Carbon accumulation in a permafrost polygon peatland: steady long‐term rates in spite of shifts between dry and wet conditions

Ice‐wedge polygon peatlands contain a substantial part of the carbon stored in permafrost soils. However, little is known about their long‐term carbon accumulation rates (CAR) in relation to shifts in vegetation and climate. We collected four peat profiles from one single polygon in NE Yakutia and cut them into contiguous 0.5 cm slices. Pollen density interpolation between AMS ¹⁴C dated levels provided the time span contained in each of the sample slices, which – in combination with the volumetric carbon content – allowed for the reconstruction of CAR over decadal and centennial timescales. Vegetation representing dry palaeo‐ridges and wet depressions was reconstructed with detailed micro‐ and macrofossil analysis. We found repeated shifts between wet and dry conditions during the past millennium. Dry ridges with associated permafrost growth originated during phases of (relatively) warm summer temperature and collapsed during relatively cold phases, illustrating the important role of vegetation and peat as intermediaries between ambient air temperature and the permafrost. The average long‐term CAR across the four profiles was 10.6 ± 5.5 g C m^?2 yr^?1. Time‐weighted mean CAR did not differ significantly between wet depression and dry ridge/hummock phases (10.6 ± 5.2 g C m^?2 yr^?1 and 10.3 ± 5.7 g C m^?2 yr^?1, respectively). Although we observed increased CAR in relation to warm shifts, we also found changes in the opposite direction and the highest CAR actually occurred during the Little Ice Age. In fact, CAR rather seems to be governed by strong internal feedback mechanisms and has roughly remained stable on centennial time scales. The absence of significant differences in CAR between dry ridge and wet depression phases suggests that recent warming and associated expansion of shrubs will not affect long‐term rates of carbon burial in ice‐wedge polygon peatlands.     

Climate change enhances primary production in the western Antarctic Peninsula

Intense regional warming was observed in the western Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) over the last 50 years. Here, we investigate the impact of climate change on primary production (PP) in this highly productive region. This study is based on temporal data series of ozone thickness (1972–2010), sea ice concentration (1978–2010), sea‐surface temperature (1990–2010), incident irradiance (1988–2010) and satellite‐derived chlorophyll a concentration (Chl‐a, 1997–2010) for the coastal WAP. In addition, we apply a photosynthesis/photoinhibition spectral model to satellite‐derived data (1997–2010) to compute PP and examine the separate impacts of environmental forcings. Since 1978, sea ice retreat has been occurring earlier in the season (in March in 1978 and in late October during the 2000s) while the ozone hole is present in early spring (i.e. August to November) since the early 1990s, increasing the intensity of ultraviolet‐B radiation (UVBR, 280–320 nm). The WAP waters have also warmed over 1990–2010. The modelled PP rates are in the lower range of previously reported PP rates in the WAP. The annual open water PP in the study area increased from 1997 to 2010 (from 0.73 to 1.03 Tg C yr^?1) concomitantly with the increase in the production season length. The coincidence between the earlier sea ice retreat and the presence of the ozone hole increased the exposure to incoming radiation (UVBR, UVAR and PAR) and, thus, increased photoinhibition during austral spring (September to November) in the study area (from 0.014 to 0.025 Tg C yr^?1). This increase in photoinhibition was minor compared to the overall increase in PP, however. Climate change hence had an overall positive impact on PP in the WAP waters.     

冰雪灾害后木荷倒木萌枝光合特性研究

采用Li-6400型便携式光合测定仪,对冰雪灾害后夏季木荷倒木萌枝和未受损木荷枝条的叶片进行光合特性研究。结果表明:倒木萌枝和未受损木荷枝条的Pn、Tr和Gs日变化均呈双峰曲线,具有典型的光合"午休"现象,中午Pn降低均为气孔限制;未受损木荷Pn中午午休时间(10:00～15:00)长于倒木的午休时间(11:00～15:00),其自我保护能力强于倒木,且对光适应的生态辐较宽;环境因子对Pn的直接作用由大到小为倒木:PAR>Ca>Ta>RH,未受损木荷:Ta>PAR>Ca>RH。倒木和未受损木荷的RH与Pn分别呈极显著(P<0.01)和显著(P<0.05)负相关,高温高湿、高湿分别是制约倒木、未受损木荷Pn进一步升高的主要环境因子。     

