The Influence of Permafrost and Fire upon Carbon Accumulation in High Boreal Peatlands, Northwest Territories, Canada

2000 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 155 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. D. Robinson ◽  
T. R. Moore
Keyword(s):  
Northwest Territories ◽  
Carbon Accumulation ◽  
Boreal Peatlands

Carbon accumulation in permafrost peatlands in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, Canada

The Holocene ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 273-280 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. R. Vardy ◽  
B. G. Warner ◽  
J. Turunen ◽  
R. Aravena
Keyword(s):  
Northwest Territories ◽  
Carbon Accumulation

Carbon accumulation in peatlands, southwestern Northwest Territories, Canada

2006 ◽  
Vol 86 (Special Issue) ◽  
pp. 305-319 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen D. Robinson
Keyword(s):  
Northwest Territories ◽  
High Water ◽  
Decay Rates ◽  
Carbon Accumulation ◽  
Poor Fen ◽  
Discontinuous Permafrost ◽  
Highly Sensitive ◽  
Water Tables ◽  
Rate Of Decay ◽  
Northern Peatlands

Northern peatlands have stored significant quantities of carbon (C) since the early Holocene at rates that vary among peatland types. Pollen concentration dating was used to provide estimates o f true C accumulation and sequestration efficiency in different peatland systems in the discontinuous permafrost zone near Fort Simpson, Northwest Territories, Canada. The catotelm portions of bog, permafrost-affected peat plateau, and Sphagnum-dominated cores were interpreted to conform to Clymo’s (1984) model of C accumulation, while peat deposited under conditions with high water tables (rich fen and collapse fen) did not. The model assumes a consistent surface production, yet production in fens is thought to be highly sensitive to water table changes and may have contributed to poor model fits. Decay rates measured over the past 1200 yr range from 0.0015 to 0.0004 yr-1. True C accumulation rates (range 7.0 in peat plateau to 18.6 g C m-2 yr-1 in bog) and sequestration efficiencies (range 0.24 in peat plateau to 0.67 in poor fen) by 1200 yr BP were low in comparison with other North American sites. Decay rates measured over 1200 yr were significantly greater than that measured over the entire life span of the peatland (0.00033 yr-1), suggesting that a catotelm true C accumulation model incorporating a decreasing rate of decay would be more applicable. Key words: Carbon accumulation, peatlands, permafrost, northern Canada

Carbon accumulation rates in two poor fens with different water regimes: Influence of anthropogenic impact and environmental change

The Holocene ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 24 (11) ◽  
pp. 1539-1549 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara Fiałkiewicz-Kozieł ◽  
Beata Smieja-Król ◽  
Natalia Piotrowska ◽  
Jarosław Sikorski ◽  
Mariusz Gałka
Keyword(s):  
Promising Result ◽  
Bulk Composition ◽  
Mean Value ◽  
Carbon Accumulation ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Accumulation Rates ◽  
Boreal Peatlands ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Carbon Accumulation Rates

Fens are underestimated carbon sinks. Knowledge about their role in the sequestration of CO2 in the past is limited. The research reported here focused on identifying long-term carbon accumulation rates (CARs) in a drained fen (Bagno Bruch) and a waterlogged fen (Bagno Mikołeska) in southern Poland. On the basis of 210Pb and AMS 14C dates and age–depth modeling, 7000- and 2000-year records of changes in bulk composition and carbon and sulfur content are presented and discussed. Strong human impact is detected, especially in Bagno Bruch. However, minor climatic signals linked to the ‘Little Ice Age’ and to the influence of wind-blown sands are also evident. The sand may have influenced the plant composition, peat accumulation rates (PARs), and CARs, in addition to the bulk composition at Bagno Mikołeska. The mean value of the CAR in the youngest peat layers spanning the last 200 years is generally lower in two cores from Bagno Bruch ( c. 85 and 86 g/m2/yr) than in two cores from Bagno Mikołeska ( c. 140 and 142 g/m2/yr). The fens are characterized by higher CARs compared with boreal peatlands. The reproducibility of the CAR values is the most promising result, suggesting the low mobility of 210Pb and the reliability of this method in assessing the chronology of fens.

