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Abstract: Peatlands of continental western Canada (Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba) cover 365 157 km2 and
store 48.0 Pg of carbon representing 2.1% of the world’s terrestrial carbon within 0.25% of the global landbase. Only a
small amount, 0.10 Pg (0.2%) of this carbon, is currently stored in the above-ground biomass. Carbon storage in
peatlands has changed significantly since deglaciation. Peatlands began to accumulate carbon around 9000 years ago in
this region, after an initial deglacial lag. Carbon accumulation was climatically limited throughout much of continental
western Canada by early Holocene maximum insolation. After 6000 BP, carbon accumulation increased significantly,
with about half of current stores being reached by 4000 BP. Around 3000 BP carbon accumulation in continental west-
ern Canada began to slow as permafrost developed throughout the subarctic and boreal region and the current southern
limit of peatlands was reached. Peatlands in continental western Canada continue to increase their total carbon storage
today by 19.4 g m–2 year–1, indicating that regionally this ecosystem remains a large carbon sink.
Résumé : Les tourbières de l’Ouest continental canadien (Alberta, Saskatchewan et Manitoba) couvrent plus de
365 157 km2 et contiennent 48,0 Pg de carbone, ce qui représente 2,1 % du carbone terrestre dans 0,25 % du territoire
terrestre. Seulement une petite quantité, soit 0,10 Pg (0,2 %) de ce carbone, est présentement entreposée dans la bio-
masse de surface. L’entreposage du carbone dans les tourbières a grandement changé depuis la déglaciation. Les tour-
bières ont commencé à accumuler du carbone dans cette région il y a environ 9000 ans, après un premier retard de
déglaciation. L’accumulation de carbone a été limitée par le climat à travers une grande partie de l’Ouest continental
canadien par une insolation maximum à l’Holocène précoce. Après 6000 Av. Pr., l’accumulation de carbone a aug-
menté de façon significative; environ la moitié des réserves présentes a été atteinte vers 4000 Av. Pr. L’accumulation de
carbone dans l’Ouest continental canadien a commencé à ralentir vers 3000 Av. Pr. lorsque le pergélisol s’est déve-
loppé dans les régions boréales et subarctiques et que la limite sud actuelle des tourbières a été atteinte. Les tourbières
de l’Ouest continental canadien augmentent continuellement leur entreposage total de carbone de 19,4 g m–2a–1, indi-
quant ainsi que cet écosystème demeure une grande trappe de carbone.
some combination of Sphagnum, lichens, and feather mosses trees, shrubs, and herbs) and (2) surface and below-ground
(Belland and Vitt 1995). Unlike domed bogs found in tem- storage (including living ground layer (nonvascular plants),
perate and oceanic areas, continental bogs are relatively flat below-ground living root biomass (vascular plants), and
across their surfaces (National Wetlands Working Group dead groundlayer (peat) located in the acrotelm and
1988). Permafrost is an important component of northern catotelm). Carbon storage is examined both spatially and
peatlands and is restricted almost exclusively to bogs within temporally in 1000 year time slices throughout the Holo-
the boreal forest (Vitt et al. 1994). Water table depths are cene.
variable in peatlands, generally in the range of 10 cm above
to 40 cm below the surface for fens (cf. Gignac et al. 1991; Methods
Nicholson et al. 1997), while bogs are drier as a whole, with
water tables 40–60 cm below the surface for nonpermafrost Determination of current and past carbon storage in
bogs, and approximately 100 cm below the surface for per- peatlands of continental western Canada requires eight types
mafrost bogs (Belland and Vitt 1995). Thus bogs have a rel- of data, each derived from different sources:
atively thick, upper aerobic zone (acrotelm), while in fens (1) Inventory of current peatland distribution by peatland
the acrotelm is shallower; despite the differences, decompo- type.
sition in both bogs and fens remains less than production. (2) Estimates of current maximum depth distributions.
Peatland distributions have been spatially and temporally (3) Calculation of surface and below-ground storage vol-
variable throughout the Holocene, developing after an initial ume by peatland type using area and maximum depth ad-
deglacial lag (Halsey et al. 1998). The initiation of peat ac- justed by basin topography.
cumulation is related to stabilization of seasonal water levels (4) Carbon content of organic matter in peat.
and restriction of water flow through a wetland (Zoltai and (5) Profiles of organic matter density distinguished by
Vitt 1990) and, in conjunction with leaching of soluble salts peatland type.
from the mineral substrate, allows the establishment and de- (6) Above-ground carbon content of biomass by peatland
velopment of a moss layer in hydrologically conducive areas type on a mass–area basis.
