David W. Beilman

A Database and Synthesis of Northern Peatland Soil Properties and Holocene Carbon and Nitrogen Accumulation

Here, we present results from the most comprehensive compilation of Holocene peat soil properties with associated carbon and nitrogen accumulation rates for northern peatlands. Our database consists of 268 peat cores from 215 sites located north of 45°N. It encompasses regions within which peat carbon data have only recently become available, such as the West Siberia Lowlands, the Hudson Bay Lowlands, Kamchatka in Far East Russia, and the Tibetan Plateau. For all northern peatlands, carbon content in organic matter was estimated at 42 ± 3% (standard deviation) for Sphagnum peat, 51 ± 2% for non-Sphagnum peat, and at 49 ± 2% overall. Dry bulk density averaged 0.12 ± 0.07 g/cm3, organic matter bulk density averaged 0.11 ± 0.05 g/cm3, and total carbon content in peat averaged 47 ± 6%. In general, large differences were found between Sphagnum and non-Sphagnum peat types in terms of peat properties. Time-weighted peat carbon accumulation rates averaged 23 ± 2 (standard error of mean) g C/m2/yr during the Holocene on the basis of 151 peat cores from 127 sites, with the highest rates of carbon accumulation (25–28 g C/m2/yr) recorded during the early Holocene when the climate was warmer than the present. Furthermore, we estimate the northern peatland carbon and nitrogen pools at 436 and 10 gigatons, respectively. The database is publicly available at https://peatlands.lehigh.edu.

Climate change and the northern Russian treeline zone

The Russian treeline is a dynamic ecotone typified by steep gradients in summer temperature and regionally variable gradients in albedo and heat flux. The location of the treeline is largely controlled by summer temperatures and growing season length. Temperatures have responded strongly to twentieth-century global warming and will display a magnified response to future warming. Dendroecological studies indicate enhanced conifer recruitment during the twentieth century. However, conifers have not yet recolonized many areas where trees were present during the Medieval Warm period (ca AD 800–1300) or the Holocene Thermal Maximum (HTM; ca 10 000–3000 years ago). Reconstruction of tree distributions during the HTM suggests that the future position of the treeline due to global warming may approximate its former Holocene maximum position. An increased dominance of evergreen tree species in the northern Siberian forests may be an important difference between past and future conditions. Based on the slow rates of treeline expansion observed during the twentieth century, the presence of steep climatic gradients associated with the current Arctic coastline and the prevalence of organic soils, it is possible that rates of treeline expansion will be regionally variable and transient forest communities with species abundances different from todays may develop.

Sensitivity of Northern Peatland Carbon Dynamics to Holocene Climate Change

In this paper, we evaluate the long-term climate sensitivity and global carbon (C) cycle implications of northern peatland C dynamics by synthesizing available data and providing a conceptual framework for understanding the dominant controls, processes, and interactions of peatland initiation and C accumulation. Northern peatlands are distributed throughout the climate domain of the boreal forest/taiga biome, but important differences between peatland regions are evident in annual temperature vs. precipitation (T-P) space, suggesting complex hydroclimatic controls through various seasonal thermal-moisture associations. Of 2380 available basal peat dates from northern peatlands, nearly half show initiation before 8000 calendar years (cal years) B.P. Peat-core data from sites spanning peatland T-P space show large variations in apparent C accumulation rates during the Holocene, ranging from 8.4 in the Arctic to 38.0 g C m -2 a -1 in west Siberia, with an overall time-weighted average rate of 18.6 g C m -2 a -1 . Sites with multiple age determinations show millennial-scale variations, with the highest C accumulation generally at 11,000-8000 cal years B.P. The early Holocene was likely a period of rapid peatland expansion and C accumulation. For example, maximum peat expansion and accumulation in Alaska occurred at this time when climate was warmest and possibly driest, suggesting the dominant role of productivity over decomposition processes or a difference in precipitation seasonality. Northern peatland C dynamics contributed to the peak in atmospheric CH 4 and the decrease in CO 2 concentrations in the early Holocene. This synthesis of data, processes, and ideas provides baselines for understanding the sensitivity of these C-rich ecosystems in a changing climate.

