The Magellanic moorland

Arroyo, Mary T. K.; Mihoc, Maritza; Arroyo-Kalin, M

doi:10.1017/cbo9780511542091.013

Cited by 6 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 18 publications

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“…), rushes (Marsippospermum grandiflorum), and a few shrubs. Peat bogs today thus occur within a narrow band of land located along the lee side of the Andes (Figure 1), where mean annual temperature is around 5 • C (Loisel and Yu, 2013a), the temperature seasonality (difference between the warmest and coldest months) is around 10 • C (Loisel and Yu, 2013a), and frost is rare (Schneider et al, 2003;Arroyo et al, 2005). These peat bogs are embedded within the deciduous and evergreen forests of southern Patagonia; the bogs are rainfed and are typically found in valley bottoms atop lacustrine sediments or marine clays and silts (Bentley and McCulloch, 2005;Rabassa et al, 2006).…”

Section: Study Regionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Abrupt Fen-Bog Transition Across Southern Patagonia: Timing, Causes, and Impacts on Carbon Sequestration

Loisel

Bunsen

2020

Front. Ecol. Evol.

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Fens and bogs are distinct in terms of their biogeochemistry, water table behavior, and net peat-accumulation regimes. While most peatlands start developing as fens, a large fraction of them eventually shift to bogs in a step-like ecosystem shift. This transition has traditionally been assumed to be primarily controlled by the ecosystem itself (autogenic control). Here we use 90 peat profiles from southernmost South America (SSA) as a case study that illustrates a synchronous, regional-scale shift from fen to bog around 4200 years ago. In light of these results, we propose and discuss conceptual models that link environmental change (allogenic control) as a trigger to the fen-bog transition (FBT). In addition, our stratigraphic analyses show that Sphagnum deposits are associated with greater peat masses, larger soil-carbon stocks, and higher rates of peat-carbon accumulation than their non-Sphagnum counterparts, with Sphagnum bogs being characterized by soil-carbon densities over twice that of non-Sphagnum peatlands (medians = 141 vs. 56 kgC/m 2). Since fens and bogs also behave differently in terms of their carbon exchanges with the atmosphere, a better appraisal of the processes involved in the FBT could help elucidate the role of this critical ecosystem shift in the past and future global carbon cycle.

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