Title: Permafrost thaw in boreal peatlands is rapidly altering forest community composition (2012 and 2018)
Citation: Patankar, R., Dearborn, K., & Wallace, C. A. (2021). Permafrost thaw in boreal peatlands is rapidly altering forest community composition [Data set]. Dryad. http://datadryad.org/stash/dataset/doi:10.5061/dryad.0cfxpnw0p
Study Site: the Northwest Territories, Canada
Purpose: Boreal peatlands are frequently underlain by permafrost, which is thawing rapidly. A common ecological response to thaw is the conversion of raised forested plateaus to treeless wetlands, but unexplained spatial variation in responses, combined with a lack of stand-level data, make it difficult to predict future trajectories of boreal forest composition and structure. We sought to characterize patterns and identify drivers of forest structure, composition, mortality, and recruitment in a boreal peatland experiencing permafrost thaw.
Abstract: We established a large (10 ha) permanent forest plot (completed in 2014), located in the Northwest Territories, Canada, that includes 40,584 mapped and measured trees. In 2018, we conducted a comprehensive mortality and recruitment recensus. We also measured frost table depth, soil moisture, soil humification, and organic layer thickness within the plot between 2012 and 2018, and used habitat association tests to link these variables to forest characteristics and dynamics. Forest composition and structure varied markedly throughout the plot and were strongly governed by patterns in permafrost presence and organic layer thickness.
Supplemental Information Summary:
Research: Global Water Futures
Further Info: Dearborn, Katherine D.; Wallace, Cory A.; Patankar, Rajit; Baltzer, Jennifer L. (2020), Permafrost thaw in boreal peatlands is rapidly altering forest community composition, Journal of Ecology, Journal-article, https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.13569
Perron, Nia; Baltzer, Jennifer L.; Sonnentag, Oliver (2023), Spatial and temporal variation in forest transpiration across a forested boreal peatland complex, Hydrological Processes, Journal-article, https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.14815
Status: Complete
Keywords:
vegetation,
Permafrost,
Climate change,
Geographical coordinates: North: 61.310556, South: 61.310556 East: -121.293333 West: -121.293333
Bounding Temporal Extent: Start Date: 2012-01-01, End
Date: 2018-12-31
