Ecohydrological controls on apparent rates of peat carbon accumulation in a boreal bog record from the Hudson Bay Lowlands, northern Ontario, Canada
A multiproxy Holocene record from a bog in the Hudson Bay Lowlands, northern Ontario, Canada, was used to evaluate how ecohydrology relates to carbon accumulation. The study site is located at a somewhat higher elevation and on coarser grained deposits than the surrounding peatlands. This promotes b...
| Published in: | Quaternary Research |
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| Main Authors: | , , , |
| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2021
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/1983/e4c98d57-2e3e-4864-b5a0-80016a523a0e https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/en/publications/e4c98d57-2e3e-4864-b5a0-80016a523a0e https://doi.org/10.1017/qua.2021.22 https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/ws/files/281354990/Davies_et_al.pdf |
| Summary: | A multiproxy Holocene record from a bog in the Hudson Bay Lowlands, northern Ontario, Canada, was used to evaluate how ecohydrology relates to carbon accumulation. The study site is located at a somewhat higher elevation and on coarser grained deposits than the surrounding peatlands. This promotes better drainage and thus a slower rate of carbon accumulation relative to sites with similar initiation age. The rate of peat vertical accretion was initially low as the site transitioned from a marsh to a rich fen. These lower rates took place during the warmer temperatures of the Holocene thermal maximum, confirming the importance of hydrological 2 controls limiting peat accretion at the local scale. Testate amoebae, pollen, and plant macrofossils indicate a transition to a poor fen and then a bog during the late Holocene, as the carbon accumulation rate and reconstructed water table depth increased. The bacterial membrane lipid biomarker indices used to infer paleotemperature show a summer temperature bias and appear sensitive to changes in peat type. The bacterial membrane lipid biomarker pH proxy indicates a rich to a poor fen and a subsequent fen to bog transition, which are supported by pollen, macrofossil, and testate amoeba records. |
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