Pattern of extinction of the woolly mammoth in Beringia

Extinction of the woolly mammoth in Beringia has long been subject to research and speculation. Here we use a new geo-referenced database of radiocarbon-dated evidence to show that mammoths were abundant in the open-habitat of Marine Isotope Stage 3 (∼45–30 ka). During the Last Glacial Maximum (∼25–20 ka), northern populations declined while those in interior Siberia increased. Northern mammoths increased after the glacial maximum, but declined at and after the Younger Dryas (∼12.9–11.5 ka). Remaining continental mammoths, now concentrated in the north, disappeared in the early Holocene with development of extensive peatlands, wet tundra, birch shrubland and coniferous forest. Long sympatry in Siberia suggests that humans may be best seen as a synergistic cofactor in that extirpation. The extinction of island populations occurred at ∼4 ka. Mammoth extinction was not due to a single cause, but followed a long trajectory in concert with changes in climate, habitat and human presence.

YEASTS IN PEATLANDS: A REVIEW OF RICHNESS AND ROLES IN PEAT DECOMPOSITION

The richness and ecological roles of yeasts in peatlands are largely unknown. This paper presents a review of the literature on yeasts in peatlands and also provides new data with species isolated from peatlands in Saskatchewan, Canada, and West Siberia, Russia. To date, 75 yeast taxa have been reported from peatlands, including 46 identified species and 29 isolates identified only to genus or not at all. This represents 5%–10% of known yeasts and about 10% of all peatland fungi. Cryptococcus, Candida, Pichia, and Rhodotorula are the most prevalent genera, accounting for 58% of known peatland yeast species. We obtained 34 isolates from western Canadian and West Siberian bog and fen peat, including 12 identified species and eight unidentified taxa. Identified taxa comprised mostly species of Candida, Cryptococcus, and Rhodotorula. Unidentified taxa were described based on physiology and morphology. Globally, more species have been reported from bogs than fens (41 vs. 13 taxa), and the species composition differs between the two peatland classes. The effect of depth within the acrotelm on yeast abundance and species composition varies among peatlands. Physiological profiling of the yeasts from our study showed that they can use (poly)saccharides (primarily D-glucose, maltotriose, n-acetyl glucosamine, trehalose, and sucrose), organic acids (primarily D-gluconic acid, fumaric acid, malic acid, and succinic acid), sugar alcohols (primarily D-arabitol, D-mannitol, and D-sorbitol), glycosides (primarily arbutin and salicin), and amino acids (primarily L-glutamic acid) as carbon and nitrogen sources. Based on these profiles, yeasts likely access simple polymers that leach from senesced and/or dead plant materials in peatlands and probably play important roles during the initial stages of organic matter decomposition.

Carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios in surface sediments from lakes of western Ireland: implications for inferring past lake productivity and nitrogen loading

We used statistical analyses to determine which subset of 36 environmental variables best explained variations in surface sediment δ13C and δ15N from 50 lakes in western Ireland that span a human-impact gradient. The factors controlling lake sediment δ13C and δ15N depended on whether organics in the lake sediment were mostly derived from the lake catchment (allochthonous) or from productivity within the lake (autochthonous). Lake sediments with a dominantly allochthonous organic source (high C:N ratio sediments) produced δ13C and δ15N measurements similar to values from catchment vegetation. δ13C and δ15N measurements from lake sediments with a dominantly autochthonous organic source (low C:N ratio sediments) were influenced by fractionation in the lake and catchment leading up to assimilation of carbon and nitrogen by lacustrine biota. δ13C values from lake sediment samples in agricultural catchments were more negative than δ13C values from lake sediment samples in non-impacted, bogland catchments. Hypolimnetic oxygen concentrations and methane production had a greater influence on δ13C values than fractionation due to algal productivity. δ15N from lake sediment samples in agricultural catchments were more positive than δ15N in non-impacted bogland catchments. Lower δ15N values from non-impacted lake catchments reflected δ15N values of catchment vegetation, while higher δ15N values in agricultural catchments reflected the high δ15N values of cattle manure and inorganic fertilisers. The influence of changing nitrogen sources and lake/catchment fractionation processes were more important than early diagenesis for lake sediment δ15N values in this dataset. The results from this study suggest a possible influence of bound inorganic nitrogen on the bulk sediment δ15N values. We recommend using a suitable method to control for bound inorganic nitrogen in lake sediments, especially when working with clay-rich sediments. This study confirms the usefulness of δ13C and δ15N from bulk lake sediments, as long as we are mindful of the multiple factors that can influence these values. This study also highlights how stable isotope datasets from lake surface sediments can complement site-specific isotope source/process studies and help identify key processes controlling lake sediment δ13C and δ15N in a study area.

