Groundwater connectivity controls peat burn severity in the boreal plains
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Authors
Colleges, School and Institutes
External organisations
- University of Alberta
- McMaster University
- Department of Geography and Environmental Management, University of Waterloo
Abstract
Wildfire is the largest disturbance affecting peatland ecosystems and can typically result in the combustion of 2-3kgCm-2 of near-surface peat. We hypothesized that organic soil burn severity, as well as the associated carbon emissions, varies significantly as a function of hydrogeological setting due to groundwater impacts on peat bulk density and moisture content. We measured depth of burn (DOB) in three peatlands located along a hydrogeological and topographic gradient in Alberta's Boreal Plains. Peatland margins across all hydrogeological settings burned significantly deeper (0.245±0.018m) than peatland middles (0.057±0.002m). Further, hydrogeological setting strongly impacted DOB. A bog with an ephemeral groundwater connection in a coarse-textured glaciofluvial outwash experienced the greatest DOB at its margins (0.514±0.018m) due to large water table fluctuations, while a low-lying oligotrophic groundwater flow-through bog in a coarse-textured glaciofluvial outwash experienced limited water table fluctuations and had the lowest margin burn severity (0.072±0.002m). In an expansive peatland in a lacustrine clay plain, DOB at the margins bordering an isolated domed bog portion (0.186±0.003m, range: 0.0-0.748m) was considerably greater than the DOB observed at fen margins with a longer groundwater flow path (
Details
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 574-584 |
Journal | Ecohydrology |
Volume | 9 |
Issue number | 4 |
Early online date | 19 Jun 2015 |
Publication status | Published - 6 Jun 2016 |
Keywords
- Boreal, Carbon, Groundwater, Organic soil, Peatland, Smouldering, Wildfire