Living on the Edge: The Effects of Drought on Canada's Western Boreal Peatlands

doi:10.1017/CBO9780511779701.015

14 - Living on the Edge: The Effects of Drought on Canada's Western Boreal Peatlands

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 October 2012

R. Kelman Wieder and

Edited by

Nancy G. Slack and

Melanie A. Vile: Affiliation:
Villanova University, USA
Kimberli D. Scott: Affiliation:
Villanova University, USA
Erin Brault: Affiliation:
Villanova University, USA
R. Kelman Wieder: Affiliation:
Villanova University, USA
Dale H. Vitt: Affiliation:
Southern Illinois University, USA
Nancy G. Slack: Affiliation:
Sage Colleges, New York
Lloyd R. Stark: Affiliation:
University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Book contents

Get access

Summary

Introduction

Boreal peatlands of Western Canada

Boreal peatland ecosystems occupy less than 3% of the earth's land surface, yet store between 250 and 455 Pg of C, which is roughly 20%–30% of the world's soil carbon (Gorham 1991; Charman 2002; Joosten & Clarke 2002; Vasander & Kettunen 2006). In continental western Canada, peatlands cover 365,157 km2 (Vitt et al. 2000) and dominate the landscape in northern Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba (Tarnocai 1984, 1998; Vitt et al. 2000; Tarnocai et al. 2005). Overall, these western Canadian peatlands have sequestered about 48 Pg of C during the past 10,000 years, with about half of this peat accumulated in the past 4000 years (Vitt et al. 2000). Peatlands provide a wide diversity of ecosystem services, not the least of which is the conversion of atmospheric CO2 into large accumulations of stored organic carbon (C) – a testament to the long-term function of these ecosystems as net C sinks since their widespread initiation after the most recent glacial retreat (Halsey et al. 2000). Bryophytes typically are dominant components of the vegetation in northern peatlands and play central roles with regard to nutrient cycling and carbon accumulation.

The initiation, development, succession, and rate of peat accumulation in boreal peatlands are dependent on regional factors such as climate, substrate chemistry, landscape position, and hydrological regime.

Type: Chapter
Information: Bryophyte Ecology and Climate Change , pp. 277 - 298

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511779701.015 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2011

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Akinremi, O. O., McGinn, S. M. & Barr, A. G. (1996). Evaluation of the Palmer drought index on the Canadian prairies. Journal of Climate 9: 897–905.Google Scholar

Alm, J., Schulman, I., Walden, J.et al. (1999). Carbon balance of a boreal bog during a year with an exceptionally dry summer. Ecology 80: 161–77.Google Scholar

Bazzazz, F. A., Paolillo, D. J. & Jagels, R. H. (1970). Photosynthesis and respiration of forest and alpine populations of Polytrichum juniperinum. Bryologist 73: 579–85.Google Scholar

Benscoter, B. W. & Vitt, D. H. (2008). Spatial patterns and temporal trajectories of the bog ground layer along a post-fire chronosequence. Ecosystems 11: 1054–64.Google Scholar

Bortoluzzi, E., Epron, D., Siegenthaler, A., Gilbert, D. & Buttler, A. (2006). Carbon balance of a European mountain bog at contrasting stages of regeneration. New Phytologist 172: 708–18.Google Scholar

Bragazza, L. (2008). A climatic threshold triggers the die-off of peat mosses during an extreme heat wave. Global Change Biology 14: 2688–95.Google Scholar

Bragazza, L., Siffi, C., Iacumin, P. & Gerdol, R. (2007). Mass loss and nutrient release during litter decay in peatland: the role of microbial adaptability to litter chemistry. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 39: 257–67.Google Scholar

Bubier, J. L., Bhatia, G., Moore, T. R., Roulet, N. T. & LaFleur, P. M. (2003). Spatial and temporal variability in growing season net ecosystem CO2 exchange at a large peatland, Ontario, Canada. Ecosystems 6: 353–67.Google Scholar

Charman, D. J. (2002). Peatlands and Environmental Change. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons.

Chee, W. L. & Vitt, D. H. (1989). The vegetation, surface-water chemistry and peat chemistry of moderate-rich fens in central Alberta, Canada. Wetlands 9: 227–61.Google Scholar

Chetner, S. & ,the Agroclimatic Atlas Working Group. (2003). Agroclimatic Atlas of Alberta, 1971 to 2000. Edmonton, Alberta: Alberta Agriculture, Food and Rural Development, Agdex 071–1.

Clymo, R. S. (1963). Ion exchange in Sphagnum and its relation to bog ecology. Annals of Botany 27: 309–24.Google Scholar

Du Rietz, G. E. (1948). Uppländska myrar. In Natur i Uppland, ed. Hörstadius, S. & Curry-Lindahl, K., pp. 67–78. Göteborg: Bokförlaget Svensk Natur.

