Cyclic development of permafrost in the peatlands of Northwestern Alberta, Canada

Journal Article · Sun Aug 01 00:00:00 EDT 1993 · Arctic and Alpine Research (Boulder, Colorado); (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2307/1551820· OSTI ID:5771464

Zoltai, S C ^[1]

---

1. Northern Forestry Centre, Edmonton, Alberta (Canada)

Vegetation in thermally subsided peatlands (collapse scars) grades from the wettest part near the collapsing peat bank with Sphagnum riparium to successively drier conditions with S. angustifolium and S. fuscum until the peat plateau surface is reached, covered with Picea mariana-lichen woodlands. The same sequence can be found in the peat stratigraphy, where the charred surface of the treed peat plateaus (sylvic peat) is overlain by a sequence of Sphagnum riparium, S. angustifolium, and S. fuscum, capped by sylvic peat. Often several such sequences occur in the peat stratigraphy, indicating periodic permafrost degradation, triggered by fires, and regeneration. Radiocarbon dates show that such cycles can be as short as 600 yr. The earliest incidence of permafrost in the study area was dated at 3700 yr BP, indicating the end of the mid-Holocene warm period and the onset of the current climatic regime. 19 refs., 5 figs., 1 tab.

• OSTI ID: 5771464
• Journal Information: Arctic and Alpine Research (Boulder, Colorado); (United States), Vol. 25:3; ISSN 0004-0851
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
ALBERTA
PERMAFROST
CLIMATIC CHANGE
BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS
ECOLOGICAL SUCCESSION
FLUCTUATIONS
PEAT
STRATIGRAPHY
BRYOPHYTA
CANADA
CARBON 14
ECOSYSTEMS
FIRES
PALEOCLIMATOLOGY
PLANTS
QUATERNARY PERIOD
REGENERATION
SPRUCES
BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA-MINUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
CARBON ISOTOPES
CENOZOIC ERA
CONIFERS
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
ENERGY SOURCES
EVEN-EVEN NUCLEI
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
GEOLOGIC AGES
GEOLOGY
ISOTOPES
LIGHT NUCLEI
MATTER
NORTH AMERICA
NUCLEI
ORGANIC MATTER
PALEONTOLOGY
PINOPHYTA
RADIOISOTOPES
TREES
VARIATIONS
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
560400* - Other Environmental Pollutant Effects
540120 - Environment
Atmospheric- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport- (1990-)