Shallow peat is most vulnerable to high peat burn severity during wildfire
Peatlands typically act as carbon sinks, however, increasing wildfire severity and annual area burned may challenge this carbon sink status. Whilst most peat resistance to wildfire and drought research is based on deep peatlands that rarely lose their water table below the peat profile, shallow peat...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IOP Publishing
2020-01-01
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| Series: | Environmental Research Letters |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aba7e8 |
| _version_ | 1797747839495831552 |
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| author | S L Wilkinson A M Tekatch C E Markle P A Moore J M Waddington |
| author_facet | S L Wilkinson A M Tekatch C E Markle P A Moore J M Waddington |
| author_sort | S L Wilkinson |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Peatlands typically act as carbon sinks, however, increasing wildfire severity and annual area burned may challenge this carbon sink status. Whilst most peat resistance to wildfire and drought research is based on deep peatlands that rarely lose their water table below the peat profile, shallow peatlands and peat deposits may be most vulnerable to high peat burn severity and extensive carbon loss. To examine the role of pre-fire peat depth on peat burn severity, we measured the depth of burn (DOB) in peat of varying depths (0.1–1.6 m) within a rock barrens landscape. We found that DOB (0–0.4 m) decreased with increasing pre-fire peat depth, and that there was a strong correlation between the percent of the profile that burned and pre-fire peat depth. Breakpoint analysis indicates a threshold depth of 0.66 m where deeper peat deposits experienced little impact of wildfire, whereas shallower peat typically experienced high peat burn severity (median percent burned = 2.2 and 65.1, respectively). This threshold also corresponded to the loss of the water table in some nearby unburned peatlands, where water table drawdown rates were greater in shallower peat. We suggest that peat depth may control peat burn severity through feedbacks that regulate water table drawdown. As such, we argue that the identification of a critical peat depth threshold could have important implications for wildfire management and peatland restoration aiming to protect vulnerable carbon stores. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T15:56:22Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-15baec2c2b1848b8b632db11e42e9f9a |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1748-9326 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T15:56:22Z |
| publishDate | 2020-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Environmental Research Letters |
| spelling | doaj.art-15baec2c2b1848b8b632db11e42e9f9a2023-08-09T14:52:24ZengIOP PublishingEnvironmental Research Letters1748-93262020-01-01151010403210.1088/1748-9326/aba7e8Shallow peat is most vulnerable to high peat burn severity during wildfireS L Wilkinson0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4043-6277A M Tekatch1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5332-2084C E Markle2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1703-0201P A Moore3https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1924-1528J M Waddington4https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0317-7894School of Earth, Environment and Society, McMaster University , 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4K1, CanadaSchool of Earth, Environment and Society, McMaster University , 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4K1, CanadaSchool of Earth, Environment and Society, McMaster University , 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4K1, CanadaSchool of Earth, Environment and Society, McMaster University , 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4K1, CanadaSchool of Earth, Environment and Society, McMaster University , 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4K1, CanadaPeatlands typically act as carbon sinks, however, increasing wildfire severity and annual area burned may challenge this carbon sink status. Whilst most peat resistance to wildfire and drought research is based on deep peatlands that rarely lose their water table below the peat profile, shallow peatlands and peat deposits may be most vulnerable to high peat burn severity and extensive carbon loss. To examine the role of pre-fire peat depth on peat burn severity, we measured the depth of burn (DOB) in peat of varying depths (0.1–1.6 m) within a rock barrens landscape. We found that DOB (0–0.4 m) decreased with increasing pre-fire peat depth, and that there was a strong correlation between the percent of the profile that burned and pre-fire peat depth. Breakpoint analysis indicates a threshold depth of 0.66 m where deeper peat deposits experienced little impact of wildfire, whereas shallower peat typically experienced high peat burn severity (median percent burned = 2.2 and 65.1, respectively). This threshold also corresponded to the loss of the water table in some nearby unburned peatlands, where water table drawdown rates were greater in shallower peat. We suggest that peat depth may control peat burn severity through feedbacks that regulate water table drawdown. As such, we argue that the identification of a critical peat depth threshold could have important implications for wildfire management and peatland restoration aiming to protect vulnerable carbon stores.https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aba7e8peatlandwildfire managementSphagnumsmoulderingecohydrologyrock barrens |
| spellingShingle | S L Wilkinson A M Tekatch C E Markle P A Moore J M Waddington Shallow peat is most vulnerable to high peat burn severity during wildfire Environmental Research Letters peatland wildfire management Sphagnum smouldering ecohydrology rock barrens |
| title | Shallow peat is most vulnerable to high peat burn severity during wildfire |
| title_full | Shallow peat is most vulnerable to high peat burn severity during wildfire |
| title_fullStr | Shallow peat is most vulnerable to high peat burn severity during wildfire |
| title_full_unstemmed | Shallow peat is most vulnerable to high peat burn severity during wildfire |
| title_short | Shallow peat is most vulnerable to high peat burn severity during wildfire |
| title_sort | shallow peat is most vulnerable to high peat burn severity during wildfire |
| topic | peatland wildfire management Sphagnum smouldering ecohydrology rock barrens |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aba7e8 |
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