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Monthly Webinar Series

Drainage Reduces the Resilience of a Boreal Peatland
 

Peatlands are incredibly resilient ecosystems but drier conditions, due to drainage for industrial development or climate warming, can affect their ability to adapt to environmental stresses. Biological and hydrological feedbacks maintain peatlands and their carbon storage functions; however, their resiliency to these changes is unknown. Harris et al. (2020) explored the implications of peatland drainage on the resiliency of peatlands by assessing their ability to act as carbon sinks by comparing plant production, water table level, and surface moisture content between a drained peatland and an undisturbed peatland in the Hudson Bay Lowland.

Harris et al. found that the water table at the drained sites was approximately 70 cm lower than at the undisturbed site causing a significant decrease in plant production, specifically in Sphagnum spp. The reduction in Sphagnum spp. reduced the surface moisture at the site and reduced the site's ability to act as a carbon sink when bare peat is left exposed. The relationship between the three influences suggests that drainage negatively impacts peat production and risks mass carbon loss due to changes in ecosystem function. Learn more here.

Results From and Experimental Black Spruce Forest Crown Fire

Wildfires pose a severe risk to habitat and resource availability for humans and animals that live in the boreal forest. Techniques such as prescribed burns, thinning, and pruning are used to suppress wildfires. To assess the effectiveness of thinning as a suppression technique, Thompson et al. (2020) conducted an experimental burn in a black spruce peatland in northern Alberta. They compared the intensity, rate of spread, and fuel consumption of a fire in the thinned black spruce peatland to that of an unsuppressed wildfire.

The study site ground cover consisted of primarily feather mosses due to the low light conditions present before thinning the black spruce canopy. Thompson et al. found that although the reduced fuel load from thinning reduced fire intensity, it was only marginal as the abundance of feather moss resulted in burns that were ten times deeper compared to sites dominated by Sphagnum spp. The reduced moisture content of feather mosses compared to Sphagnum spp. helped maintain the rate of spread and the fuel consumption in the thinned site. Thompson et al. suggest that future studies should focus on active suppression measures such as suppression with water rather than passive treatments such as thinning. Learn more here.

Dissolved Organic Carbon Dynamics in a Constructed Fen

Surface mining in the Athabasca oil sands region in northeastern Alberta has affected close to 1,000 km² of the land base. This area is rich in wetlands, with approximately 50% of the pre-disturbance landscape classified as wetlands, most of which are peatlands. Following mining operations, companies must return the land to equivalent land capability - either forested upland or wetland. Peatland reclamation can be extremely challenging in mined landscapes due to the high salinity. As part of the Canadian Geophysical Union (CGU) Summer Webinar Series, Emily Prystupa shared her research on the effects of salinity on constructed peatland function.

Water at Prystupta's study site passes through a tailing sand aquifer, which increases the amount of sodium and sulfate that flows into the fen. This increase in sodium can influence the rate of decomposition by stressing the microbial community responsible for decay and thus increasing the amount of carbon released by plant roots. Prystupta described this carbon as lower quality as its smaller molecule size allows for more carbon to leave the system. For more information check out Emily's webinar or thesis, You can also check out past CGU webinar recordings and keep an eye on their Facebook page for more information on their last Hydrology webinar of the summer on August 28th.

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