Journal ArticleDOI
Hydrological feedbacks in northern peatlands
James M. Waddington,Paul J. Morris,Nicholas Kettridge,Gustaf Granath,Gustaf Granath,Dan K. Thompson,Paul A. Moore +6 more
TLDR
In this paper, a detailed synthesis of autogenic hydrological feedbacks that operate within northern peatlands to regulate their response to changes in seasonal water deficit and varying disturbances is provided.Abstract:
Northern peatlands provide important global and regional ecosystem services (carbon storage, water storage, and biodiversity). However, these ecosystems face increases in the severity, areal extent and frequency of climate-mediated (e.g. wildfire and drought) and land-use change (e.g. drainage, flooding and mining) disturbances that are placing the future security of these critical ecosystem services in doubt. Here, we provide the first detailed synthesis of autogenic hydrological feedbacks that operate within northern peatlands to regulate their response to changes in seasonal water deficit and varying disturbances. We review, synthesize and critique the current process-based understanding and qualitatively assess the relative strengths of these feedbacks for different peatland types within different climate regions. We suggest that understanding the role of hydrological feedbacks in regulating changes in precipitation and temperature are essential for understanding the resistance, resilience and vulnerability of northern peatlands to a changing climate. Finally, we propose that these hydrological feedbacks also represent the foundation of developing an ecohydrological understanding of coupled hydrological, biogeochemical and ecological feedbacks. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.read more
Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI
Global vulnerability of peatlands to fire and carbon loss
Merritt R. Turetsky,Brian W. Benscoter,Susan Page,Guillermo Rein,Guido R. van der Werf,Adam C. Watts +5 more
TL;DR: The amount of carbon stored in peats exceeds that stored in vegetation and is similar in size to the current atmospheric carbon pool as mentioned in this paper, which is a threat to many peat-rich biomes and has the potential to disturb these carbon stocks.
Journal ArticleDOI
Climate change drives a shift in peatland ecosystem plant community: Implications for ecosystem function and stability
TL;DR: It is indicated that changes in peatland plant community composition are likely under future climate change conditions, with a demonstrated shift toward a dominance of graminoid species in poor fens.
Journal ArticleDOI
Rapid expansion of northern peatlands and doubled estimate of carbon storage
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present a quantification of the sink and stock of northern peat carbon from the last glacial period through the pre-industrial period, and they suggest that deep ocean upwelling was the most important mechanism for balancing the peatland sink and maintaining the observed stability.
Journal ArticleDOI
Moderate drop in water table increases peatland vulnerability to post-fire regime shift.
Nicholas Kettridge,Merritt R. Turetsky,James H. Sherwood,Dan K. Thompson,C. A. Miller,Brian W. Benscoter,Mike D. Flannigan,B. M. Wotton,James M. Waddington +8 more
TL;DR: It is shown that the moderate drop in water table position predicted for most northern regions triggers a shift in vegetation composition previously observed within only severely disturbed tropical peatlands, which converted the low productivity, moss-dominated peatland to a non-carbon accumulating shrub-grass ecosystem.
Journal ArticleDOI
Widespread drying of European peatlands in recent centuries
Graeme T. Swindles,Graeme T. Swindles,Graeme T. Swindles,Paul J. Morris,Donal Mullan,Richard J. Payne,Thomas P. Roland,Matthew J. Amesbury,Matthew J. Amesbury,Mariusz Lamentowicz,T. Edward Turner,Angela V. Gallego-Sala,Thomas G. Sim,Iestyn D. Barr,Maarten Blaauw,Antony Blundell,Frank M. Chambers,Dan J. Charman,Angelica Feurdean,Jennifer M. Galloway,Jennifer M. Galloway,Mariusz Gałka,Sophie M. Green,Katarzyna Kajukało,Edgar Karofeld,Atte Korhola,Łukasz Lamentowicz,Peter G. Langdon,Katarzyna Marcisz,Dmitri Mauquoy,Yuri Mazei,Michelle M. McKeown,Edward A. D. Mitchell,Elena Novenko,Elena Novenko,Gill Plunkett,Helen Roe,Kristian Schoning,Ülle Sillasoo,Andrey N. Tsyganov,Andrey N. Tsyganov,Marjolein van der Linden,Minna Väliranta,Barry G. Warner +43 more
TL;DR: In this article, the authors analyse testate amoeba-derived hydrological reconstructions from 31 peatlands across Britain, Ireland, Scandinavia and Continental Europe to examine changes in peatland surface wetness during the last 2,000 years.
References
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