(Vitt et al. 1993). Thus, climate and geology are important (7) Temporal patterns of peatland initiation and expan-
factors controlling peatland distribution in both space and sion.
time (Halsey et al. 1998). The stabilization of regional water (8) Long-term catotelm decomposition.
tables appears to have been an important component in the
successional change from prairie marshes to boreal fens in Current peatland distribution
the western interior of Canada over the past 10 000 years Peatlands and peatland complexes across continental
(Zoltai and Vitt 1990). western Canada were inventoried by type from 1 : 40 000 to
Successional patterns through time have been docu- 1 : 60 000 aerial photographs following the classification of
mented; bogs can succeed fens (though not all fens become Halsey and Vitt (1997), and the data were transferred to
bogs) with the increased importance of Sphagnum causing a 1 : 250 000 base maps. Peatland types were distinguished on
fundamental change in the functioning of these peatland the basis of hydrology: bog versus fen; permafrost: presence
ecosystems, leading to acidification and oligotrophication or absence; patterning: presence or absence; and forest
(Vitt and Kuhry 1992). Permafrost development occurred in cover: wooded, shrubby, or open. At the scale of mapping
the later part of the Holocene, around 3000 to 4000 BP, used, individual peatlands were rarely identified, with most
within the subarctic and boreal forest of western Canada, polygons composed of peatland complexes and the compo-
once Sphagnum accumulation had become significant and nents identified to the nearest 10% cover. Peatland dis-
threshold climatic conditions were established (Zoltai 1995). tributions were determined from the 1 : 250 000 base maps
While net primary production appears to be similar at a through digitizing onto provincial base maps. Areal extents
regional scale in all boreal peatland types (Campbell et al. were calculated in ARC/INFO for 0.25° latitude and 0.5°
2000), decomposition rates differ, and result in variable car- longitude grids by peatland type. Published summaries have
bon accumulation potentials in the acrotelm of a peatland been completed for Alberta (Vitt et al. 1996) and Manitoba
(Thormann et al. 1999). Permafrost bogs have extremely low (Halsey et al. 1997), while summary data for Saskatchewan
carbon accumulation potentials in the acrotelm at the cen- are available from the authors.
tury scale due to the relatively high frequency of fires on dry
peatland surfaces, resulting in near-surface samples with Current maximum depth distribution
nonrecent radiocarbon dates (cf. Zoltai 1993). Carbon accu- Maximum depth values for 818 peatland sites in continen-
mulation potentials at a yearly scale, though probably highly tal western Canada were compiled from several sources
variable, are unknown for permafrost bogs, while for (Bannatynne 1980; Zoltai et al. 2000; Vitt published and un-
nonpermafrost bogs and brown moss peatlands, first year published data) and contoured through gridding in
mass loss estimates range from 14% to 25–61%, respec- MacGridzo for 0.25° latitude and 0.5° longitude grid cells,
tively, (Thormann et al. 1999). The decomposition of peat in with extrapolation in areas with no data along the northeast-
the deeper anaerobic zone (catotelm) has been approximated ern margin of Manitoba (Rockware Inc. 1991).
by a simple exponential decay model (Clymo 1984).
This paper examines how carbon is stored in peatlands Peatland volume
within the boreal and subarctic landscape in continental Below-ground peatland volumes were calculated for 0.25°
western Canada. Storage is partitioned into two components: latitude and 0.5° longitude grids by multiplying maximum
(1) above-ground storage (including aerial components of depth and peatland type areas (maximum volume), adjusted
Fig. 1. Contoured current distribution of peatlands. Contour intervals are in 10% increments of total land surface.
Fig. 2. Contoured maximum depth values for peatlands of continental western Canada. Contour interval is 50 cm.
Table 1. Distribution of peatlands in continental western Canada (Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba) in square kilometres.
High Mid Aspen Parkland % %
Peatland type Arctic Subarctic Montane Boreal Boreal and Interlake Total total area
Permafrost bogs 24 66 159 0 35 749 1 112 0 103 044 28.2 5.9
Nonpermafrost bogs 0 1 749 0 20 884 6 513 1 812 30 958 8.5 1.7
Treed fens 0 10 324 56 68 194 16 698 6 182 101 454 27.8 5.8
Shrubby fens 51 2 986 21 13 638 4 287 3 362 24 345 6.7 1.4
Open nonpatterned fens 202 30 190 26 25 327 10 496 5 724 71 965 19.7 4.1
Open patterned fens 0 4 156 26 15 768 11 445 1 996 33 391 9.1 1.9
Total 277 115 564 129 179 560 50 551 19 076 365 157 100.0 20.8
% 0.1 31.7 0.1 49.2 13.7 5.2 100.0
Note: Regions follow those defined by the Ecological Stratification Working Group (1995).