scholarly journals Local Spatial Heterogeneity of Holocene Carbon Accumulation throughout the Peat Profile of an Ombrotrophic Northern Minnesota Bog

Radiocarbon ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 60 (3) ◽  
pp. 941-962 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karis J McFarlane ◽  
Paul J Hanson ◽  
Colleen M Iversen ◽  
Jana R Phillips ◽  
Deanne J Brice
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Heterogeneity ◽  
Carbon Accumulation ◽  
Experimental Warming ◽  
Accumulation Rates ◽  
Boreal Peatlands ◽  
Aerobic Decomposition ◽  
Peat Profile ◽  
Carbon Accumulation Rates ◽  
Plot Location

ABSTRACTWe evaluated the spatial heterogeneity of historical carbon accumulation rates in a forested, ombrotrophic bog in Minnesota to aid understanding of responses to an ongoing decade-long warming manipulation. Eighteen peat cores indicated that the bog has been accumulating carbon for over 11,000 years, to yield 176±40 kg C m−2 to 225±58 cm of peat depth. Estimated peat basal ages ranged from 5100 to 11,100 cal BP. The long-term apparent rate of carbon accumulation over the entire peat profile was 22±2 kg C m−2 yr−1. Plot location within the study area did not affect carbon accumulation rates, but estimated basal ages were younger in profiles from plots closer to the bog lagg and farther from the bog outlet. In addition, carbon accumulation varied considerably over time. Early Holocene net carbon accumulation rates were 30±6 g C m−2 yr−1. Around 3300 calendar BP, net carbon accumulation rates dropped to 15±8 g C m−2 yr−1 until the last century when net accumulation rates increased again to 74±57 g C m−2 yr−1. During this period of low accumulation, regional droughts may have lowered the water table, allowing for enhanced aerobic decomposition and making the bog more susceptible to fire. These results suggest that experimental warming treatments, as well as a future warmer climate may reduce net carbon accumulation in peat in this and other southern boreal peatlands. Furthermore, our we caution against historical interpretations extrapolated from one or a few peat cores.

scholarly journals Estimating Long-Term Carbon Accumulation Rates in Boreal Peatlands by Radiocarbon Dating

Radiocarbon ◽  
1995 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 575-584 ◽  
Author(s):  
Atte Korhola ◽  
Kimmo Tolonen ◽  
Jukka Turunen ◽  
Högne Jungner
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Accumulation ◽  
Accumulation Rates ◽  
Raised Bog ◽  
Constant Input ◽  
Wetland Type ◽  
Land Uplift ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Boreal Peatlands ◽  
Carbon Accumulation Rates

We used direct radiocarbon dates of peat samples, pollen dates and land-uplift chronology from >1300 cores comprising all or most of the Holocene in the boreal region of Finland, Estonia and Maine (USA) to obtain long-term carbon accumulation rates for boreal peatlands. The “apparent” long-term rate of carbon accumulation (LORCA; g C m−2 a−1) ranged from 4.6 to 85.8 (mean 19.9 ± 10.7), depending on the geographical location, wetland type and the age of the mire. The “true” or “actual” rate of carbon accumulation (ARCA), as derived from models for peatbog growth, was usually ca. 70% of LORCA. We studied the raised bog Reksuo more intensely in terms of growth dynamics, and we report preliminary results of the “three-dimensional” or spatial carbon accumulation rates. These results strongly contradict the concept of constant input and constant decay throughout the millennia. The study emphasizes the importance of exploring the formation and dynamics of entire mire ecosystems, and the role of carbon in these systems, in addition to studying single cores.

scholarly journals A high-resolution record of carbon accumulation rates during boreal peatland initiation

