Poor fen succession over ombrotrophic peat related to late Holocene increased surface wetness in subarctic Quebec, Canada
ABSTRACT Northern peatlands act as archives of environmental change through their sensitivity to water balance fluctuations, while being significant contributors to global greenhouse gas dynamics. Subarctic fens in north‐eastern Canada are characterized by a dominance of pools and flarks. We aimed t...
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crwiley:10.1002/jqs.2670 2024-06-02T08:15:00+00:00 Poor fen succession over ombrotrophic peat related to late Holocene increased surface wetness in subarctic Quebec, Canada VAN BELLEN, SIMON GARNEAU, MICHELLE ALI, ADAM A. LAMARRE, ALEXANDRE ROBERT, ÉLISABETH C. MAGNAN, GABRIEL ASNONG, HANS PRATTE, STEVE 2013 http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/jqs.2670 https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1002%2Fjqs.2670 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/jqs.2670 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1002/jqs.2670 en eng Wiley http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor Journal of Quaternary Science volume 28, issue 8, page 748-760 ISSN 0267-8179 1099-1417 journal-article 2013 crwiley https://doi.org/10.1002/jqs.2670 2024-05-03T11:00:23Z ABSTRACT Northern peatlands act as archives of environmental change through their sensitivity to water balance fluctuations, while being significant contributors to global greenhouse gas dynamics. Subarctic fens in north‐eastern Canada are characterized by a dominance of pools and flarks. We aimed to reconstruct the late Holocene hydrological conditions of these fens to establish the timing of the initiation of pool and flark formation and possible links with climate. Testate amoebae and plant macrofossils from five cores, sampled in three fens, were analysed to infer water tables with chronologies based on 14 C and 210 Pb dating. All sites showed the presence of relatively dry, ombrotrophic conditions with abundant Picea from 5000 cal a BP, followed by a first shift to wet, poor fen conditions with pool and flark development around 3000 cal a BP and a subsequent wet shift after ∼800 cal a BP. These trends coincide with previously observed Neoglacial and Little Ice Age cooler and wetter conditions and therefore climate may well have been a dominant factor in the initiation and development of pools and flarks over the late Holocene. The effect of anticipated climate change on subarctic peatlands remains unclear, although wetter conditions might enhance pool expansion to the detriment of terrestrial components. Article in Journal/Newspaper Subarctic Wiley Online Library Canada Journal of Quaternary Science 28 8 748 760 |
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English |
description |
ABSTRACT Northern peatlands act as archives of environmental change through their sensitivity to water balance fluctuations, while being significant contributors to global greenhouse gas dynamics. Subarctic fens in north‐eastern Canada are characterized by a dominance of pools and flarks. We aimed to reconstruct the late Holocene hydrological conditions of these fens to establish the timing of the initiation of pool and flark formation and possible links with climate. Testate amoebae and plant macrofossils from five cores, sampled in three fens, were analysed to infer water tables with chronologies based on 14 C and 210 Pb dating. All sites showed the presence of relatively dry, ombrotrophic conditions with abundant Picea from 5000 cal a BP, followed by a first shift to wet, poor fen conditions with pool and flark development around 3000 cal a BP and a subsequent wet shift after ∼800 cal a BP. These trends coincide with previously observed Neoglacial and Little Ice Age cooler and wetter conditions and therefore climate may well have been a dominant factor in the initiation and development of pools and flarks over the late Holocene. The effect of anticipated climate change on subarctic peatlands remains unclear, although wetter conditions might enhance pool expansion to the detriment of terrestrial components. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
VAN BELLEN, SIMON GARNEAU, MICHELLE ALI, ADAM A. LAMARRE, ALEXANDRE ROBERT, ÉLISABETH C. MAGNAN, GABRIEL ASNONG, HANS PRATTE, STEVE |
spellingShingle |
VAN BELLEN, SIMON GARNEAU, MICHELLE ALI, ADAM A. LAMARRE, ALEXANDRE ROBERT, ÉLISABETH C. MAGNAN, GABRIEL ASNONG, HANS PRATTE, STEVE Poor fen succession over ombrotrophic peat related to late Holocene increased surface wetness in subarctic Quebec, Canada |
author_facet |
VAN BELLEN, SIMON GARNEAU, MICHELLE ALI, ADAM A. LAMARRE, ALEXANDRE ROBERT, ÉLISABETH C. MAGNAN, GABRIEL ASNONG, HANS PRATTE, STEVE |
author_sort |
VAN BELLEN, SIMON |
title |
Poor fen succession over ombrotrophic peat related to late Holocene increased surface wetness in subarctic Quebec, Canada |
title_short |
Poor fen succession over ombrotrophic peat related to late Holocene increased surface wetness in subarctic Quebec, Canada |
title_full |
Poor fen succession over ombrotrophic peat related to late Holocene increased surface wetness in subarctic Quebec, Canada |
title_fullStr |
Poor fen succession over ombrotrophic peat related to late Holocene increased surface wetness in subarctic Quebec, Canada |
title_full_unstemmed |
Poor fen succession over ombrotrophic peat related to late Holocene increased surface wetness in subarctic Quebec, Canada |
title_sort |
poor fen succession over ombrotrophic peat related to late holocene increased surface wetness in subarctic quebec, canada |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
2013 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/jqs.2670 https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1002%2Fjqs.2670 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/jqs.2670 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1002/jqs.2670 |
geographic |
Canada |
geographic_facet |
Canada |
genre |
Subarctic |
genre_facet |
Subarctic |
op_source |
Journal of Quaternary Science volume 28, issue 8, page 748-760 ISSN 0267-8179 1099-1417 |
op_rights |
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1002/jqs.2670 |
container_title |
Journal of Quaternary Science |
container_volume |
28 |
container_issue |
8 |
container_start_page |
748 |
op_container_end_page |
760 |
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1800739041243561984 |