Mapping and understanding the vulnerability of northern peatlands to permafrost thaw at scales relevant to community adaptation planning
Developing spatially explicit permafrost datasets and climate assessments at scales relevant to northern communities is increasingly important as land users and decision makers incorporate changing permafrost conditions in community and adaptation planning. This need is particularly strong within th...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IOP Publishing
2021-01-01
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| Series: | Environmental Research Letters |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/abe74b |
| _version_ | 1797747701486452736 |
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| author | C Gibson K Cottenie T Gingras-Hill S V Kokelj J L Baltzer L Chasmer M R Turetsky |
| author_facet | C Gibson K Cottenie T Gingras-Hill S V Kokelj J L Baltzer L Chasmer M R Turetsky |
| author_sort | C Gibson |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Developing spatially explicit permafrost datasets and climate assessments at scales relevant to northern communities is increasingly important as land users and decision makers incorporate changing permafrost conditions in community and adaptation planning. This need is particularly strong within the discontinuous permafrost zone of the Northwest Territories (NWT) Canada where permafrost peatlands are undergoing rapid thaw due to a warming climate. Current data products for predicting landscapes at risk of thaw are generally built at circumpolar scales and do not lend themselves well to fine-scale regional interpretations. Here, we present a new permafrost vulnerability dataset that assesses the degree of permafrost thaw within peatlands across a 750 km latitudinal gradient in the NWT. This updated dataset provides spatially explicit estimates of where peatland thermokarst potential exists, thus making it much more suitable for local, regional or community usage. Within southern peatland complexes, we show that permafrost thaw affects up to 70% of the peatland area and that thaw is strongly mediated by both latitude and elevation, with widespread thaw occuring particularly at low elevations. At the northern end of our latitudinal gradient, peatland permafrost remains climate-protected with relatively little thaw. Collectively these results demonstrate the importance of scale in permafrost analyses and mapping if research is to support northern communities and decision makers in a changing climate. This study offers a more scale-appropriate approach to support community adaptative planning under scenarios of continued warming and widespread permafrost thaw. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T15:55:23Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-0fe7e3b3569a4f5f849ee8c799f85c13 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1748-9326 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T15:55:23Z |
| publishDate | 2021-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Environmental Research Letters |
| spelling | doaj.art-0fe7e3b3569a4f5f849ee8c799f85c132023-08-09T14:56:38ZengIOP PublishingEnvironmental Research Letters1748-93262021-01-0116505502210.1088/1748-9326/abe74bMapping and understanding the vulnerability of northern peatlands to permafrost thaw at scales relevant to community adaptation planningC Gibson0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5227-5303K Cottenie1T Gingras-Hill2S V Kokelj3J L Baltzer4L Chasmer5M R Turetsky6https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0155-8666Integrative Biology, University of Guelph , Guelph, ON, CanadaIntegrative Biology, University of Guelph , Guelph, ON, CanadaBiology Department, Wilfrid Laurier University , Waterloo, ON, Canada; Northwest Territories Geological Survey , Yellowknife, NT, CanadaNorthwest Territories Geological Survey , Yellowknife, NT, CanadaBiology Department, Wilfrid Laurier University , Waterloo, ON, CanadaDepartment of Geography, University of Lethbridge , Lethbridge, AB, CanadaIntegrative Biology, University of Guelph , Guelph, ON, Canada; Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, Colorado University , Boulder, CO 80303, United States of AmericaDeveloping spatially explicit permafrost datasets and climate assessments at scales relevant to northern communities is increasingly important as land users and decision makers incorporate changing permafrost conditions in community and adaptation planning. This need is particularly strong within the discontinuous permafrost zone of the Northwest Territories (NWT) Canada where permafrost peatlands are undergoing rapid thaw due to a warming climate. Current data products for predicting landscapes at risk of thaw are generally built at circumpolar scales and do not lend themselves well to fine-scale regional interpretations. Here, we present a new permafrost vulnerability dataset that assesses the degree of permafrost thaw within peatlands across a 750 km latitudinal gradient in the NWT. This updated dataset provides spatially explicit estimates of where peatland thermokarst potential exists, thus making it much more suitable for local, regional or community usage. Within southern peatland complexes, we show that permafrost thaw affects up to 70% of the peatland area and that thaw is strongly mediated by both latitude and elevation, with widespread thaw occuring particularly at low elevations. At the northern end of our latitudinal gradient, peatland permafrost remains climate-protected with relatively little thaw. Collectively these results demonstrate the importance of scale in permafrost analyses and mapping if research is to support northern communities and decision makers in a changing climate. This study offers a more scale-appropriate approach to support community adaptative planning under scenarios of continued warming and widespread permafrost thaw.https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/abe74bthermokarstperamfrost thawcommunity adaptationspatial dataset |
| spellingShingle | C Gibson K Cottenie T Gingras-Hill S V Kokelj J L Baltzer L Chasmer M R Turetsky Mapping and understanding the vulnerability of northern peatlands to permafrost thaw at scales relevant to community adaptation planning Environmental Research Letters thermokarst peramfrost thaw community adaptation spatial dataset |
| title | Mapping and understanding the vulnerability of northern peatlands to permafrost thaw at scales relevant to community adaptation planning |
| title_full | Mapping and understanding the vulnerability of northern peatlands to permafrost thaw at scales relevant to community adaptation planning |
| title_fullStr | Mapping and understanding the vulnerability of northern peatlands to permafrost thaw at scales relevant to community adaptation planning |
| title_full_unstemmed | Mapping and understanding the vulnerability of northern peatlands to permafrost thaw at scales relevant to community adaptation planning |
| title_short | Mapping and understanding the vulnerability of northern peatlands to permafrost thaw at scales relevant to community adaptation planning |
| title_sort | mapping and understanding the vulnerability of northern peatlands to permafrost thaw at scales relevant to community adaptation planning |
| topic | thermokarst peramfrost thaw community adaptation spatial dataset |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/abe74b |
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