2012 ◽  
Vol 9 (7) ◽  
pp. 2711-2717 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. F. Pendea ◽  
G. L. Chmura
Keyword(s):  
Co2 Flux ◽  
Carbon Accumulation ◽  
Atmospheric Co2 ◽  
Ecological Change ◽  
Accumulation Rates ◽  
210Pb And 137Cs ◽  
Boreal Peatlands ◽  
C Storage ◽  
Decadal Scale ◽  
Wetland Evolution

Abstract. Boreal peatlands are a major global C sink, thus having important feedbacks to climate. A decreased concentration in atmospheric CO2 7000–10 000 yr ago has been linked to variations in peatland C accumulation rates attributed to a warm climate and increased productivity. Yet, this period also corresponds to early stages of peatland development (as peatland was expanding) following retreat of ice sheets and increases in C storage could be associated with wetland evolution via lake filling or following marine shoreline emergence. Unravelling past links amongst peatland dynamics, C storage, and climate will help us assess potential feedbacks from future changes in these systems, but most studies are hampered by low temporal resolution. Here we provide a decadal scale C accumulation record for a fen that has begun transformation from salt marsh within the last 70 yr on the isostatically rebounding coast of James Bay, Québec. We determined time frames for wetland stages using palynological analyses to reconstruct ecological change and 210Pb and 137Cs to date the deposit. The average short-term C accumulation rates during the low and high tidal marsh and incipient fen stage (42, 87 and 182 g C m−2 yr−1, respectively) were as much as six times higher than the global long-term (millennial) average for northern peatlands. We suggest that the atmospheric CO2 flux during the early Holocene could be attributed, in part, to wetland evolution associated with isostatic rebound, which makes land for new wetland formation. Future climate warming will increase eustatic sea level, decrease rates of land emergence and formation of new coastal wetlands, ultimately decreasing rates of C storage of wetlands on rebounding coastlines.

scholarly journals High resolution record of carbon accumulation rates during boreal peatland initiation

2012 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 1115-1128
Author(s):  
I. Florin Pendea ◽  
G. L. Chmura
Keyword(s):  
Co2 Flux ◽  
Carbon Accumulation ◽  
Atmospheric Co2 ◽  
Ecological Change ◽  
Accumulation Rates ◽  
210Pb And 137Cs ◽  
Boreal Peatlands ◽  
C Storage ◽  
Decadal Scale ◽  
Wetland Evolution

Abstract. Boreal peatlands are a major global C sink, thus having important feedbacks to climate. A decreased concentration in atmospheric CO2 7000–10 000 years ago has been linked to variations in peatland C accumulation rates attributed to warm climate change and increased productivity. Yet, this period also corresponds to early stages of peatland development (as peatland was expanding) following retreat of ice sheets and increases in C storage could be associated with wetland evolution via lake filling or following marine shoreline emergence. Unravelling past links amongst peatland dynamics, C storage, and climate will help us assess potential feedbacks from future changes in these systems, but most studies are hampered by low temporal resolution. Here we provide a decadal scale C accumulation record for a fen that has transformed from salt marsh within the last 70 yr on the isostatically rebounding coast of James Bay, Québec. We determined time frames for wetland stages using palynological analyses to reconstruct ecological change and 210Pb and 137Cs to date the deposit. The C accumulation rates during the tidal marsh and fen stage (87 and 182 g C m−2 yr−1, respectively), were as much as six times higher than the global average for northern peatlands. We suggest that the atmospheric CO2 flux during the early Holocene could be attributed, in part, to wetland evolution associated with isostatic rebound which makes land for new wetland formation. Future climate warming will increase eustatic sea level, decrease rates of land emergence and formation of new coastal wetlands, ultimately decreasing rates of C storage of wetlands on rebounding coastlines.

Yellowknife, Northwest Territories

Blue Jay ◽  
1980 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Saskatchewan Natural History Society
Keyword(s):  
Northwest Territories
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