The climate of Scotland over the last 5000 years inferred from multiproxy peatland records: inter‐site correlations and regional variability

The mid to late‐Holocene climates of most of Scotland have been reconstructed from seven peat bogs located across north–south and east–west geographical and climatological gradients. The main techniques used for palaeoclimatic reconstruction were plant macrofossil, colorimetric humification, and testate amoebae analyses, which were supported by a radiocarbon‐based chronology, aided by markers such as tephra isochrons and recent rises in pine pollen and in spheroidal carbonaceous particles (SCPs). Field stratigraphy was undertaken at each site in order to show that the changes detected within the peat profiles were replicable. Proxy climate records were reconstructed using detrended correspondence analysis (DCA) of the plant macrofossil data and a mean water table depth transfer function on the testate amoebae data. These reconstructions, coupled with the humification data, were standardised for each site and used to produce a composite record of bog surface wetness (BSW) from each site. The results show coherent wet and dry phases over the last 5000 years and suggest regional differences in climate across Scotland, specifically between northern and southern Scotland. Distinct climatic cycles are identified, all of which record a millennial‐scale periodicity which can be correlated with previously identified marine and ice core Holocene cycles. The key role of the macrofossil remains of Sphagnum imbricatum, a taxon now extinct on many sites, is discussed in relation to the identified climatic shifts. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Modern Sphagnumδ13C signatures follow a surface moisture gradient in two boreal peat bogs,James Bay lowlands,Québec

Carbon isotopic composition of Sphagnum macrofossils can potentially be used as a palaeohydrological tool for peat‐based climatic studies since a relationship between Sphagnum δ¹³C values and peatland surface moisture has been presented in previous studies. In order to verify this hypothesis, modern Sphagnum δ¹³C values were measured along a moisture (microtopographic) gradient in two boreal peat bogs. Isotopic measurements were performed on bulk material of S. fuscum, S. magellanicum, S. capillifolium and S. pulchrum. Isotopic variations found within and between Sphagnum species along the microtopographic gradient were compared using analysis of variance. A significant positive correlation (P < 0.0001) was found between Sphagnum δ¹³C values and their position along the surface moisture gradient. Results show that ¹³C‐depleted values are related to low water table depths (WTD), while ¹³C‐enriched values correspond to a water table that is close to the peat surface. Although the mechanisms underlying carbon fractionation processes in mosses are not well understood, we demonstrate that water resistance to CO₂ diffusion is an important fractionation process that is observed in bulk Sphagnum δ¹³C measurements, since drier and wetter samples exhibit consistent and very different isotopic signatures. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Peat depth as a control on Sphagnum moisture stress during seasonal drought

Peatlands are globally important long-term sinks of carbon, however there is concern that enhanced peat decomposition and moss moisture stress due to climate change mediated drought will reduce moss productivity making these ecosystems vulnerable to carbon loss and associated long-term degradation. Peatlands are resilient to summer drought moss stress because of negative ecohydrological feedbacks that generally maintain a wet peat surface, but where feedbacks may be contingent on peat depth. We tested this ‘survival of the deepest’ hypothesis by examining water table (WT) position, near-surface moisture content, and soil water tension in peatlands that differ in size, peat depth, and catchment area during a summer drought. All shallow sites (<40 cm depth) lost their WT (i.e., the groundwater well was dry) for considerable time during the drought period. Near-surface soil water tension increased dramatically at shallow sites following WT loss, increasing ~5–7.5× greater at shallow sites compared to deep sites (≥40 cm depth). During a mid-summer drought intensive field survey, we found that 60–67% of plots at shallow sites exceeded a 100 mb tension threshold used to infer moss water stress. Unlike the shallow sites, tension typically did not exceed this 100 mb threshold at the deep sites. Using species dependent water content – chlorophyll fluorescence thresholds and relations between volumetric water content and WT depth, Monte Carlo simulations suggest that moss had nearly twice the likelihood of being stressed at shallow sites (0.38 ± 0.24) compared to deep sites (0.22 ± 0.18). This study provides evidence that mosses in shallow peatland may be particularly vulnerable to warmer and drier climates in the future, but where species composition may play an important role. We argue that a critical ‘threshold’ peat depth specific for different hydrogeological and hydroclimatic regions can be used to assess what peatlands are especially vulnerable to climate change mediated drought.     

