Development of peatlands in northern Minnesota. Final report
Boreal peatlands are widely distributed across northern Minnesota, where they cover more than 20% of the regional landscape. A regional survey of these peatlands reveals a remarkable degree of uniformity among the vegetation assemblages and an exceptionally close relationship among the vegetation, water chemistry, water level, and presumed hydrology. These relationships are best integrated by the striking landform patterns that, from the air, resemble fluvial landforms such as islands, rivers, and ripple marks. The patterns instead indicate a sensitive adjustment of peat growth to local hydrology and water quality, making the landform patterns an exceptionally important tool for discerning the potential directions and controls on peatland development. A detailed investigation of the Red Lake peatland was undertaken to test a hypothesis on landform development based on an analysis of variations in the present-day landforms, vegetation, water chemistry, and inferred direction of water movement. The peat stratigraphy, based largely on an analysis of fossil bryophytes, indicates that the west-central watershed at Red Lake was overrum by an ombrotrophic bog forest approximately 2000 years ago, but that the forest was subsequently replaced by non-forested Sphagnum communities similar to the vegetation in the present-day bog drains and Sphagnum lawns. These results agree with the initial hypothesis. The stratigraphy indicates that the forested bog islands have expanded over the last 400 years, which indicates a more sensitive adjustment of the patterns to hydrological variations than predicted by the hypothesis. These results may be applicable to a much wider area because of the broad regional uniformity of the peatland patterns. 57 references, 14 figures, 6 tables.
- Research Organization:
- Minnesota Univ., Minneapolis (USA)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC02-80EV10414
- OSTI ID:
- 6200751
- Report Number(s):
- DOE/EV/10414-1; ON: DE85006298
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: Portions are illegible in microfiche products
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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COAL DEPOSITS
HYDROLOGY
STRATIGRAPHY
MINNESOTA
PEAT
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WATER QUALITY
ENERGY SOURCES
ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
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FOSSIL FUELS
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GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
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NORTH AMERICA
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011000* - Coal
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