Holocene carbon dynamics of boreal and subarctic peatlands from Québec, Canada
Peatlands constitute major sinks of organic carbon (C) and play a key role in the global C cycle. Here, we present a synthesis of peat records from six ecoclimatic regions in Québec, Canada, in order to quantify Holocene patterns of C accumulation and relationships with contemporary climate data. Av...
Published in: | The Holocene |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , , , , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
SAGE Publications
2014
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0959683614538076 http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0959683614538076 http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full-xml/10.1177/0959683614538076 |
id |
crsagepubl:10.1177/0959683614538076 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
crsagepubl:10.1177/0959683614538076 2024-09-15T18:38:03+00:00 Holocene carbon dynamics of boreal and subarctic peatlands from Québec, Canada Garneau, Michelle van Bellen, Simon Magnan, Gabriel Beaulieu-Audy, Véronique Lamarre, Alexandre Asnong, Hans 2014 http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0959683614538076 http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0959683614538076 http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full-xml/10.1177/0959683614538076 en eng SAGE Publications http://journals.sagepub.com/page/policies/text-and-data-mining-license The Holocene volume 24, issue 9, page 1043-1053 ISSN 0959-6836 1477-0911 journal-article 2014 crsagepubl https://doi.org/10.1177/0959683614538076 2024-07-22T04:32:49Z Peatlands constitute major sinks of organic carbon (C) and play a key role in the global C cycle. Here, we present a synthesis of peat records from six ecoclimatic regions in Québec, Canada, in order to quantify Holocene patterns of C accumulation and relationships with contemporary climate data. Average long-term apparent rates of C accumulation (LORCA) were calculated for 21 peat cores and range from 10 to 70 g C/m 2 /yr with a mean of 26.1 (standard error of mean (SEM) = 3.6) g C/m 2 /yr, which is slightly higher than the mean value for northern peatlands as a whole (Loisel et al., 2014). We found that regional climate has been a major factor controlling long-term peatland C accumulation and that site-specific factors may explain some variability between sites. Our data show that LORCA tend to decrease with latitude. The lowest LORCA are found in the northernmost peatlands located at the boreal forest/forest-tundra ecotone, whereas the highest values are recorded in the peatlands along the St. Lawrence Estuary, characterized by the highest mean summer temperature, number of growing degree-days above 0°C and mean annual precipitation. Temporal variations in Holocene C accumulations rates were synthesized for 16 peat cores, which show high values during the mid-Holocene (6000–4000 cal. yr BP) followed by a decline during the Neoglacial cooling, especially between 2000 and 1200 cal. yr BP. Our study contributes to a better understanding of sensitivity of peatland C balance to climate change in a poorly documented part of the circumboreal region. Article in Journal/Newspaper Subarctic Tundra SAGE Publications The Holocene 24 9 1043 1053 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
SAGE Publications |
op_collection_id |
crsagepubl |
language |
English |
description |
Peatlands constitute major sinks of organic carbon (C) and play a key role in the global C cycle. Here, we present a synthesis of peat records from six ecoclimatic regions in Québec, Canada, in order to quantify Holocene patterns of C accumulation and relationships with contemporary climate data. Average long-term apparent rates of C accumulation (LORCA) were calculated for 21 peat cores and range from 10 to 70 g C/m 2 /yr with a mean of 26.1 (standard error of mean (SEM) = 3.6) g C/m 2 /yr, which is slightly higher than the mean value for northern peatlands as a whole (Loisel et al., 2014). We found that regional climate has been a major factor controlling long-term peatland C accumulation and that site-specific factors may explain some variability between sites. Our data show that LORCA tend to decrease with latitude. The lowest LORCA are found in the northernmost peatlands located at the boreal forest/forest-tundra ecotone, whereas the highest values are recorded in the peatlands along the St. Lawrence Estuary, characterized by the highest mean summer temperature, number of growing degree-days above 0°C and mean annual precipitation. Temporal variations in Holocene C accumulations rates were synthesized for 16 peat cores, which show high values during the mid-Holocene (6000–4000 cal. yr BP) followed by a decline during the Neoglacial cooling, especially between 2000 and 1200 cal. yr BP. Our study contributes to a better understanding of sensitivity of peatland C balance to climate change in a poorly documented part of the circumboreal region. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Garneau, Michelle van Bellen, Simon Magnan, Gabriel Beaulieu-Audy, Véronique Lamarre, Alexandre Asnong, Hans |
spellingShingle |
Garneau, Michelle van Bellen, Simon Magnan, Gabriel Beaulieu-Audy, Véronique Lamarre, Alexandre Asnong, Hans Holocene carbon dynamics of boreal and subarctic peatlands from Québec, Canada |
author_facet |
Garneau, Michelle van Bellen, Simon Magnan, Gabriel Beaulieu-Audy, Véronique Lamarre, Alexandre Asnong, Hans |
author_sort |
Garneau, Michelle |
title |
Holocene carbon dynamics of boreal and subarctic peatlands from Québec, Canada |
title_short |
Holocene carbon dynamics of boreal and subarctic peatlands from Québec, Canada |
title_full |
Holocene carbon dynamics of boreal and subarctic peatlands from Québec, Canada |
title_fullStr |
Holocene carbon dynamics of boreal and subarctic peatlands from Québec, Canada |
title_full_unstemmed |
Holocene carbon dynamics of boreal and subarctic peatlands from Québec, Canada |
title_sort |
holocene carbon dynamics of boreal and subarctic peatlands from québec, canada |
publisher |
SAGE Publications |
publishDate |
2014 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0959683614538076 http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0959683614538076 http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full-xml/10.1177/0959683614538076 |
genre |
Subarctic Tundra |
genre_facet |
Subarctic Tundra |
op_source |
The Holocene volume 24, issue 9, page 1043-1053 ISSN 0959-6836 1477-0911 |
op_rights |
http://journals.sagepub.com/page/policies/text-and-data-mining-license |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1177/0959683614538076 |
container_title |
The Holocene |
container_volume |
24 |
container_issue |
9 |
container_start_page |
1043 |
op_container_end_page |
1053 |
_version_ |
1810482389128839168 |