Widespread drying of European peatlands in recent centuries
Authors:Swindles, Graeme T.Morris, Paul J.Mullan, Donal J.Payne, Richard J.Roland, Thomas P.Amesbury, Matthew J.Lamentowicz, MariuszTurner, T. EdwardGallego-Sala, AngelaSim, ThomasBarr, Iestyn D.Blaauw, MaartenBlundell, AntonyChambers, Frank M.Charman, Dan J.Feurdean, AngelicaGalloway, Jennifer M.Galka, MariuszGreen, Sophie M.Kajukalo, KatarzynaKarofeld, EdgarKorhola, AtteLamentowicz, LukaszLangdon, PeterMarcisz, KatarzynaMauquoy, DmitriMazei, Yuri A.McKeown, Michelle M.Mitchell, Edward A. D.Novenko, ElenaPlunkett, GillRoe, Helen M.Schoning, KristianSillasoo, UlleTsyganov, Andrey N.van der Linden, MarjoleinValiranta, MinnaWarner, Barry
Source:NATURE GEOSCIENCE
Volume:12
Published:2019
Document Type:Article
Abstract:Climate warming and human impacts are thought to be causing peatlands to dry, potentially converting them from sinks to sources of carbon. However, it is unclear whether the hydrological status of peatlands has moved beyond their natural envelope. Here we show that European peatlands have undergone substantial, widespread drying during the last similar to 300 years. We analyse testate amoeba-derived hydrological reconstructions from 31 peatlands across Britain, Ireland, Scandinavia and Continental Europe to examine changes in peatland surface wetness during the last 2,000 years. We find that 60% of our study sites were drier during the period 1800-2000 (CE) than they have been for the last 600 years, 40% of sites were drier than they have been for 1,000 years and 24% of sites were drier than they have been for 2,000 years. This marked recent transition in the hydrology of European peatlands is concurrent with compound pressures including climatic drying, warming and direct human impacts on peatlands, although these factors vary among regions and individual sites. Our results suggest that the wetness of many European peatlands may now be moving away from natural baselines. Our findings highlight the need for effective management and restoration of European peatlands.
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Reprint Address:Swindles, GT (corresponding author), Univ Leeds, Sch Geog, Leeds, W Yorkshire, England.; Swindles, GT (corresponding author), Queens Univ Belfast, Sch Nat & Built Environm, Belfast, Antrim, North Ireland.; Swindles, GT (corresponding author), Carleton Univ, Ottawa Carleton Geosci Ctr, Ottawa, ON, Canada.; Swindles, GT (corresponding author), Carleton Univ, Dept Earth Sci, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
Addresses:[Swindles, Graeme T.; Morris, Paul J.; Turner, T. Edward; Sim, Thomas; Blundell, Antony] Univ Leeds, Sch Geog, Leeds, W Yorkshire, England. [Swindles, Graeme T.; Mullan, Donal J.; Blaauw, Maarten; Plunkett, Gill; Roe, Helen M.] Queens Univ Belfast, Sch Nat & Built Environm, Belfast, Antrim, North Ireland. [Swindles, Graeme T.] Carleton Univ, Ottawa Carleton Geosci Ctr, Ottawa, ON, Canada. [Swindles, Graeme T.] Carleton Univ, Dept Earth Sci, Ottawa, ON, Canada. [Payne, Richard J.] Univ York, Dept Environm & Geog, York, N Yorkshire, England. [Roland, Thomas P.; Amesbury, Matthew J.; Gallego-Sala, Angela; Charman, Dan J.; Green, Sophie M.] Univ Exeter, Geog, Coll Life & Environm Sci, Exeter, Devon, England. [Amesbury, Matthew J.; Korhola, Atte; Valiranta, Minna] Univ Helsinki, Environm Change Res Unit, Fac Biol & Environm Sci, Helsinki, Finland. [Lamentowicz, Mariusz; Kajukalo, Katarzyna; Lamentowicz, Lukasz; Marcisz, Katarzyna] Adam Mickiewicz Univ, Fac Geog & Geol Sci, Lab Wetland Ecol & Monitoring, Poznan, Poland. [Barr, Iestyn D.] Manchester Metropolitan Univ, Sch Sci & Environm, Manchester, Lancs, England. [Chambers, Frank M.] Univ Gloucestershire, Sch Nat & Social Sci, Ctr Environm Change & Quaternary Res, Cheltenham, Glos, England. [Feurdean, Angelica] Senckenberg Gesell Nat Forsch, Biodivers & Climate Res Ctr, Frankfurt, Germany. [Feurdean, Angelica] Babes Bolyai Univ, Dept Geol, Cluj Napoca, Romania. [Galloway, Jennifer M.] Aarhus Univ, Aarhus Inst Adv Studies, Aarhus, Denmark. [Galloway, Jennifer M.] Geol Survey Canada, Commiss Geol Canada, Calgary, AB, Canada. [Galka, Mariusz] Univ Lodz, Fac Biol & Environm Protect, Dept Geobot & Plant Ecol, Lodz, Poland. [Karofeld, Edgar] Univ Tartu, Inst Ecol & Earth Sci, Tartu, Estonia. [Langdon, Peter] Univ Southampton, Sch Geog & Environm Sci, Southampton, Hants, England. [Mauquoy, Dmitri] Univ Aberdeen, Sch Geosci, Aberdeen, Scotland. [Mazei, Yuri A.; Tsyganov, Andrey N.] Lomonosov Moscow State Univ, Dept Gen Ecol & Hydrobiol, Moscow, Russia. [McKeown, Michelle M.] Manaaki Whenua Landcare Res, Lincoln, New Zealand. [Mitchell, Edward A. D.] Univ Neuchatel, Lab Soil Biodivers, Inst Biol, Neuchatel, Switzerland. [Mitchell, Edward A. D.] Jardin Bot Neuchatel, Neuchatel, Switzerland. [Novenko, Elena] Lomonosov Moscow State Univ, Dept Phys Geog & Landscape Sci, Moscow, Russia. [Novenko, Elena] Russian Acad Sci, Inst Geog, Moscow, Russia. [Schoning, Kristian] Geol Survey Sweden, Uppsala, Sweden. [Sillasoo, Ulle] Vaida Elementary Sch, Vaida, Estonia. [Tsyganov, Andrey N.] Penza State Univ, Dept Zool & Ecol, Penza, Russia. [van der Linden, Marjolein] BIAX Consult, Zaandam, Netherlands. [Warner, Barry] Univ Waterloo, Dept Earth & Environm Sci, Waterloo, ON, Canada.
E-mail Addresses:g.t.swindles@leeds.ac.uk