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Can pollution bias peatland paleoclimate reconstruction?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 May 2012

Richard J. Payne ,
Edward A.D. Mitchell ,
Hung Nguyen-Viet  and
Daniel Gilbert
Richard J. Payne*
Affiliation:
School of Science and the Environment, Manchester Metropolitan University, Chester Street, Manchester M1 5GD, UK Laboratoire de Chrono-environnement UMR UFC/CNRS 6249 USC INRA Université de Franche-Comté, Pôle Universitaire du Pays de Montbéliard, 4 place Tharradin, BP 71427 25 211 Montbéliard cedex, France
Edward A.D. Mitchell
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Soil Biology, Institute of Biology, University of Neuchâtel, Rue Emile-Argand 11, CH-2000 Neuchâtel, Switzerland
Hung Nguyen-Viet
Affiliation:
Department of Environmental Health, Hanoi School of Public Health, 138 Giang Vo, Hanoi, Vietnam Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Socinstrasse 57, P.O. Box, 4002 Basel, Switzerland University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (EAWAG), Sandec, Department of Water and Sanitation in Developing Countries, Dübendorf, Switzerland
Daniel Gilbert
Affiliation:
Laboratoire de Chrono-environnement UMR UFC/CNRS 6249 USC INRA Université de Franche-Comté, Pôle Universitaire du Pays de Montbéliard, 4 place Tharradin, BP 71427 25 211 Montbéliard cedex, France
*
⁎Corresponding author at: School of Science and the Environment, Manchester Metropolitan University, Chester Street, Manchester M1 5GD, UK. Email Address:[email protected]
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Abstract

Peatland testate amoebae are widely used to reconstruct paleohydrological/climatic changes, but many species are also known to respond to pollutants. Peatlands around the world have been exposed to anthropogenic and intermittent natural pollution through the late Holocene. This raises the question: can pollution lead to changes in the testate amoeba paleoecological record that could be erroneously interpreted as a climatic change? To address this issue we applied testate amoeba transfer functions to the results of experiments adding pollutants (N, P, S, Pb, O3) to peatlands and similar ecosystems. We found a significant effect in only one case, an experiment in which N and P were added, suggesting that pollution-induced biases are limited. However, we caution researchers to be aware of this possibility when interpreting paleoecological records. Studies characterising the paleoecological response to pollution allow pollution impacts to be tracked and distinguished from climate change.

Keywords

ClimateHoloceneTestate amoebaeNitrogenPhosphorusOzoneSulphurLeadTransfer functionBiological proxy
Type
Short Paper
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 78 , Issue 2 , September 2012 , pp. 170 - 173
Copyright
University of Washington

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