冰灾后南岭五指山森林树种的受损与早期恢复

应用样带调查法,于2009年调查了2008年冰灾后南岭五指山森林优势种及保护树种的受损及恢复情况。在3条长2～7km、宽15m的样带调查区共记录了2832株胸径>2cm的树木,它们隶属于53科96属141种,其中2072株林木受到损伤,总受损率为73%,61%为轻度受损。灾后一年,约84%的个体能通过萌条恢复生长,但16%未出现萌条而死亡或濒临死亡。群落优势类群壳斗科、樟科、木兰科和金缕梅科优势种的受损率和萌条恢复率均较高。共记录了15种国家级保护树种,以广东松(Pinus kwangtungensis)和福建柏(Fokienia hodginsii)最为常见,除三尖杉(Cephalotaxus fortunei)和穗花杉(Amentotaxus argot-aenia)外,其余种类均有不同程度的受损,其中59%死亡或濒临死亡。此外,在43个具3株以下的小频度种中,25%的个体未见恢复而死亡。本研究结果揭示了2008年冰雪灾害对南岭五指山森林林木造成了严重的伤害,大多数树种具有较强的自然恢复能力,能以快速萌条方式进行恢复,但部分濒危珍稀植物和低密度种的死亡可能会改变原有群落的物种组成,进而影响未来群落的演替进程。     

Quaternary history of the European roe deer Capreolus capreolus

• 1 The European roe deer Capreolus capreolus is a typical faunal element of the Holocene. It was already present in Europe at least 600 000 years ago and it has been known from both glacial and interglacial phases since then. With nearly 3000 fossil and subfossil records, it is one of the most frequent mammals in the Late Quaternary.
• 2 During the Middle and Late Weichselian Pleniglacial, the distribution of the roe deer was not restricted to the Mediterranean peninsulas but repeatedly reached regions of central Europe. In contrast to that, roe deer records from the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM, 21.0–14.5 ka ¹⁴C BP) are largely confined to the Mediterranean peninsulas – with the exception of south‐western France and the surroundings of the Carpathians where several records attest to its occurrence during the LGM.
• 3 During the Greenland Interstadial 1 (12.5–10.8 ka ¹⁴C BP), the species' distribution extended further north and the roe deer appeared north of the Alps and reached regions of central Germany. This seems to be correlated with the abrupt change to more favourable environmental conditions during this period. It is very likely that the roe deer disappeared north of the Alps during the Younger Dryas cooling (10.8–10.0 ka¹⁴C BP). The northern regions of the central European lowlands were recolonized by roe deer during the late Preboreal 9.7–9.5 ka ¹⁴C BP for the first time since the Weichselian Glacial.
• 4 The combined pattern of genetic data and fossil records of European roe deer suggests several regions in the Iberian peninsula, southern France, Italy and the Balkans as well as in the Carpathians and/or eastern Europe as glacial refugia. It further suggests that C. capreolus might have recolonized most parts of central‐northern Europe out of one or more eastern European (not Balkan) and/or Carpathian refugia. This recolonization wave might have blocked immigration from the traditional Mediterranean areas.

     

Observations on the relationship between the Antarctic coastal diatoms Thalassiosira antarctica Comber and Porosira glacialis (Grunow) Jørgensen and sea ice concentrations during the late Quaternary