Gerdol, R., Bonora, A., Gualandri, R. & Pancaldi, S. (1996). CO2 exchange, photosynthetic pigment composition, and cell ultrastructure of Sphagnum mosses during dehydration and subsequent rehydration. Canadian Journal of Botany 74: 726–34.Google Scholar

Gignac, L. D. & Vitt, D. H. (1994). Responses of northern peatlands to climate change: effects on bryophytes. Journal of the Hattori Botanical Laboratory 75: 119–32.Google Scholar

Gignac, L. D., Vitt, D. H. & Bayley, S. E. (1991a). Bryophyte response surfaces along ecological and climatic gradients. Vegetatio 93: 29–45.Google Scholar

Gignac, L. D., Vitt, D. H., Zoltai, S. C. & Bayley, S. E. (1991b). Bryophyte response surfaces along climatic, chemical, and physical gradients in peatlands of western Canada. Nova Hedwigia 53: 27–71.Google Scholar

Gorham, E. (1991). Northern peatlands: role in the carbon cycle and probable responses to global warming. Bryologist 101: 572–87.Google Scholar

Gotelli, N. J., Mouser, P. J., Hudman, S. P.et al. (2008). Geographic variation in nutrient availability, stoichiometry, and metal concentrations of peatlands and pore-water in ombrotrophic bogs in New England, USA. Wetlands 28: 827–40.Google Scholar

Hajek, T., Tuittila, E. S., Ilomets, M. & Laiho, R. (2009). Light responses of mire mosses – a key to survival after water-level drawdown? Oikos 118: 240–50.Google Scholar

Halsey, L. A., Vitt, D. H. & Gignac, L. D. (2000). Sphagnum-dominated peatlands in North America since the last glacial maximum: their occurrence and extent. Bryologist 103: 334–52.Google Scholar

Harris, A., Bryant, R. G. & Baird, A. J. (2006). Mapping the effects of water stress on Sphagnum: Preliminary observations using airborne remote sensing. Remote Sensing of the Environment 100: 363–78.Google Scholar

Hemond, H. F. (1980). Biogeochemistry of Thoreau's Bog, Concord, Massachusetts. Ecological Monographs 50: 507–26.Google Scholar

Joosten, H. and Clarke, D. (2002). Wise Use of Peatlands – Background and Principles Including a Framework for Decision-making. Finland: International Mire Conservation Group and the International Peat Society.

Li, Y. & Vitt, D. H. (1997). Patterns of retention and utilization of aerially deposited nitrogen in boreal peatlands. Ecoscience 4: 106–16.Google Scholar

Lindquist, J. L., Rhode, D., Puettmann, K. J. & Maxwell, B. D. (1994). The influence of plant population spatial arrangement on individual plant yield. Ecological Applications 4: 518–24.Google Scholar

Malcolm, J. (1996). Relationships between Sphagnum morphology and absorbency of Sphagnum board. M.Sc. Thesis, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB.

Martin, C. F. & Adamson, V. J. (2001). Photosynthetic capacity of mosses relative to vascular plants. Journal of Bryology 23: 319–23.Google Scholar

McNeil, P. & Waddington, J. M. (2003). Moisture controls on Sphagnum growth and CO2 exchange on a cutover bog. Journal of Applied Ecology 40: 354–67.Google Scholar

Murray, K. J., Harley, P. C., Beyers, J., Walz, H. & Tenhunen, J. D. (1989). Water content effects on photosynthetic response of Sphagnum mosses from the foothills of the Philip Smith Mountains, Alaska. Oecologia 79: 244–50.Google Scholar

Navaratnam, J. (2002). A molecular ecological investigation of the archaeal, bacterial and fungal diversity in a Canadian and Siberian peatland complex. MS Thesis, Villanova University, Villanova, PA.

Nicholson, B. J. & Vitt, D. H. (1990). The paleoecology of a peatland complex in continental western Canada. Canadian Journal of Botany 68: 121–38.Google Scholar

Peterson, W. J. & Mayo, J. M. (1975). Moisture stress and its effect on photosynthesis in Dicranum polysetum. Canadian Journal of Botany 53: 2897–900.Google Scholar

Rice, S. K., Aclander, L. & Hanson, D. T. (2008). Do bryophyte shoot systems function like vascular plant leaves or canopies? Functional trait relationships in Sphagnum mosses (Sphagnaceae). American Journal of Botany 95: 1366–74.Google Scholar

Richter, C. & Dainty, J. (1989). Ion behavior in plant cell walls. I. Characterization of the Sphagnum russowii cell wall ion exchanger. Canadian Journal of Botany 67: 451–9.Google Scholar

Schindler, D. W. & Donahue, W. F. (2006). An impending water crisis in Canada's western prairie provinces. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA 103: 7210–16.Google Scholar

Schipperges, B. & Rydin, H. (1998). Response of photosynthesis of Sphagnum species from contrasting microhabitats to tissue water content and repeated desiccation. New Phytologist 140: 677–84.Google Scholar

Silvola, J., Alm, J., Akholm, U., Nykanen, H. & Martikainen, P. J. (1996). CO2 fluxes from peat in boreal mires under varying temperature and moisture conditions. Journal of Ecology 84: 219–28.Google Scholar

Sjörs, H. 1948. Myrvegetation I Bergslagen. Acta Phytogeographica Suecica 21: 1–229.Google Scholar

Slack, N. G., Vitt, D. H. & Horton, D. G. (1980). Vegetation gradients of minerotrophically rich fens in western Alberta. Canadian Journal of Botany 58: 330–50.Google Scholar

Tarnocai, C. (1984). Peat Resources of Canada. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada: Land Resource Research Institute, Research Branch, Agriculture Canada.

