Recent hummock establishment in the margin of a subarctic fen, Finnish Lapland
Northern fens, that host unique biota and form a remarkable carbon stock, are sensitive to changes in the moisture balance and, therefore, may be strongly affected by climatic fluctuations. However, long‐term monitoring and palaeoecological studies of fens are relatively rare and, as a result, their...
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/bor.12651 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/bor.12651 |
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crwiley:10.1111/bor.12651 2024-06-02T08:15:01+00:00 Recent hummock establishment in the margin of a subarctic fen, Finnish Lapland Kuuri‐Riutta, Olivia Pilkama, Elmiina Salminen‐Paatero, Susanna Vögeli, Camille Mitchell, Edward A. D. Lohila, Annalea Tuittila, Eeva‐Stiina Väliranta, Minna Societas pro Fauna et Flora Fennica Academy of Finland 2024 http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/bor.12651 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/bor.12651 en eng Wiley http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Boreas volume 53, issue 2, page 282-295 ISSN 0300-9483 1502-3885 journal-article 2024 crwiley https://doi.org/10.1111/bor.12651 2024-05-03T12:05:31Z Northern fens, that host unique biota and form a remarkable carbon stock, are sensitive to changes in the moisture balance and, therefore, may be strongly affected by climatic fluctuations. However, long‐term monitoring and palaeoecological studies of fens are relatively rare and, as a result, their responses to past and current climatic fluctuations are poorly known. In this study, we examined the recent vegetation change as well as changes in testate amoeba communities in the mire margin of a subarctic fen in Finnish Lapland with four peat profiles. Testate amoebae were used as indicators of past fluctuations in water table depth. The vegetation showed a drastic shift from sedge‐dominated fen to Sphagnum ‐dominated communities during the late 20th and the early 21st centuries. This shift was accompanied by a turnover in the testate amoeba community. Testate amoeba‐based water table reconstructions indicated recent drying. This may be due to the lowering of the water table either from accelerated Sphagnum increment or enhanced evaporation. The observed hummock establishment concurs with the documented hemisphere‐wide expansion trend of hummock communities in fens. This change may strengthen the carbon sink and storage capacity of these peatlands, which could be viewed as a welcome negative feedback process to the ongoing climate warming. However, the change also poses a threat to biodiversity since fens are not only species‐rich habitats but are also endangered ecosystems. Article in Journal/Newspaper Subarctic Lapland Wiley Online Library Boreas 53 2 282 295 |
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Open Polar |
collection |
Wiley Online Library |
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crwiley |
language |
English |
description |
Northern fens, that host unique biota and form a remarkable carbon stock, are sensitive to changes in the moisture balance and, therefore, may be strongly affected by climatic fluctuations. However, long‐term monitoring and palaeoecological studies of fens are relatively rare and, as a result, their responses to past and current climatic fluctuations are poorly known. In this study, we examined the recent vegetation change as well as changes in testate amoeba communities in the mire margin of a subarctic fen in Finnish Lapland with four peat profiles. Testate amoebae were used as indicators of past fluctuations in water table depth. The vegetation showed a drastic shift from sedge‐dominated fen to Sphagnum ‐dominated communities during the late 20th and the early 21st centuries. This shift was accompanied by a turnover in the testate amoeba community. Testate amoeba‐based water table reconstructions indicated recent drying. This may be due to the lowering of the water table either from accelerated Sphagnum increment or enhanced evaporation. The observed hummock establishment concurs with the documented hemisphere‐wide expansion trend of hummock communities in fens. This change may strengthen the carbon sink and storage capacity of these peatlands, which could be viewed as a welcome negative feedback process to the ongoing climate warming. However, the change also poses a threat to biodiversity since fens are not only species‐rich habitats but are also endangered ecosystems. |
author2 |
Societas pro Fauna et Flora Fennica Academy of Finland |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Kuuri‐Riutta, Olivia Pilkama, Elmiina Salminen‐Paatero, Susanna Vögeli, Camille Mitchell, Edward A. D. Lohila, Annalea Tuittila, Eeva‐Stiina Väliranta, Minna |
spellingShingle |
Kuuri‐Riutta, Olivia Pilkama, Elmiina Salminen‐Paatero, Susanna Vögeli, Camille Mitchell, Edward A. D. Lohila, Annalea Tuittila, Eeva‐Stiina Väliranta, Minna Recent hummock establishment in the margin of a subarctic fen, Finnish Lapland |
author_facet |
Kuuri‐Riutta, Olivia Pilkama, Elmiina Salminen‐Paatero, Susanna Vögeli, Camille Mitchell, Edward A. D. Lohila, Annalea Tuittila, Eeva‐Stiina Väliranta, Minna |
author_sort |
Kuuri‐Riutta, Olivia |
title |
Recent hummock establishment in the margin of a subarctic fen, Finnish Lapland |
title_short |
Recent hummock establishment in the margin of a subarctic fen, Finnish Lapland |
title_full |
Recent hummock establishment in the margin of a subarctic fen, Finnish Lapland |
title_fullStr |
Recent hummock establishment in the margin of a subarctic fen, Finnish Lapland |
title_full_unstemmed |
Recent hummock establishment in the margin of a subarctic fen, Finnish Lapland |
title_sort |
recent hummock establishment in the margin of a subarctic fen, finnish lapland |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
2024 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/bor.12651 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/bor.12651 |
genre |
Subarctic Lapland |
genre_facet |
Subarctic Lapland |
op_source |
Boreas volume 53, issue 2, page 282-295 ISSN 0300-9483 1502-3885 |
op_rights |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1111/bor.12651 |
container_title |
Boreas |
container_volume |
53 |
container_issue |
2 |
container_start_page |
282 |
op_container_end_page |
295 |
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1800739059747782656 |