Holocene peatland carbon dynamics in the circum-Arctic region: An introduction

Peatlands represent the largest and most concentrated carbon pool in the terrestrial biosphere, and their dynamics during the Holocene have had significant impacts on the global carbon cycle. In this Introduction paper, we provide an overview of the contributions presented in this Special Issue on Holocene peatland carbon dynamics. We also provide a brief history and current status of peat-core-based research on peatland carbon dynamics. Finally, we identify and discuss some challenges and opportunities that would guide peatland carbon research in the near future. These challenges and opportunities include the need to fill data gaps and increase geographic representations of peat carbon accumulation records, a better understanding of peatland lateral expansion process and improved estimate of peatland area change over time, developing regional carbon accumulation histories and carbon pool estimates, and projecting and quantifying overall peatland net carbon balance in a changing world.

Empirical calibrated radiocarbon sampler: a tool for incorporating radiocarbon‐date and calibration error into Bayesian phylogenetic analyses of ancient DNA

Studies of DNA from ancient samples provide a valuable opportunity to gain insight into past evolutionary and demographic processes. Bayesian phylogenetic methods can estimate evolutionary rates and timescales from ancient DNA sequences, with the ages of the samples acting as calibrations for the molecular clock. Sample ages are often estimated using radiocarbon dating, but the associated measurement error is rarely taken into account. In addition, the total uncertainty quantified by converting radiocarbon dates to calendar dates is typically ignored. Here, we present a tool for incorporating both of these sources of uncertainty into Bayesian phylogenetic analyses of ancient DNA. This empirical calibrated radiocarbon sampler (ECRS) integrates the age uncertainty for each ancient sequence over the calibrated probability density function estimated for its radiocarbon date and associated error. We use the ECRS to analyse three ancient DNA data sets. Accounting for radiocarbon‐dating and calibration error appeared to have little impact on estimates of evolutionary rates and related parameters for these data sets. However, analyses of other data sets, particularly those with few or only very old radiocarbon dates, might be more sensitive to using artificially precise sample ages and should benefit from use of the ECRS.

Transformations of landscape and peat‐forming ecosystems in response to late Holocene climate change in the western Antarctic Peninsula

We used subfossil mosses and peats to document changes in regional climate, cryosphere, and terrestrial ecosystems in the western Antarctic Peninsula at ~65°S latitude. We find that most peat forming ecosystems have initiated since 2800 cal B.P., in response to warmer summers and increasing summer insolation. The period at 900–600 cal B.P. was coldest as indicated by ice advance, abundance of kill ages from ice-entombed mosses exposed recently from retreating glacial ice, and apparent gap in peatbank initiation. Furthermore, the discovery of a novel Antarctic hairgrass (Deschampsia antarctica) peatland at 2300–1200 cal B.P. from the mainland Antarctic Peninsula suggests a much warmer climate than the present. A warming and wetting climate in the 1980s caused very high carbon accumulation in a Polytrichum strictum moss peatbank. Our results document dramatic transformations of landscape and ecosystems in response to past warmer climate, providing a telltale sign for what may come in the future.

Peatland paleohydrology in the southern West Siberian Lowlands: Comparison of multiple testate amoeba transfer functions, sites, and Sphagnum δ13C values

A 2700-year-old peat core from the southern West Siberian Lowlands was used to reconstruct past water-table depth using testate amoeba analysis and to compare hydrological changes with temperature variations associated with the Medieval Climate Anomaly, ‘Little Ice Age’, and 20th-century warming. The robustness of water-table results was assessed using comparisons of four separate transfer functions, a testate amoeba reconstruction from an additional site in southern West Siberia, and an independent hydrological proxy of the δ13C values of Sphagnum remains from the same core. The paleohydrology results were robust in that (1) all four transfer functions returned similar results, (2) both peatland sites displayed very similar water-table fluctuations despite their distance from each other, and (3) Sphagnum δ13C values showed similar overall changes as the testate amoeba–inferred hydrology, but at a coarser temporal resolution. When comparing reconstructed hydrology in southern West Siberia to Northern Hemisphere temperatures, we found that during most of the record warmer time intervals tended to be wet locally and cooler time intervals tended to be dry including during the Medieval Climate Anomaly (~1150–650 cal. BP). This pairing continued until the ‘Little Ice Age’ (~650–100 cal. BP) when conditions became cool and wet, and recently, conditions have become warm again, but unlike the earlier wet interval, the peatlands have dried. Drier conditions shown by the water-table depth reconstruction suggest that future warming may continue the drying of southern peatland surfaces in the West Siberian Lowlands and may promote peat carbon respiration.