Tarnocai, C. (1998). The amount of organic carbon in various soil orders and ecological provinces in Canada. In Soil Processes and the Carbon Cycle, ed. Lal, R., Kimble, J. M., Follett, R. F. & Stewart, B. A., pp. 81–92. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.

Tarnocai, C., Kettles, I. M. & Lacelle, B. (2005). Peatlands of Canada. Ottawa: Agriculture and Agri-food Canada, Research Branch.

Titus, J. E., Wagner, D. J. & Stephens, M. D. (1983). Contrasting water relations of photosynthesis for two Sphagnum species. Ecology 64: 1109–15.Google Scholar

Titus, J. E. and Wagner, D. E. (1984). Carbon balance for two Sphagnum mosses: water balance resolves a physiological paradox. Ecology 65: 1765–74.Google Scholar

Tuittila, E., Vasander, H. & Laine, J. (2004). Sensitivity of C sequestration in reintroduced Sphagnum to water-level variation in a cutaway peatland. Restoration Ecology 12: 483–93.Google Scholar

Turetsky, M. R., Crow, S., Evans, R. J., Vitt, D. H. & Wieder, R. K. (2008). Tradeoffs in resource allocation among moss species control decomposition in boreal peatlands. Journal of Ecology 96: 1297–305.Google Scholar

Hoeven, E. C., Huynen, C. I. J. & During, H. J. (1993). Vertical profiles of biomass, light intercepting area and light intensity in chalk grassland mosses. Journal of the Hattori Botanical Laboratory 74: 261–70.Google Scholar

Vasander, H. & Kettunen, A. (2006). Carbon in boreal peatlands. In Boreal Peatland Ecosystems, ed. Wieder, R. K. & Vitt, D. H., pp. 165–94. Ecological studies 188. Berlin: Springer.CrossRef

Vitt, D. H. (2005). Peatlands: Canada's past and future carbon legacy. In Climate Change and Carbon in Managed Forests, ed. Bhatti, J., Lal, R., Price, M. & Apps, M. J., pp. 201–16. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.

Vitt, D. H. (2006). Functional characteristics and indicators of boreal peatlands. In Boreal Peatland Ecosystems, ed. Wieder, R. K. & Vitt, D. H., pp. 9–24. Ecological Studies 188. Berlin: Springer.CrossRef

Vitt, D. H. & Glime, J. M. (1984). The structural adaptations of aquatic Musci. Lindbergia 10: 95–110.Google Scholar

Vitt, D. H., Li, Y. & Belland, R. J. (1995). Patterns of bryophyte diversity in peatlands of continental western Canada. Bryologist 98: 218–27.Google Scholar

Vitt, D. H., Halsey, L. A., Bauer, I. E. & Campbell, C. (2000). Spatial and temporal trends of carbon sequestration in peatlands of continental western Canada through the Holocene. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 37: 683–93.Google Scholar

Wagner, D. J. & Titus, J. E. (1984). Comparative desiccation tolerance of two Sphagnum mosses. Oecologia 62: 182–7.Google Scholar

Wheaton, E. E., Arthur, M., Chorney, B.et al. (1992). The Prairie Drought of 1998. Climatological Bulletin 26: 188–205.Google Scholar

Whitham, T. G., Bailey, J. K., Schweitzer, J. A.et al. (2006). A framework for community and ecosystem genetics: from genes to ecosystems. Nature Reviews Genetics 7: 510–23.Google Scholar

Wieder, R. K. (2006). Primary production in boreal peatlands. In Boreal Peatland Ecosystems, ed. Wieder, R. K. & Vitt, D. H., pp. 145–64. Ecological Studies 188. Berlin: Springer-Verlag.CrossRef

Wieder, R. K., Scott, K. D.Kamminga, K.et al. (2009). Post-fire carbon balance in boreal bogs of Alberta. Global Change Biology 15: 63–81.Google Scholar

Wilson, B. I., Trepanier, I. & Beaulieu, M. (2002). The western Canadian drought of 2001 – how dry was it? Catalogue no. 21–004-XIE, Vista on the Agri-food Industry and the Farm Community. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada: Agriculture Division, Statistics Canada.

Yu, Z., Apps, M. J. & Bhatti, J. S. (2002). Implications of floristic and environmental variation for carbon cycle dynamics in boreal forest ecosystems of central Canada. Journal of Vegetation Science 13: 327–40.Google Scholar

Zoltai, S. C. & Vitt, D. H. (1990). Holocene climatic change and the distribution of peatlands in western interior Canada. Quaternary Research 33: 231–40.Google Scholar

Book contents

14 - Living on the Edge: The Effects of Drought on Canada's Western Boreal Peatlands

Summary

Access options

References

Save book to Kindle

Save book to Dropbox

Save book to Google Drive