RECONSTRUCTION OF MILLENNIAL FOREST DYNAMICS FROM TREE REMAINS IN A SUBARCTIC TREE LINE PEATLAND
1997; Wiley; Volume: 78; Issue: 6 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1890/0012-9658(1997)078[1873
ISSN1939-9170
AutoresDominique Arseneault, Serge Payette,
Tópico(s)Fire effects on ecosystems
ResumoEcologyVolume 78, Issue 6 p. 1873-1883 Article RECONSTRUCTION OF MILLENNIAL FOREST DYNAMICS FROM TREE REMAINS IN A SUBARCTIC TREE LINE PEATLAND Dominique Arseneault, Dominique Arseneault Centre d'études nordiques, Université Laval, Sainte-Foy, Québec Canada G1K 7P4 Present address:Département de biologie, Université du Québec à Rimouski, Rimouski, Québec, Canada G5L 3A1.Search for more papers by this authorSerge Payette, Serge Payette Centre d'études nordiques, Université Laval, Sainte-Foy, Québec Canada G1K 7P4Search for more papers by this author Dominique Arseneault, Dominique Arseneault Centre d'études nordiques, Université Laval, Sainte-Foy, Québec Canada G1K 7P4 Present address:Département de biologie, Université du Québec à Rimouski, Rimouski, Québec, Canada G5L 3A1.Search for more papers by this authorSerge Payette, Serge Payette Centre d'études nordiques, Université Laval, Sainte-Foy, Québec Canada G1K 7P4Search for more papers by this author First published: 01 September 1997 https://doi.org/10.1890/0012-9658(1997)078[1873:ROMFDF]2.0.CO;2Citations: 51 Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onEmailFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat Abstract Tree ring and growth form sequences of 319 black spruce (Picea mariana [Mill.] BSP.) stems buried in a treeless peatland at the arctic tree line of northern Québec were used to reconstruct the development of a woodland in response to climate change and fires during the last 2500 years. A high frequency of diagnostic tree rings (light rings and narrow rings) allowed the cross-dating of 142 individuals and the construction of a master chronology spanning AD 690–1591. Three floating chronologies covering 964 (≈178 BC–AD 785), 349 (≈587–239 BC) and 210 (≈1274–1065 BC) years were also developed. The buried stems were classified as arborescent (75%), small fragments of unknown origin (13%), stumps (11%), and portions of stunted stems (1%). The high frequency of arborescent individuals indicates that the buried spruces were the remains of a former forest. The forest bordered the peatland between 600 BC and AD 1568, and successfully regenerated after two fires around 350 BC and 10 BC. Winter-damaged trees dominated during periods of suppressed growth at AD 760–860 and AD 1025–1400, whereas undamaged trees were more frequent during periods of rapid growth around AD 700–750, 860–1000, 1400–1450, and 1500–1570. Fast growth between AD 860–1000, along with the concurrent establishment of symmetrical trees, suggests well-defined boundaries for the Medieval Warm Period in northeastern Canada. The forest abruptly shifted to an open krummholz (stunted spruce) after the last fire in AD 1568, indicating that a climatic threshold inhibiting postfire regeneration was crossed between the second and the last fires. The maintenance of this old growth forest over 1500 yr, in the absence of external disturbances except climate change, was probably due to the buffering effect of aggregated trees on wind-drifted conditions at the snowpack line. 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