17 research outputs found
Anthropocene history of rich fen acidification in W Poland: Causes and indicators of change
In the time of the global climate crisis, it is vital to protect and restore peatlands to maintain their functioning as carbon sinks. Otherwise, their transformations may trigger a shift to a carbon source state and further contribute to global warming. In this study, we focused on eutrophication, which resulted in its transition from rich fen to poor fen conditions. The prior aim was to decipher how i) climate, ii) human, and iii) autogenic processes influenced the pathway of peatland changes in the last ca. 250âŻyears. We applied a high-resolution palaeoecological analysis, based mainly on testate amoebae (TA) and plant macroremains. Our results imply that before ca. 1950âŻCE, dry shifts on the Kazanie fen were generally climate-induced. Later, autogenic processes, human pressure and climate warming synergistically affected the fen, contributing to its transition to poor fen within ca. 30âŻyears. Its establishment not only caused changes in vegetation but also altered TA taxonomic content and resulted in a lower diversity of TA. According to our research M. patella is an incredibly sensitive testate amoeba that after ca. 200âŻyears of presence, disappeared within 2âŻyears due to changes in water and nutrient conditions. As a whole, our study provides a long-term background that is desired in modern conservation studies and might be used to define future restoration targets. It also confirms the already described negative consequences connected with the Anthropocene and not sustainable exploitation of nature.1. Introduction 2. Material and methods 2.1. State of art 2.1.1. Study site 2.1.2. Core retrieval and chronology 2.1.3. Plant macrofossils 2.2. Testate amoebae (TA) 2.3. Statistical analyses and visualization 3. Results and interpretation 3.1. Mire succession: plant macrofossils, testate amoebae, water table and conductivity 3.1.1. Phase I â rich fen; 91â35.5 cm; ca. 1767±45â1982±3 CE 3.1.2. Phase II â poor fen; 35.5â0 cm; ca. 1982±3â2017 CE 3.2. Non-Metric Multidimensional Scaling (NMDS) 4. Discussion 4.1. An abrupt rich to poor fen transition â causes of change 4.2. Quality of testate amoebae indicators of the rich-poor fen transformatio
Anthropocene history of rich fen acidification in W Poland: causes and indicators of change
In the time of the global climate crisis, it is vital to protect and restore peatlands to maintain their functioning as carbon sinks. Otherwise, their transformations may trigger a shift to a carbon source state and further contribute to global warming. In this study, we focused on eutrophication, which resulted in its transition from rich fen to poor fen conditions. The prior aim was to decipher how i) climate, ii) human, and iii) autogenic processes influenced the pathway of peatland changes in the last ca. 250âŻyears. We applied a high-resolution palaeoecological analysis, based mainly on testate amoebae (TA) and plant macroremains. Our results imply that before ca. 1950âŻCE, dry shifts on the Kazanie fen were generally climate-induced. Later, autogenic processes, human pressure and climate warming synergistically affected the fen, contributing to its transition to poor fen within ca. 30âŻyears. Its establishment not only caused changes in vegetation but also altered TA taxonomic content and resulted in a lower diversity of TA. According to our research M. patella is an incredibly sensitive testate amoeba that after ca. 200âŻyears of presence, disappeared within 2âŻyears due to changes in water and nutrient conditions. As a whole, our study provides a long-term background that is desired in modern conservation studies and might be used to define future restoration targets. It also confirms the already described negative consequences connected with the Anthropocene and not sustainable exploitation of nature.1. Introduction 2. Material and methods 2.1. State of art 2.1.1. Study site 2.1.2. Core retrieval and chronology 2.1.3. Plant macrofossils 2.2. Testate amoebae (TA) 2.3. Statistical analyses and visualization 3. Results and interpretation 3.1. Mire succession: plant macrofossils, testate amoebae, water table and conductivity 3.1.1. Phase I â rich fen; 91â35.5 cm; ca. 1767±45â1982±3 CE 3.1.2. Phase II â poor fen; 35.5â0 cm; ca. 1982±3â2017 CE 3.2. Non-Metric Multidimensional Scaling (NMDS) 4. Discussion 4.1. An abrupt rich to poor fen transition â causes of change 4.2. Quality of testate amoebae indicators of the rich-poor fen transformatio
The ĆnieĆŒka peatland as a candidate for the Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point for the Anthropocene series
The subalpine, atmospherically fed ĆnieĆŒka peatland, located in the Polish part of the Sudetes, is one of the nominated candidates for the GSSP of the Anthropocene. Data from two profiles, Sn1 (2012) and Sn0 (2020), from this site are critical for distinguishing the proposed epoch, while an additional core Sn2 is presented to support main evidence. The Sn0 archive contains a wide array of critical markers such as plutonium (Pu), radiocarbon (F14C), fly ash particles, Hg and stable C and N isotopes which are consistent with the previously well documented 210Pb/14C dated Sn1 profile, which provides a high-resolution and comprehensive database of trace elements and rare earth elements (REE), Pb isotopes, Pu, Cs, pollen and testate amoebae. The 1952 worldwide appearance of Pu, owing to its global synchronicity and repeatability between the cores, is proposed here as a primary marker of the Anthropocene, supported by the prominent upturn of selected chemostratigraphic and biostratigraphic indicators as well as the appearance of technofossils and artificial radionuclides
