Peatland dynamics in a complex landscape: Development of a fen-bog complex in the Sporadic Discontinuous Permafrost zone of northern Alberta, Canada

Bauer, Ilka E.; Vitt, Dale H.

doi:10.1111/j.1502-3885.2011.00210.x

Cited by 27 publications

(13 citation statements)

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“…Repeated cycles of permafrost aggradation and thaw have previously been described at two sites in Western Canada in the isolated permafrost zone [ Zoltai , ]. However, in this compilation of records, cyclical permafrost aggradation of more than two aggradation/thaw events was limited to a few additional sites located in Western Canada (note that Bauer and Vitt , sampled same peatland complex as Zoltai []) [ Kuhry , ] and two Eurasian sites [ Oksanen et al , , ]. Single events of permafrost thaw followed by permafrost reaggradation were more common in this study zone (16 additional sites).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Effects of permafrost aggradation on peat properties as determined from a pan‐Arctic synthesis of plant macrofossils

et al. 2016

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37Permafrost dynamics play an important role in high-latitude peatland carbon balance and are key 38 to understanding the future response of soil carbon stocks. Permafrost aggradation can control 39 the magnitude of the carbon feedback in peatlands through effects on peat properties. We 40 compiled peatland plant macrofossil records for the northern permafrost zone (515 cores from 41 280 sites) and classified samples by vegetation type and environmental class (fen, bog, tundra 42 and boreal permafrost, thawed permafrost). We examined differences in peat properties (bulk

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Effects of permafrost aggradation on peat properties as determined from a pan‐Arctic synthesis of plant macrofossils

et al. 2016

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“…BP, and Kev1 BS approximately 1445-140 cal. BP (Figure 4; Bauer & Vitt, 2011;Garneau et al, 2014;Hunt et al, 2013;Seppälä, 2006). During these periods peat accumulation rates were as low as 2 × 10 À5 m 2 /year.…”

Section: Local-scale Inconsistencies In Carbon Accumulation Patternsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Inconsistent Response of Arctic Permafrost Peatland Carbon Accumulation to Warm Climate Phases

Zhang

Gallego‐Sala

Amesbury

et al. 2018

Global Biogeochemical Cycles

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Northern peatlands have accumulated large carbon (C) stocks since the last deglaciation and during past millennia they have acted as important atmospheric C sinks. However, it is still poorly understood how northern peatlands in general and Arctic permafrost peatlands in particular will respond to future climate change. In this study, we present C accumulation reconstructions derived from 14 peat cores from four permafrost peatlands in northeast European Russia and Finnish Lapland. The main focus is on warm climate phases. We used regression analyses to test the importance of different environmental variables such as summer temperature, hydrology, and vegetation as drivers for nonautogenic C accumulation. We used modeling approaches to simulate potential decomposition patterns. The data show that our study sites have been persistent mid‐ to late‐Holocene C sinks with an average accumulation rate of 10.80–32.40 g C m−2 year−1. The warmer climate phase during the Holocene Thermal Maximum stimulated faster apparent C accumulation rates while the Medieval Climate Anomaly did not. Moreover, during the Little Ice Age, apparent C accumulation rates were controlled more by other factors than by cold climate per se. Although we could not identify any significant environmental factor that drove C accumulation, our data show that recent warming has increased C accumulation in some permafrost peatland sites. However, the synchronous slight decrease of C accumulation in other sites may be an alternative response of these peatlands to warming in the future. This would lead to a decrease in the C sequestration ability of permafrost peatlands overall.

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“…In fact, several palsas appeared in the discontinuous permafrost zone in northern regions of Russia, Scandinavia, and Canada during the Neoglacial, including the period of the Little Ice Age (LIA; ϳ1650-1850 A.D.) (e.g., Zoltai 1993Zoltai , 1995Vardy et al 1997Vardy et al , 1998Jasinski et al 1998;Peteet et al 1998;Blyakharchuk and Sulerzhitsky 1999;Oksanen et al 2001;Väliranta et al 2003;Oksanen 2005Oksanen , 2006Bhiry et al 2007;Jaworski and Niewiarowski 2012;Hunt et al 2013). Climate warming that began at the end of the 19th century then resulted in a degradation of peatland permafrost in a number of these regions, and the formation of thermokarst ponds (e.g., Sollid and Sörbel 1998;Zuidhoff and Kolstrup 2000;Payette et al 2004;Arlen-Pouliot and Bhiry 2005;Vallée andPayette 2007, Bauer andVitt 2011;Parsekian et al 2011;Jones et al 2013;Fillion et al 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Long-term dynamics of a palsa in the sporadic permafrost zone of northwestern Quebec (Canada)

2014

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In the sporadic permafrost zone of the James Bay region in northwestern Quebec (Canada), permafrost has been showing signs of advanced degradation for the past 50 years. Several palsa peatlands are among the few remaining sites with evidence of permafrost presence. We conducted a high-resolution stratigraphic macrofossil analysis of a palsa situated on the shore of Duncan Lake, near the southern limit of sporadic permafrost distribution, to reconstruct the stages of peatland development since its formation, examine the respective roles of allogenic and autogenic factors in this development, and determine the period during which permafrost and palsa formed. Organic matter began to accumulate following the retreat of the postglacial Tyrrell Sea. Three main stages can be identified in the peatland history at the sampling site: lake (>5310 cal years BP), minerotrophic peatland (5310-760 cal years BP), and ombrotrophic peatland (<760 cal years BP). This hydroseral succession reflects primarily an autogenic sequence. Permafrost and palsa formed sometime during the last 300 years, most likely around 1750 A.D. (200 cal years BP) in response to the cold climatic conditions of the Little Ice Age.Résumé : Dans la zone de pergélisol sporadique de la région de la baie de James au nord-ouest du Québec (Canada), le pergélisol montre des signes de dégradation avancée depuis au moins 50 ans. Quelques tourbières à palses dégradées figurent parmi les derniers témoins de la présence du pergélisol. Nous avons réalisé une analyse macrofossile à haute résolution stratigraphique d'une palse à la bordure du lac Duncan, près de la limite sud de la répartition du pergélisol sporadique, afin de reconstituer les étapes du développement de la tourbière depuis son origine, d'examiner les rôles respectifs des facteurs allogènes et autogènes dans ce développement, et de déterminer l'époque de l'installation du pergélisol et de la formation de la palse. L'accumulation de la matière organique a débuté vers 5310 ans BP (années étalonnées) suite au retrait de la mer postglaciaire de Tyrrell. Trois principales étapes sont survenues dans l'histoire de la tourbière au point d'échantillonnage : une étape lacustre (>5310 ans BP), une étape de tourbière minérotrophe (5310-760 ans BP) et une étape de tourbière ombrotrophe (<760 ans BP). Cette succession hydrosérale reflète surtout une dynamique autogène. L'installation du pergélisol et la formation de la palse sont survenues quelque part au cours des 300 dernières années, fort probablement vers 1750 (200 ans cal BP), en réponse aux conditions climatiques froides du Petit Âge glaciaire.

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Peatland dynamics in a complex landscape: Development of a fen-bog complex in the Sporadic Discontinuous Permafrost zone of northern Alberta, Canada

Cited by 27 publications

References 50 publications

Effects of permafrost aggradation on peat properties as determined from a pan‐Arctic synthesis of plant macrofossils

Effects of permafrost aggradation on peat properties as determined from a pan‐Arctic synthesis of plant macrofossils

Inconsistent Response of Arctic Permafrost Peatland Carbon Accumulation to Warm Climate Phases

Long-term dynamics of a palsa in the sporadic permafrost zone of northwestern Quebec (Canada)

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