Table 2. Effects model significance levels of all variables. Fig. 3. Mean organic matter density for different peatland types
Source F value Pr > F obtained from 475 whole cores from across continental western
Canada. Error bars represent the standard deviation of the mean.
Ecoregion 3.12 0.0090** Student–Newman–Keuls post test identified three groupings A, B,
Depth interval 3.06 0.0006** and C of which two are statistically distinguishable with means of
Peatland type 6.14 0.0001** 0.105 g@cm3 representing wooded and shrubby fens (A) and 0.094
Ecoregion*depth interval 1.84 0.0051** g@cm3 for open fens and permafrost and nonpermafrost bogs (C).
Depth interval*peatland type 0.61 0.8605
Ecoregion*peatland type 0.72 0.8690
Ecoregion*depth interval*peatland type 0.69 0.8928
**
Independent variables that are significant at the 95% level.
Fig. 4. Contoured current carbon storage in the surface and below-ground component of peatlands across continental western Canada.
Contour interval is 20 kg@m2.
Fig. 5. Contoured current carbon storage of above-ground vascular plant biomass in peatlands of continental western Canada. Contour
interval is 50 g@m2.
Biomass per unit area, followed by shrubby, and open fens. Of the
Above-ground vascular plant biomass by peatland type for wooded peatlands, bogs have the highest above-ground bio-
continental western Canadian peatlands is presented in Ta- mass. Carbon contents, coupled with pooled, mean biomass
ble 4. Wooded peatlands have the highest amount of biomass numbers by peatland type, and area of peatlands results in
© 2000 NRC Canada
Vitt et al. 689
Table 3. Distribution of carbon in peatlands of continental western Canada (Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba) in grams.
Aspen Parkland
Peatland type Arctic Subarctic Montane High Boreal Mid Boreal and Interlake Total %
Permafrost bogs 1.77 × 1012 8.34 × 1015 0 4.17 × 1015 1.44 × 1014 0 1.27 × 1016 26.5
Nonpermafrost bogs 0 2.96 × 1014 0 2.84 × 1015 8.05 × 1014 2.01 × 1014 4.14 × 1015 8.6
Treed fens 0 1.36 × 1015 3.78 × 1012 9.72 × 1015 2.25 × 1015 7.47 × 1014 1.41 × 1016 29.4
12
Shrubby fens 3.95 × 10 4.04 × 1014 1.40 × 1012 1.77 × 1015 3.89 × 1014 2.65 × 1014 2.83 × 1015 5.9
Open nonpatterned fens 1.59 × 1013 4.09 × 1015 1.71 × 1012 3.23 × 1015 9.55 × 1014 4.51 × 1014 8.74 × 1015 18.3
Open patterned fens 0 7.09 × 1014 1.83 × 1012 2.63 × 1015 1.59 × 1015 4.48 × 1014 5.38 × 1015 11.2
Total 2.16 × 1013 1.52 × 1016 8.72 × 1012 2.44 × 1016 6.13 × 1015 2.11 × 1015 4.79 × 1016 100
% 0.1 31.7 0.0 50.9 12.8 4.4 100
Note: Regions follow those defined by the Ecological Stratification Working Group (1995).
Table 4. Total above-ground biomass for all continental western Canadian peatland sites.
Above-ground Pooled mean above-
Site biomass (g m–2) Reference ground biomass (g m–2)
Wooded bogs
Nonpermafrost bog 901.3 Reader and Stewart 1972 662 775
Nonpermafrost bog 423.3 Reader and Stewart 1972
Nonpermafrost bog (1991A) 823.2a Szumigalski 1995 887
Nonpermafrost bog (1992A) 854.8 Szumigalski 1995
Nonpermafrost bog (1994A) 984.0a Thormann 1995
Wooded fens
Rich fen (1991B) 887.3a Szumigalski 1995 750
Rich fen (1992B) 613.3 Szumigalski 1995
Shrubby fens
Poor fen (1991C) 364.1 Szumigalski 1995 395 275
Poor fen (1992C) 424.8 Szumigalski 1995
Rich fen (1991D) 224.6 Szumigalski 1995 201
Rich fen (1992D) 139.8 Szumigalski 1995
Rich fen (1993D) 110.0 Thormann 1995
Rich fen (1994D) 328.0 Thormann 1995
Rich fen (1991E) 190.0 Szumigalski 1995 230
Rich fen (1992E) 269.0 Szumigalski 1995
Open fens
Rich fen (1991F) 105.0 Szumigalski 1995 99 254
Rich fen (1992F) 92.7 Szumigalski 1995
Rich fen (1993G) 339.0 Thormann 1995 410
Rich fen (1994G) 480.0 Thormann 1995
Note: Swamp and marsh sites are not included. Year of collection as well as a site designator (A through G) are given for sites measured over multiple years.