The Eurasian Modern Pollen Database (EMPD), version 2
The Eurasian (nĂ©e European) Modern Pollen Database (EMPD) was established in 2013 to provide a public database of high-quality modern pollen surface samples to help support studies of past climate, land cover, and land use using fossil pollen. The EMPD is part of, and complementary to, the European Pollen Database (EPD) which contains data on fossil pollen found in Late Quaternary sedimentary archives throughout the Eurasian region. The EPD is in turn part of the rapidly growing Neotoma database, which is now the primary home for global palaeoecological data. This paper describes version 2 of the EMPD in which the number of samples held in the database has been increased by 60â% from 4826 to 8134. Much of the improvement in data coverage has come from northern Asia, and the database has consequently been renamed the Eurasian Modern Pollen Database to reflect this geographical enlargement. The EMPD can be viewed online using a dedicated map-based viewer at https://empd2.github.io and downloaded in a variety of file formats at https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.909130 (Chevalier et al., 2019)Swiss National Science Foundation | Ref. 200021_16959
The European Modern Pollen Database (EMPD) project
Modern pollen samples provide an invaluable research tool for helping to interpret the quaternary fossil pollen record, allowing investigation of the relationship between pollen as the proxy and the environmental parameters such as vegetation, land-use, and climate that the pollen proxy represents. The European Modern Pollen Database (EMPD) is a new initiative within the European Pollen Database (EPD) to establish a publicly accessible repository of modern (surface sample) pollen data. This new database will complement the EPD, which at present holds only fossil sedimentary pollen data. The EMPD is freely available online to the scientific community and currently has information on almost 5,000 pollen samples from throughout the Euro-Siberian and Mediterranean regions, contributed by over 40 individuals and research groups. Here we describe how the EMPD was constructed, the various tables and their fields, problems and errors, quality controls, and continuing efforts to improve the available data
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Testing the Effect of Relative Pollen Productivity on the REVEALS Model: A Validated Reconstruction of Europe-Wide Holocene Vegetation
Peer reviewed: TrueReliable quantitative vegetation reconstructions for Europe during the Holocene are crucial to improving our understanding of landscape dynamics, making it possible to assess the past effects of environmental variables and land-use change on ecosystems and biodiversity, and mitigating their effects in the future. We present here the most spatially extensive and temporally continuous pollen-based reconstructions of plant cover in Europe (at a spatial resolution of 1° Ă 1°) over the Holocene (last 11.7 ka BP) using the âRegional Estimates of VEgetation Abundance from Large Sitesâ (REVEALS) model. This study has three main aims. First, to present the most accurate and reliable generation of REVEALS reconstructions across Europe so far. This has been achieved by including a larger number of pollen records compared to former analyses, in particular from the Mediterranean area. Second, to discuss methodological issues in the quantification of past land cover by using alternative datasets of relative pollen productivities (RPPs), one of the key input parameters of REVEALS, to test model sensitivity. Finally, to validate our reconstructions with the global forest change dataset. The results suggest that the RPPs.st1 (31 taxa) dataset is best suited to producing regional vegetation cover estimates for Europe. These reconstructions offer a long-term perspective providing unique possibilities to explore spatial-temporal changes in past land cover and biodiversity.</jats:p
Recommended from our members
Testing the Effect of Relative Pollen Productivity on the REVEALS Model: A Validated Reconstruction of Europe-Wide Holocene Vegetation
Peer reviewed: TrueReliable quantitative vegetation reconstructions for Europe during the Holocene are crucial to improving our understanding of landscape dynamics, making it possible to assess the past effects of environmental variables and land-use change on ecosystems and biodiversity, and mitigating their effects in the future. We present here the most spatially extensive and temporally continuous pollen-based reconstructions of plant cover in Europe (at a spatial resolution of 1° Ă 1°) over the Holocene (last 11.7 ka BP) using the âRegional Estimates of VEgetation Abundance from Large Sitesâ (REVEALS) model. This study has three main aims. First, to present the most accurate and reliable generation of REVEALS reconstructions across Europe so far. This has been achieved by including a larger number of pollen records compared to former analyses, in particular from the Mediterranean area. Second, to discuss methodological issues in the quantification of past land cover by using alternative datasets of relative pollen productivities (RPPs), one of the key input parameters of REVEALS, to test model sensitivity. Finally, to validate our reconstructions with the global forest change dataset. The results suggest that the RPPs.st1 (31 taxa) dataset is best suited to producing regional vegetation cover estimates for Europe. These reconstructions offer a long-term perspective providing unique possibilities to explore spatial-temporal changes in past land cover and biodiversity.</jats:p