Holocene Climate and Environmental Changes in Western Subarctic Québec as Inferred from the Sedimentology and the Geomorphology of a Lake Watershed

Cayer, Donald; Bhiry, Najat

doi:10.1657/1938-4246.46.1.55

Cited by 6 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…The Neoglacial period (since c . 3.5 to 0.2 kyr bp ; Cayer & Bhiry, ; Viau & Gajewski, ), which was characterized by colder and wetter conditions than before, was considered less conductive to fires in North America (Gavin et al ., ). However, a gradual increase in fire frequency has been recorded in the western region since 2.0 kyr bp (Fig.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Wildfire size alters long‐term vegetation trajectories in boreal forests of eastern North America

Remy

Lavoie

Girardin

et al. 2017

Journal of Biogeography

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Aim Wildfire activity is projected to increase under global warming in many parts of the world. Knowledge of the role of these disturbances in shaping the composition of boreal forests is needed to better anticipate their future impacts. Here, we investigate the incidence of wildfire activity (burned biomass, frequency and size) on multi‐millennia vegetation trajectories in two coniferous boreal forest regions that display different types of vegetation composition and relief. We hypothesize that this difference in vegetation results from dissimilar wildfire activity during the Holocene. Location Conifer‐dominated boreal forests in Quebec‐Labrador, eastern North America. Methods Fire and vegetation histories during the last 8000 years were reconstructed and compared through analyses of charcoal and pollen records extracted from nine lacustrine deposits located in two spruce‐moss forests: the western region, co‐dominated by Pinus banksiana, and the eastern region, co‐dominated by Abies balsamea. Results Between 7000 and 2000 cal. yr bp, the western region experienced fewer fires than the eastern region, but they were larger in size. The main species adapted to fire, P. banksiana and Alnus viridis ssp. crispa, progressively co‐dominated with Picea sp.. Conversely, in the eastern region, P. banksiana and A. viridis ssp. crispa were very rare, and Picea sp. co‐dominated with non‐fire‐adapted A. balsamea and Betula sp.. Then, around 2000 cal. yr bp, fires decreased in frequency but were larger in size in the eastern region than in the western one, thus allowing densification of P. banksiana and A. viridis ssp. crispa in these landscapes. Main conclusions In the coniferous boreal forests of eastern North America, fire size was relatively more important in determining the long‐term vegetation trajectories in comparison with fire frequency. Changes in the rate of occurrence of large‐fire episodes will have significant impacts on vegetation dynamics over the next decades under continuing warming.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Wildfire size alters long‐term vegetation trajectories in boreal forests of eastern North America

Remy

Lavoie

Girardin

et al. 2017

Journal of Biogeography

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“…Lake surface area declines in glaciated regions may be influenced by greening that is occurring here. Additionally, numerous historic lake records demonstrate that warming coincides with an intensification of lake terrestrialization and infilling rates in glacially-formed lakes [50][51][52][53]. This could be happening in the glaciated lowlands in DENA where the last glacial maximum was 26,500-19,000 years ago [54], as well as in subsections not influenced by glacial activity.…”

Section: Glacial Lake Successionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Surface water area in a changing climate: Differential responses of Alaska’s subarctic lakes

Rupp

Larsen²

2022

PLOS Clim

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Lake surface area in arctic and sub-arctic Alaska is changing in response to permafrost deterioration, changes in precipitation, and shifts in landscape hydrology. In interior Alaska, the National Park Service’s Central Alaska Network Shallow Lakes program studies lakes and ponds in a wide range of geomorphological settings ranging from alpine lakes to low lying lakes on fluvial plains. The purpose of this study was to determine if and how lake area was changing across this diverse environment. Using the USGS Dynamic Surface Water Extent product, we tested landscape-scale trends in surface water area from 2000–2019 in 32 distinct ecological areas, or ecological subsections, within the three parks. Surface water area declined in 9 subsections, largely in glaciated landscapes with coarse substrates and areas underlain by ice-rich permafrost. Surface water increase was seen in one subsection in the floodplain of the Copper River in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. No net change was observed in many subsections, but individual lake analysis showed that within several ecological subsections some lakes were increasing in area while others decreased in area, masking changes in lake surface area within the subsection. Over the course of the study period, surface water area in all parks experienced similar fluctuations, likely due to oscillations in regional climate. Periods of high surface water area coincided with relatively warm, wet periods. Climate change models project increases in both temperature and precipitation in Alaska; our results suggest periods of regional wetting may mask longer-term declines in surface water area in some geomorphological settings. Overall, lake surface area declined over the study period; declines were greatest in the Glaciated Lowlands in Denali National Park and Preserve.

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“…Similar processes and spatial patterns occurred in areas affected by the 2 km thick Fennoscandian ice (Lambeck et al 1998), particularly in the Gulf of Bothnia, the Baltic Sea and the White Sea where present isostatic uplift is also rapid, about 0.8-0.9 m 100 year −1 (Ekman 1993;Ristaniemi et al 1997;Leppälä et al 2008;Serebryanaya and Shipunov 2009;Poutanen and Steffen 2014). The impact of land emergence is evidenced by the Holocene development of peatland and lake ecosystems (Klinger and Short 1996;Saulnier-Talbot and Pienitz 2001;Miousse et al 2003;Glaser et al 2004;Cayer and Bhiry 2014). Also, present expansion of coastal shrubs and trees along the Hudson Bay shorelines closely follows the rate of land uplift (Bégin et al 1993;Grégoire and Bégin 1993;Von Mörs and Bégin 1993;Laliberté and Payette 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Origin of the southernmost Arctic tundra of continental North America

2018

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The Arctic tundra extends beyond the treeline north of 58°N in eastern North America and north of 66°N in western North America and Eurasia. A marked exception to this distribution is the azonal tundra situated as far south as 54°30′–45′N, in the Pointe-Louis-XIV area (JABA), along the fast-rising coasts of James Bay–Hudson Bay. The unusual position of JABA calls into question the influence of climate as the main causal factor for its existence. Macrocharcoal remains extracted from tundra and forest soils were used along a 105 km transect to date the onset of the boreal environment based on past occurrence of conifer fires. Assuming crustal uplift 1.3 m 100 year−1 and 2.4 m 100 year−1 over and before the last 1000 years, and after correcting site elevation at the time the oldest conifer fires occurred, trees established along the coast before 4000 cal. BP. Given charcoal distribution suggesting boreal vegetation in sites ≤13 m a.s.l., JABA was created after 4000 cal. BP when the flat, elongated peninsula emerged above marine waters. It is concluded that JABA origin was most likely caused by the synergistic impact of geophysical factors, isostatic uplift and topography, on a coastal environment already influenced by cold, wind-exposed conditions.

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Holocene Climate and Environmental Changes in Western Subarctic Québec as Inferred from the Sedimentology and the Geomorphology of a Lake Watershed

Cited by 6 publications

References 21 publications

Wildfire size alters long‐term vegetation trajectories in boreal forests of eastern North America

Wildfire size alters long‐term vegetation trajectories in boreal forests of eastern North America

Surface water area in a changing climate: Differential responses of Alaska’s subarctic lakes

Origin of the southernmost Arctic tundra of continental North America

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