a
Tree layer biomass component is based on 1992 modeled values from Szumigalski (1995).
0.10 Pg of carbon stored in above-ground vascular peatland Carbon stored in peatlands has increased during the Holo-
plant biomass, with its distribution following that of cene (Fig. 7; Table 5). Peatlands began to accumulate carbon
peatland distribution (Fig. 5). around 9000 BP, with half (51.4%) of current stocks present
by 4000 BP. During the last 1000 years about 5.1 Pg
(10.6%) of the total long-term (catotelm) carbon has de-
Temporal pattern of past carbon storage cayed, and 12.2 Pg (25.5%) of new carbon has accumulated,
Paludification trends from two bog–fen peatland com- with a net gain of 7.1 Pg, or 14.8%. This compares with be-
plexes show that age is linearly related to depth for the tween 4000 and 5000 BP when the net carbon gain was
nonpermafrost site, while for the permafrost site age is re- about 67.2%, increasing the stock from 16.0 Pg to 24.7 Pg.
lated to depth as a power function (Fig. 6). With the devel- During the early Holocene, between 8000 and 9000 years
opment of permafrost, peatland development follows a cycle ago, the percent net carbon gain was even higher (91.7%),
of aggradation and degradation often related to fire (Zoltai but the actual increase in stock was minimal (1.1 Pg).
1993). This cyclic development retards long-term carbon ac-
cumulation once permafrost is initiated. The slope of the Discussion
curve fitted to the permafrost site decreases around 4000 BP
(Fig. 6), corresponding to the timing of permafrost expan- Peatlands of continental western Canada contain a signifi-
sion into bogs of this area (Zoltai 1993). cant amount of carbon—47.9 Pg with an additional 0.10 Pg
© 2000 NRC Canada
690 Can. J. Earth Sci. Vol. 37, 2000
Table 5. Sites and associated radiocarbon dates used to calculate catotelm decay rates.
Radiocarbon dates Decay rate
Site Location (years BP) Depth (cm) Reference (year–1)
Gypsumville 51°46 ′N and 98°30 ′W 1790±90 (AECV-1082C) 146.0 Kuhry et al. 1992 1.9 × 10–4
2710±100 (AECV-1081C) 186.0
4230±100 (AECV-1031C) 235.5
Site 4 52°51′N and 116°28 ′W 4460±170 (BGS-771) 205.0 Zoltai 1989 4.3 × 10–5
6170±140 (BGS-770) 241.0
8600±250 (BGS-772) 354.5
Site 5 53°20 ′N and 117°28 ′W 2800±300 (BGS-773) 190.0 Zoltai 1989 2.3 × 10–4
6140±200 (BGS-774) 332.0
8400±270 (BGS-775) 506.0
Zoltai 81–18A 54°45 ′N and 115°51 ′W 2820±220 (BGS-776) 243.5 Zoltai unpublished 1.4 × 10–4
6170±180 (BGS-777) 442.5
8940±240 (BGS-554) 551.0
Buffalo Narrows 55°56 ′N and 108°34 ′W 1480±100 (AECV-1092C) 86.0 Kuhry 1994 1.3 × 10–4
5230±90 (AECV-1739C) 120.0
7870±130 (AECV-1091C) 163.0
Mariana Lakes 55°54 ′N and 112°04 ′W 3170±80 (AECV-262C) 107.0 Nicholson and Vitt 1992 1.8 × 10–5
5270±90 (AECV-263C) 160.0
6740±100 (AECV-212C) 189.0
Legend Lake 57°26 ′N and 112°57 ′W 1180±80 (AECV-1645C) 60.5 Kuhry 1994 2.6 × 10–4
4390±91 (AECV-1738C) 90.5
7950±100 (AECV-1900C) 112.0
Rainbow Lake 58°18 ′N and 119°17 ′W 1070±90 (AECV-989C) 46.5 Zoltai 1993 8.9 × 10–5
3710±100 (AECV-990C) 84.5
7620±120 (AECV-991C) 187.0
Zama City 59°7 ′N and 118°9 ′W 1420±90 (AECV-984C) 52.0 Zoltai 1993 1.7 × 10–4
2410±120 (AECV-985C) 111.0
5840±100 (AECV-986C) 258.0
Mean 1.41 × 10–4
Standard deviation 8.13 × 10–5
in above-ground biomass. Together this represents roughly carbon content (±0.3%), standard error the mean for organic
2.1% of the world’s terrestrial carbon within 0.25% of the matter density for treed and shrubby fens (±0.4%) that com-
global terrestrial surface area. Other workers have calculated prise 35% of peatlands, and for bogs and open fens (±0.5%)
the amount of carbon stored in organic soils (peats) in Can- representing 65% of peatlands. When a ±10.4% variation
ada (Tarnocai 1998), with an estimated 38.1 Pg (–20.5% de- derived from comparing differing depth measurement meth-
