Classification of fens near southern James Bay, Ontario, using vegetational physiognomy

Abstract

On the basis of vegetational physiognomy, 47 sites within 1 to 43 km of the southern James Bay coast were classified in the field into four fen types: graminoid, low shrub, graminoid-rich treed, and sphagnum-rich treed. The four types are directly related to differences in vegetational cover and in soil and water parameters, specifically depth to water level, peat thickness, selected groundwater nutrients, and distance from the coast. Detrended correspondence analysis was used to ordinate the vegetational cover of the fen sites. No one or two of the 16 soil and water parameters obtained in this study could be used to discriminate conclusively among fen types. Linear discriminant function (LDF) analysis, however, indicated that the better discriminators were pH, peat thickness, SO4−, K+, and depth to water level. When all water and soil parameters were used, regrouping by LDF analysis into the four a priori groups was achieved with 78% accuracy. Canonical analysis also showed separations when soil and water parameters for sites were plotted in two dimensions. Because of isostatic rebound, distance from the coast represents a temporal as well as a spatial gradient. Peat depth in the fens increases with distance from the coast, at a mean rate of 4.7 cm for each kilometre inland. Na+ plus Cl− in the groundwater of the fens decreases asymptotically with increasing distance from the coast.

The wetlands of Elk Island National Park: Vegetation classification, water chemistry, and hydrotopographic relationships

“…This group conforms most closely to Jeglum's (1972) tamarack swamp category and Sims et al (1982) Sphagnum-rich treed fens in James Bay, Ontario.…”

“…They resemble Sphagnum-rich treed fens described by Sims et aL (1982) and Carex aquatilis-Chamaedaphne-Sphagnum meadows described by Ovenden and Brassard (1989) in the Yukon.…”

“…Moderate-rich fens at Elk Island have lower pH, specific conductivity and cation concentrations than macrotrophic and rich fens found elsewhere in Alberta (Zoltai and Johnson 1987, Rochefort 1987, Vitt and Chee 1990, Table 3). They are comparable to moderate-rich fens (Vitt and Chee 1990), mesotrophic fens (Zoltai and Johnson 1987), water tracks (Nicholson 1987), graminoid fens (Sims et al 1982), and low shrub fens (Sims et al 1982) in pH and corrected specific conductivity. The poor fens at Elk Island have lower pH values compared to similar wetlands published in the literature (Table 3); however, specific conductivity is higher.…”

The relationships of vegetation to surface water chemistry and peat chemistry in fens of Alberta, Canada

“…The correlation between vegetation and element content in mire waters has been well studied in both Europe and North America (Kivinen 1935;Witting 1949;Du Rietz 1949;SjOrs 1952SjOrs , 1959SjOrs , 1961a1963;Gorham 1956;Ritchie 1957;Henoch 1960;Jeglum 1971Jeglum , 1972Vitt et al 1975;Horton et al 1979;Slack et al 1980;Sims et al 1982;Karlin & Bliss 1984). The poor rich vegetation gradient (Du Rietz 1949) in peatlands is defined by the low number of characteristic species present in Sphagnum dominated peatlands relative to the high number of characteristic species found in brown moss dominated peatlands.…”

A multivariate approach to vegetation mapping of Manitoba's Hudson Bay Lowlands

“…The area is a at, extensive coastal plain that forms a broad transition zone between continuous boreal forest to the south and arctic tundra to the north. Plant communities of the Hudson Bay Lowlands include coastal salt marshes, upland heaths and extensive fen and bog complexes of highly variable tree cover intermixed with vast numbers of ponds and lakes (Ritchie 1956, Sims et al 1982, Pala and Weischet 1982. Vegetational variation follows a spatio-tempora l gradient inland from the coast, re ecting ongoing isostatic emergence of the area from Hudson Bay (Ritchie 1962, Webber et al 1970.…”