The available ecological and palaeoecological information for two sea ice-related marine diatoms (Bacillariophyceae), Thalassiosira antarctica Comber and Porosira glacialis (Grunow) Jørgensen, suggests that these two species have similar sea surface temperature (SST), sea surface salinity (SSS) and sea ice proximity preferences. From phytoplankton observations, both are described as summer or autumn bloom species, commonly found in low SST waters associated with sea ice, although rarely within the ice. Both species form resting spores (RS) as irradiance decreases, SST falls and SSS increases in response to freezing ice in autumn. Recent work analysing late Quaternary seasonally laminated diatom ooze from coastal Antarctic sites has revealed that sub-laminae dominated either by T. antarctica RS, or by P. glacialis RS, are nearly always deposited as the last sediment increment of the year, interpreted as representing autumn flux. In this study, we focus on sites from the East Antarctic margin and show that there is a spatial and temporal separation in whether T. antarctica RS or P. glacialis RS form the autumnal sub-laminae. For instance, in deglacial sediments from the Mertz Ninnis Trough (George V Coast) P. glacialis RS form the sub-laminae whereas in similar age sediments from Iceberg Alley (Mac.Robertson Shelf) T. antarctica RS dominate the autumn sub-lamina. In the Dumont d'Urville Trough (Adélie Land), mid-Holocene (Hypsithermal warm period) autumnal sub-laminae are dominated by T. antarctica RS whereas late Holocene (Neoglacial cool period) sub-laminae are dominated by P. glacialis RS. These observations from late Quaternary seasonally laminated sediments would appear to indicate that P. glacialis prefers slightly cooler ocean–climate conditions than T. antarctica. We test this relationship against two down-core Holocene quantitative diatom abundance records from Dumont d'Urville Trough and Svenner Channel (Princess Elizabeth Land) and compare the results with SST and sea ice concentration results of an Antarctic and Southern Ocean Holocene climate simulation that used a coupled atmosphere–sea ice–vegation model forced with orbital parameters and greenhouse gas concentrations. We find that abundance of P. glacialis RS is favoured by higher winter and spring sea ice concentrations and that a climatically-sensitive threshold exists between the abundance of P. glacialis RS and T. antarctica RS in the sediments. An increase to > 0.1 for the ratio of P. glacialis RS:T. antarctica RS indicates a change to increased winter sea ice concentration (to >80% concentration), cooler spring seasons with increased sea ice, slightly warmer autumn seasons with less sea ice and a change from ~ 7.5 months annual sea ice cover at a site to much greater than 7.5 months. In the East Antarctic sediment record, an increase in the ratio from <0.1 to above 0.1 occurs at the transition from the warmer Hypsithermal climate into the cooler Neoglacial climate (~ 4 cal kyr) indicating that the ratio between these two diatoms has the potential to be used as a semi-quantitative climate proxy.     

Sudden expansion of a single brown bear maternal lineage across northern continental Eurasia after the last ice age: a general demographic model for mammals?

The brown bear has proved a useful model for studying Late Quaternary mammalian phylogeography. However, information is lacking from northern continental Eurasia, which constitutes a large part of the species' current distribution. We analysed mitochondrial DNA sequences (totalling 1943 bp) from 205 bears from northeast Europe and Russia in order to characterize the maternal phylogeography of bears in this region. We also estimated the formation times of the sampled brown bear lineages and those of its extinct relative, the cave bear.
Four closely related haplogroups belonging to a single mitochondrial subclade were identified in northern continental Eurasia. Several haplotypes were found throughout the whole study area, while one haplogroup was restricted to Kamchatka. The haplotype network, estimated divergence times and various statistical tests indicated that bears in northern continental Eurasia recently underwent a sudden expansion, preceded by a severe bottleneck. This brown bear population was therefore most likely founded by a small number of bears that were restricted to a single refuge area during the last glacial maximum. This pattern has been described previously for other mammal species and as such may represent one general model for the phylogeography of Eurasian mammals. Bayesian divergence time estimates are presented for different brown and cave bear clades. Moreover, our results demonstrate the extent of substitution rate variation occurring throughout the phylogenetic tree, highlighting the need for appropriate calibration when estimating divergence times.     

Incubation scheduling by Northern Fulmars ( Fulmarus glacialis ) in the Canadian High Arctic

Northern Fulmars (Fulmarus glacialis) are a ubiquitous seabird of the North Atlantic and North Pacific oceans that breed in colonies surrounded by markedly different marine environmental conditions. I have studied the incubation behavior of fulmars at a remote colony in the Canadian High Arctic, where the birds had to cross 200 km of sea-ice during the early incubation period to reach feeding areas. These fulmars completed incubation in fewer shifts and had a longer mean incubation shift duration (5.3 days) than their counterparts breeding in the Boreal oceanographic zone. In particular, the mean duration of the first incubation shift by males in successful pairs (10.3 days) was 2 days longer than that for males in unsuccessful pairs and was longer than that reported at any other colony. This exceptionally long shift by the male may be required at this site to give females enough time to recoup energetic reserves after egg-laying, at a time when marine productivity in the Arctic is still seasonably low.