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Boreal peatland margins as repository sites of long-term natural disturbances of balsam fir/spruce forests

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Martin Lavoie ,
Louise Filion  and
Élisabeth C. Robert
Martin Lavoie*
Affiliation:
Département de Géographie and Centre d'études nordiques, Université Laval, Québec, Québec, Canada G1V 0A6 Centre d'études nordiques, Université Laval, Québec, Québec, Canada G1V 0A6
Louise Filion
Affiliation:
Département de Géographie and Centre d'études nordiques, Université Laval, Québec, Québec, Canada G1V 0A6 Centre d'études nordiques, Université Laval, Québec, Québec, Canada G1V 0A6
Élisabeth C. Robert
Affiliation:
Centre d'études nordiques, Université Laval, Québec, Québec, Canada G1V 0A6
*
*Corresponding author. Département de Géographie and Centre d’études nordiques, 2405, rue de la Terrasse, Université Laval, Québec, Québec, Canada, G1V 0A6. Fax: +1 418 656 2978. Email Addresses:[email protected] (M. Lavoie), [email protected] (L. Filion), [email protected] (É.C. Robert).
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Abstract

A multidisciplinary, high-resolution paleoecological study (Lepidoptera and plant remains, macroscopic charcoal, pollen) was conducted on a 4000-yr peat monolith extracted from the margin of an ombrotrophic peatland on Anticosti Island (Gulf of St. Lawrence, eastern Canada) to reconstruct the long-term natural disturbances (insect outbreaks, forest fires) of a balsam fir/spruce forest. We hypothesized that an activity of insect defoliators (spruce budworm, hemlock looper) was the main disturbance factor of conifer forests during the Late Holocene. The earliest remains of spruce budworm and hemlock looper were found ca. 3220 and 2350 cal yr BP, respectively. Peaks of insect head capsules occurred from ca. 1640 to ca. 625 cal yr BP. Low balsam fir pollen concentrations during this period suggest a lengthy episode (∼ 1000 yr) of high insect activity, resulting in extensive fir dieback and mortality. The long-term dynamics of the pristine balsam fir/spruce forests were mainly governed by the activity of insect defoliators. The limited extent and possibly the low occurrence of forest fires in the maritime environment of Anticosti Island allowed the development of mature coniferous stands propitious for insect infestations. Insect head capsules appeared to be a useful and effective tool for establishing insect presence and activity during the Holocene.

Keywords

Anticosti IslandEcological disturbancesForest firesHoloceneInsect outbreaksLepidoptera head capsulesPeatlandsPlant-macrofossilsQuébec
Type
Articles
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 71 , Issue 3 , May 2009 , pp. 295 - 306
Copyright
University of Washington

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