Water budget and surface‐layer water storage in a Sphagnum bog in central Sweden

A water budget was established for the open, undisturbed bog Stormossen, central Sweden, for the growing seasons of 1996 and 1997 as a part of the NOPEX project. The water budget was complemented with data on the spatial variation of groundwater levels and water contents in different microrelief elements (ridge, hollow and ridge margin). The seasonal (24 May to 4 October) rainfall, evaporation and runoff were 200, 256, and 43 mm in 1996, respectively, and 310, 286 and 74 mm in 1997, giving negative budgets of ?99 mm in 1996 and ?50 mm in 1997. Approximately 60% of the total budget was caused by storage changes in the upper 40 cm of the bog and 40% by swelling/shrinking in the layers below. This ‘mire breathing’ must be incorporated in future models of mire‐water dynamics. The water content varied diversely among the different microrelief elements, much depending on the properties of moss and peat together with distance to water table. There also was a strong hysteresis in the relationships between groundwater level and measured volumetric water content, depending partly on pore‐throat effects and partly on swelling/shrinking of the peat matrix. A seasonal variation of volumetric water content in a layer beneath water table was found to be larger than what could be justified by compression alone. We think that probable causes could be methane gas expansion together with temperature effects. The main conclusions of this study were: (i) water‐transport and storage characteristics are distinctly different among hummocks, ridges and hollows, (ii) mire wetness cannot be deduced from groundwater levels only, and (iii) an important part of the total water storage was caused by swelling/shrinking of the peat, not by changes in unsaturated water content. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

两种泥炭藓种群年龄结构与生长特征的对比分析

2004年8月中旬,在长白山西侧龙岗山脉中部的哈尼泥炭沼泽,应用“固有年际标记”方法,研究了中位泥炭藓(Sphagnum.magellanicum)与疣壁泥炭藓(Sphagnum papillosum)两种群分株数量和生物量的年龄结构、生物量和高度生长规律。结果表明:中位泥炭藓种群共分为4个龄级,分株的数量和生物量的年龄结构均呈稳定型;疣壁泥炭藓种群亦分4个龄级,但分株的年龄结构呈衰退型。两种泥炭藓种群分株每年生长的高度大体上相同,分株高度与龄级间均呈较明显的单调线性关系(p<0.01),两种群虽未出现异速生长现象,但老龄植株的高度、生物量变异程度均小于幼龄株。这与老龄级分株对水、养分及光资源的吸收利用的权衡能力较强有一定关系。     

沙尘沉降可能阻滞泥炭地植被的自发演替

以长白山区泥炭地的6种泥炭藓孢子和8种维管植物种子为受试材料,进行室内模拟实验,对比研究了沙尘沉降对泥炭藓孢子和维管植物种子萌发的影响。数据分析显示,施加沙尘抑制除锈色泥炭藓外其他所有泥炭藓孢子的萌发,在接近自然沉降的50 g/(m²·a)水平时,这些泥炭藓孢子的萌发率均下降一半以上。无论沙尘施加量如何,有4种维管植物种子均未萌发。施加沙尘抑制了狭叶杜香（Rhododendron tomentosum）和小白花地榆（Sanguisorba parviflora）种子的萌发,但却对宽叶杜香（Rhododendron palustre）和燕子花（Iris laevigata）种子的萌发呈现一定的促进趋势。研究表明,沙尘沉降可抑制泥炭地泥炭藓孢子和部分典型维管植物种子的萌发,但可能会对非典型的或喜营养的泥炭地维管植物种子萌发产生促进作用。所以,长期存在的沙尘沉降,可能通过提高泥炭地N、Ca水平和pH值的作用,抑制泥炭藓孢子定居,阻滞中国长白山区泥炭地自发演替的进程。     