viation when compared to the amount of carbon we ods (cf. Gorham 1991) is included, the root-mean-square
estimate) within Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba (C. error is 11.2%, with carbon storage in peatlands of continen-
Tarnocai and B. Lacelle, personal communication, 1998). tal western Canada estimated to represent 48.0 ± 5.4 Pg.
This value is considered low by these workers, with the dis- Carbon storage in peatlands has changed considerably
crepancy attributed to lack of information on peat depths (C. over the Holocene (Fig. 7). Peatlands began to accumulate
Tarnocai and B. Lacelle, personal communication, 1998). carbon around 9000 BP in this region, after an initial
Gorham (1991) examined current carbon storage on a deglacial lag. Carbon accumulation was climatically limited,
general circumboreal level. Comparing our more detailed ap- however, as the amount of land with suitable climatic condi-
proach over a much smaller area, variation in the contribut- tions for peatlands was restricted by early Holocene maxi-
ing components is as follows: peatland area for continental mum summer insolation (Halsey et al. 1998). As summer
western Canada +14.4% (Gorham’s (1991) value is higher); insolation decreased, more land became climatically avail-
+11.7% for mean carbon density (Gorham’s (1991) value is able for peatland formation, with the peatland climatic
higher); and –10.4% for depth (calculation used here provid- threshold transgressing southward (Halsey et al. 1998).
ing higher contribution). Thus, while depth is a major source Over a span of 3000 years during the mid-Holocene
of error in calculating carbon storage (cf. Botch et al. 1995), (6000–3000 BP), about half of current stocks accumulated.
carbon densities, and peatland distributions are also variable. Since the mid-Holocene, peatland carbon stocks have contin-
Detailed inventories of peatland distributions, such as those ued to increase with a further one-third accumulating over
we present here, will reduce error in carbon storage esti- the last 3000 years. The net increase in carbon stocks over
mates substantially. the last 3000 years has declined relative to the mid-
Adding together the estimated variation in this study for Holocene. This decline corresponds temporally to the expan-
peatland distribution (±4%), standard error of the mean for sion of permafrost into continental western Canada (Zoltai
Fig. 6. Relationship between peatland depth and calibrated, basal Fig. 7. Changes in carbon storage through the Holocene for
radiocarbon date (I. Bauer, unpublished data). Basal dates from peatlands in continental western Canada. Solid bar segments are
the permafrost site at Rainbow Lake, AB are represented as open estimated carbon present at each time interval; stippled bar seg-
squares, while dates from the nonpermafrost site at Athabasca, ments represent the modeled amount of carbon decayed since de-
AB are represented by closed circles. Regression lines were de- position (1 Pg = 1 × 1015 g).
termined from curve estimation in SPSS (SPSS 1995). The
nonpermafrost site has a linear relationship between peatland
depth and calibrated radiocarbon date (depth = 0.052 × date, r2 =
0.76), while the permafrost site displays a power relationship
(depth = 4.47 × 10–7 × date2.23, r2 = 0.66).
Accumulation began after an initial deglacial lag, and in- peatland complex in the zone of discontinuous permafrost, Man-
creased around 6000 BP as more land area passed through a itoba, Canada. Global Biogeochemical Cycles, 9: 455–470.
climatic threshold that was previously limited in extent by Campbell. C., Vitt, D.H., Halsey, L.A., Campbell, I.D., Thorman,
early Holocene maximum insolation. Contemporaneous in- M.N., and Bayley, S.E. 2000. Spatial distribution of net primary
creases in methane concentrations in Greenland ice cores production in the wetlands of continental western Canada.
