of visible peat stratigraphy, and later formed the basis for a postglacial climatic scheme widely used in Northwest Europe. Nevertheless, misconceptions as to how bogs grow led to a 50-year lacuna in peat-climate study, before the concept of 'cyclic regeneration' in bogs was refuted. In recent decades, research using proxyclimate indicators from bogs has burgeoned. A range of proxies for past hydrological change has been developed, as well as use of pollen, bog oaks and pines and other data to reconstruct past temperatures. Most of this proxy-climate research has been carried out in Northern Europe, but peat-based research in parts of Asia and North America has increased, particularly during the last decade, while research has also been conducted in Australia, New Zealand and South America. This paper reviews developments in proxy-climate reconstructions from peatlands; chronicles use of a range of palaeo-proxies such as visible peat stratigraphy, plant macrofossils, peat humification, testate amoebae and non-pollen palynomorphs; and explains the use of wiggle-match radiocarbon dating and relationship to climate shifts. It details other techniques being used increasingly, such as biomarkers, stable-isotopes, inorganic geochemistry and estimation of dust flux; and points to new proxies under development. Although explicit protocols have been developed recently for research on ombrotrophic mires, it must be recognised that not all proxies and techniques have universal applicability, owing to differences in species assemblages, mire formation, topographic controls, and geochemical characteristics.

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“…This development also suggests an increase in hydraulic energy through increased precipitation as the climate cooled during the Subboreal, at about 4500 cal. BP ( [Barber et al, 1994], [Johnsen et al, 2001] and [Magny et al, 2006]). In stretch D, where the floodplain is wider, the main channel incision led to the abandoning of some channels, such as the RIA palaeochannel, which can be seen on the conductivity map (Fig.…”

Section: Spatial Variability and Forcing Factors Of The River Morpho-mentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatio-temporal evolution of the Choisille River (southern Parisian Basin, France) during the Weichselian and the Holocene as a record of climate trend and human activity in north-western Europe

Morin

Macaire

Hinschberger

et al. 2011

Quaternary Science Reviews

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drigues, et al.. Spatio-temporal evolution of the Choisille River (southern Parisian Basin, France) during the Weichselian and the Holocene as a record of climate trend and human activity in north-western Europe. Quaternary Science Reviews, Elsevier, 2011, 30 (3-4) AbstractThe morpho-sedimentary evolution of the Choisille floodplain (lowland river, catchment: 288 km 2 ), a tributary of the River Loire in the south-western Parisian Basin, was studied through 61 core drillings along eight transects and a geophysical survey located in four stretches of the river: stretches A and B correspond to two sub-catchments, and stretches C and D are in the main valley. Sixty 14 C and four OSL datings were obtained, and sediments were analysed on seven reference cores. Eight phases of evolution differing markedly from the evolution of more northern areas in the Parisian Basin and north-western Europe were identified from spatio-temporal distribution of nine lithological facies. The deepest incision phase (1) occurred during the first part of the Weichselian, followed by the deposition of a gravelly-sandy unit (phase 2) during the Middle Pleniglacial, which was deeply incised (phase 3), probably during the Bölling. From the Allerød up to the last third of the Boreal (phase 4), sedimentation was continuously dominated by peaty deposits, with no evidence of either increased hydraulic energy during the Younger Dryas, or of incision during the LateGlacialHolocene transition. This trend seems to reflect the specificity of the south-western Parisian Basin climate from the Late Weichselian up to the end of the Boreal, due to the influence of the Atlantic Ocean, compared to more northern areas where the climate was more continental. The downstream incision trend during the last third of the Boreal up to the Subatlantic (phases 5 and 6) indicates a sharp increase in precipitation and vegetation cover; the lack of peaty sediments, widespread in north-western Europe, and also of precipitated carbonates frequent in the Parisian Basin, seems to be due to local physiographic characteristics. The main part of the sediment filling, which is principally silty and retrograde, began during the Subatlantic (phase 7 and 8) as a result of deforestation of the plateaux for crop farming. High humaninduced sediment yield and storage concealed the possible impacts of climate change on fluvial dynamics: lithological facies change from phase 7 to 8 can only indicate the autogenic morphological evolution of the floodplain in accretion. The non-univocal upstreamdownstream variation in the start of phase 7 shows that sediment yield varied in space and time in the catchment, particularly in relation to the agricultural potential of the different areas; this observation could be used to testify human-induced sedimentation in other catchments.

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A sensitive high-resolution record of late Holocene climatic change from a raised bog in northern England

Cited by 318 publications

References 11 publications

Long-term macronutrient stoichiometry of UK ombrotrophic peatlands

Long-term macronutrient stoichiometry of UK ombrotrophic peatlands

Development and refinement of proxy-climate indicators from peats

Spatio-temporal evolution of the Choisille River (southern Parisian Basin, France) during the Weichselian and the Holocene as a record of climate trend and human activity in north-western Europe

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