长白山不同海拔泥炭地泥炭藓残体的分解

在当前气候变化的背景下,沿海拔梯度,选择长白山4处泥炭地为研究地,以喙叶泥炭藓和大泥炭藓为分解材料,于丘上和丘间两种生境进行分解实验,研究物种、生境以及海拔下降导致的增温对泥炭藓残体分解速率的影响。结果表明,增温以及生境和物种差异均影响泥炭藓残体的分解,即增温促进泥炭藓分解,丘间生境更利于泥炭藓残体分解,喙叶泥炭藓分解率高于大泥炭藓。比较而言,物种即分解材料的内在质地是影响植物残体分解的主要因素,即高氮含量和低C/N比的喙叶泥炭藓更易分解。增温与物种及增温与生境间均存在交互作用,可以改变生境和物种差异对泥炭藓残体分解的影响,可能会对泥炭地碳汇功能产生深远影响。     

Paleoecology and high-resolution paleohydrology of a kettle peatland in upper Michigan

We investigated the developmental and hydrological history of a Sphagnum-dominated, kettle peatland in Upper Michigan using testate amoebae, plant macrofossils, and pollen. Our primary objective was to determine if the paleohydrological record of the peatland represents a record of past climate variability at subcentennial to millennial time scales. To assess the role of millennial-scale climate variability on peatland paleohydrology, we compared the timing of peatland and upland vegetation changes. To investigate the role of higher-frequency climate variability on peatland paleohydrology, we used testate amoebae to reconstruct a high-resolution, hydrologic history of the peatland for the past 5100 years, and compared this record to other regional records of paleoclimate and vegetation. Comparisons revealed coherent patterns of hydrological, vegetational, and climatic changes, suggesting that peatland paleohydrology responded to climate variability at millennial to sub-centennial time scales. Although ombrotrophic peatlands have been the focus of most high-resolution peatland paleoclimate research, paleohydrological records from Sphagnum-dominated, closed-basin peatlands record high-frequency and low-magnitude climatic changes and thus represent a significant source of unexplored paleoclimate data.     

哈泥贫营养泥炭沼泽毛壁泥炭藓种群密度制约初探

在哈泥贫营养沼泽,研究了毛壁泥炭藓(Sphagnumimbricatum)种群的密度制约规律,结果表明,种群出生率、死亡率和增长率均表现为负密度制约;随初始密度的增加,种群出生率和增长率下降,死亡率增加;分株高度和生物量及其分配无严格的密度制约规律。毛壁泥炭藓种群密度制约规律的特殊性与复杂性与其特殊的生物学特性有关。保水合作与光资源竞争的权衡是决定种群数量特征对密度变化响应的主要原因。     

HYDROLOGY AND MICROCLIMATE OF A PARTLY RESTORED CUTOVER BOG,QUÉBEC

Peatlands do not readily return to functional wetland ecosystems after harvesting (cutting), because the harsh hydrological and microclimatic conditions are unsuitable for Sphagnum regeneration. In this study, drainage ditches blocked after harvesting restored the water balance to a condition similar to a nearby natural bog. Evaporation averaged 2.9 and 2.7 mm day⁻¹ on the cutover and natural bog, respectively. Evaporation consumed most of the rainfall input (86 and 80%, respectively), whereas runoff was minor at both sites (6 and 4%, respectively). However, the water table position was markedly different at these sites. Median water table depth was 0.05 m below the surface in the natural bog, compared with 0.44 m in the cutover bog (ditches blocked). Changes to the peak soil matrix owing to drainage and cutting reduced the specific yield (Sy) of the peat to 0.04–0.06 from 0.35–0.55, causing exaggerated water table changes in the cutover site. Nevertheless, volumetric soil moisture in the cutover site (0.67 ± .08) had low variability, and was maintained above moisture contents found in Sphagnum hummocks in the natural bog (0.48 ± .10), although less than on Sphagnum lawn (0.84 ± .11). Poor Sphagnum regeneration on cutover surfaces can therefore be attributed to its inability to extract water from the underlying peat, which retains water at matric suction greater than the non-vascular Sphagnum can generate. The corrupted iron pan under main ditches has permitted partial recharge of the underlying aquifer, reducing local hydraulic gradients, thereby decreasing vertical seepage loss.