(Chappellaz et al. 1997), correlate well with rates of peat ac- NOR-X-369. Northern Forestry Centre, Canadian Forest Ser-
cumulation, not with the total carbon pool. About half of vice, Edmonton, Alta.
current peatland carbon was present by 4000 BP. The rate of Canadian Soil Survey Committee 1978. The Canadian system of
soil classification. Canada Department of Agriculture, Research
increase in carbon storage in continental western Canadian
Branch, Ottawa, Ont.
peatlands began to decline around 3000 BP, responding to
Chappellaz, J., Blunier, T., Kints, S., Dällenbach, A., Barnola, J.-
widespread permafrost development and the establishment
M., Schwander, J., Raynaud, D., and Stauffer, B. 1997. Changes
of the current southern peatland limit. Declines in the ratio in the atmospheric CH4 gradient between Greenland and
of Greenland/Antarctic methane concentration after 3000 BP Antarctica during the Holocene. Journal of Geophysical Re-
suggest a declining boreal source (Chappellaz et al. 1997) search, 102: 15 987 – 15 997.
that appears to be related to the rate of carbon accumulation. Clymo, R.S. 1984. The limits to peat bog growth. Philosophical
Northern peatlands have played an important role in atmo- Transactions of the Royal Society of London, B303: 605–654.
spheric carbon budgets through the Holocene, and currently Dean, W.E., Jr. 1974. Determination of carbonate and organic mat-
sequester about 19.4 g C@m–2@year–1. The changes in carbon ter in calcareous sediments and sedimentary rocks by loss on ig-
storage presented here are based on limited data on the nition: comparison with other methods. Journal of Sedimentary
depth/age relationship of peatland expansion and should be Petrology, 44: 242–248.
viewed only in the context of the overall trends. Collection Ecological Stratification Working Group 1995. Terrestrial
of more data on peatland expansion spanning all climatic ecozones, ecoregions, and ecodistricts of Canada: Provinces of
and physiographic regions is required to reach a better un- Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. A national ecological
derstanding of how peatlands, and the carbon they store, re- framework for Canada. Agriculture and Agri-Foods Canada, Re-
spond to changing climates. search Branch Centre for Land and Biological Resources Re-
search and Environment Canada, State of the Environment
Directorate, Ecozone Analysis Branch, Ottawa–Hull, Canada.
Acknowledgments Frolking, S. 1991. Methane from northern peatlands and climate
change. In Carbon cycling in boreal forest and sub-arctic eco-
Funding for this project was provided by a Climate Sys- systems: biospheric responses and feedbacks to global climate
tem History and Dynamics, National Science and Engi- change. Edited by T.S. Vinson and T.P. Kolchungina. United
neering Research Council Research Network Grant and a States Environmental Protection Agency, Publication 600R-
Network of Centres of Excellence in Sustainable Forest 93/084, Corvallis, Oreg.
Management Grant to Dale Vitt. R. Kelman Wieder im- Gignac, L.D., Vitt, D.H., Zoltai, S.C., and Bayley, S.C. 1991.
proved an earlier draft of this manuscript, for which we are Bryophyte response surfaces along climatic, chemical, and phys-
thankful. Dr. Bob Vance and the Geological Survey of Can- ical gradients in peatlands of western Canada. Nova Hedwigia,
ada provided the radiocarbon dates for the Rainbow Lake 53: 27–71.
Core, for which we are grateful. In addition thanks are also Gore, A.J.P. 1983. Ecosystems of the World 4B. Mire: swamp,
extended to Nigel Roulet and an anonymous reviewer, bog, fen, and moor. regional studies. Elsevier Scientific Pub-
whose thoughtful and thorough reviews greatly improved the lishing Co., Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
manuscript. Graphics were produced by Laureen Snook and Gorham, E. 1991. Northern peatlands: role in the carbon cycle and
Sandi Vitt. We dedicate this manuscript to Stephen Zoltai, probable responses to climatic warming. Ecological Applica-
our dear friend and always enthusiastic colleague, whose ex- tions, 1: 182–195.
tensive work in the peatlands of western Canada contributed Halsey, L.A., and Vitt, D.H. 1997. Alberta Wetland Inventory Stan-
dards. In Alberta Vegetation Inventory Standards Manual, Ver-
significantly to this manuscript.
sion 2.2. Compiled by R. Nesby. Alberta Environmental
Protection, Edmonton, Alta.
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