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Moderate drop in water table increases peatland vulnerability to post-fire regime shift

Title: Moderate drop in water table increases peatland vulnerability to post-fire regime shift.
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Name(s): Kettridge, N., author
Turetsky, Merritt R., author
Sherwood, J. H., author
Thompson, D. K., author
Miller, C. A., author
Benscoter, Brian, author
Flannigan, Michael D., author
Wotton, B. M., author
Waddington, J. M., author
Type of Resource: text
Genre: Article
Date Issued: 2015-07-27
Summary: Northern and tropical peatlands represent a globally significant carbon reserve accumulated over thousands of years of waterlogged conditions. It is unclear whether moderate drying predicted for northern peatlands will stimulate burning and carbon losses as has occurred in their smaller tropical counterparts where the carbon legacy has been destabilized due to severe drainage and deep peat fires. Capitalizing on a unique long-term experiment, we quantify the post-wildfire recovery of a northern peatland subjected to decadal drainage. We show 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. The combined impact of moderate drainage followed by wildfire converted the low productivity, moss-dominated peatland to a non-carbon accumulating shrub-grass ecosystem. This new ecosystem is likely to experience a low intensity, high frequency wildfire regime, which will further deplete the legacy of stored peat carbon.
Identifier: 10.1038/srep08063 (doi), http://www.nature.com/articles/srep08063 (uri), FAUIR000003 (IID)
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FAUIR000003
Use and Reproduction: publisher
Host Institution: FAU
Is Part Of: Scientific Reports.
2045-2322