Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-t5tsf Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-15T05:20:24.122Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Comparison of stable carbon and oxygen isotopes in Picea glauca tree rings and Sphagnum fuscum moss remains from subarctic Canada

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 June 2012

Steffen Holzkämper ,
Päivi Kaislahti Tillman ,
Peter Kuhry  and
Jan Esper
Steffen Holzkämper*
Affiliation:
Department of Geography, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Becherweg 21, 55099 Mainz, Germany Department of Physical Geography and Quaternary Geology, Stockholm University, 10691 Stockholm, Sweden
Päivi Kaislahti Tillman
Affiliation:
Department of Physical Geography and Quaternary Geology, Stockholm University, 10691 Stockholm, Sweden
Peter Kuhry
Affiliation:
Department of Physical Geography and Quaternary Geology, Stockholm University, 10691 Stockholm, Sweden
Jan Esper
Affiliation:
Department of Geography, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Becherweg 21, 55099 Mainz, Germany
*
⁎Corresponding author at: Department of Geography, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Becherweg 21, 55099 Mainz, Germany. Fax: + 49 6131 39 24735. Email Address:[email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Stable isotope ratios from tree rings and peatland mosses have become important proxies of past climate variations. We here compare recent stable carbon and oxygen isotope ratios in cellulose of tree rings from white spruce (Picea glauca), growing near the arctic tree line; and cellulose of Sphagnum fuscum stems, growing in a hummock of a subarctic peatland, in west-central Canada. Results show that carbon isotopes in S. fuscum correlate significantly with July temperatures over the past ~20 yr. The oxygen isotopes correlate with both summer temperature and precipitation. Analyses of the tree-ring isotopes revealed summer temperatures to be the main controlling factor for carbon isotope variations, whereas tree-ring oxygen isotope ratios are controlled by a combination of spring temperatures and precipitation totals. We also explore the potential of combining high-frequency (annual) climate signals derived from long tree-ring series with low-frequency (decadal to centennial) climate signals derived from the moss remains in peat deposits. This cross-archive comparison revealed no association between the oxygen isotopes, which likely results from the varying sensitivity of the archives to different seasons. For the carbon isotopes, common variance could be achieved through adjustments of the Sphagnum age model within dating error.

Keywords

Stable isotopesCanadian sub-ArcticTree ringsPeat moss
Type
Articles
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 78 , Issue 2 , September 2012 , pp. 295 - 302
Copyright
University of Washington

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Aniol, R.W. Tree-ring analysis using CATRAS. Dendrochronologia 1, (1983). 45–53.Google Scholar
Biondi, F., and Waikul, K. DENDROCLIM2002: a C++ program for statistical calibration of climate signals in tree-ring chronologies. Computers & Geosciences 30, (2004). 303–311.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bowen, G., and Wilkinson, B. Spatial distribution of δ18O in meteoric precipitation. Geology 30, (2002). 315–318.2.0.CO;2>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Briffa, K.R., Schweingruber, F.H., Jones, P.D., Osborn, T.J., Shiyatov, S.G., Vaganov, E.A. Reduced sensitivity of recent tree-growth to temperature at high northern latitudes 391, (1998). 678–682.Google Scholar
Brown, R.D., and Braaten, R.O. Spatial and temporal variability of Canadian snow depths, 1946–1995. Atmosphere-Ocean 36, (1998). 37–54.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Buhay, W.M., Timsic, S., Blair, D., Reynolds, J., Jarvis, S., Petrash, D., Rempel, M., and Bailey, D. Riparian influences on carbon isotopic composition of tree rings in the Slave River Delta, Northwest Territories, Canada. Chemical Geology 252, (2008). 9–20.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chambers, F.M., and Charman, D.J. Holocene environmental change: contributions from the peatland archive. The Holocene 14, (2004). 1–6.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chapman, W.L., and Walsh, J.E. Recent variations of sea ice and air temperature in high latitudes. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society 74, (1993). 33–47.2.0.CO;2>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dyke, A.S., and Prest, V.K. Late Wisconsinan and Holocene history of the Laurentide Ice Sheet. Geographie Physique et Quaternaire 41, (1987). 237–264.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Edwards, T.W.D., Wolfe, B.B., and Macdonald, G.M. Influence of changing atmospheric circulation on precipitation δ18O-temperature relations in Canada during the Holocene. Quaternary Research 46, (1996). 211–218.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Environment Canada (2010). www.climate.weatheroffice.ec.gc.ca Google Scholar
Epstein, S., Thompson, P., and Yapp, C.J. Oxygen and hydrogen isotopic ratios in plant cellulose. Science 198, (1977). 1209–1215.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Esper, J., Cook, E.R., and Schweingruber, F.H. Low-frequency signals in long tree-ring chronologies for reconstructing past temperature variability. Science 295, (2002). 2250–2253.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Esper, J., Frank, D.C., Battipaglia, G., Büntgen, U., Holert, C., Treydte, K., Siegwolf, R., and Saurer, M. Low-frequency noise in δ13C and δ18O tree ring data: a case study of Pinus uncinata in the Spanish Pyrenees. Global Biogeochemical Cycles 24, (2010). GB4018 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Farquhar, G., O'Leary, M., and Berry, J. On the relationship between carbon isotope discrimination and the intercellular carbon dioxide concentration in leaves. Functional Plant Biology 9, (1982). 121–137.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Farquhar, G.D., Ehleringer, J.R., and Hubick, K.T. Carbon isotope discrimination and photosynthesis. Annual Review of Plant Physiology and Plant Molecular Biology 40, (1989). 503–537.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Frank, D., Esper, J., Zorita, E., and Wilson, R. A noodle, hockey stick, and spaghetti plate: a perspective on high-resolution paleoclimatology. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change 1, (2010). 507–516.Google Scholar
Fritts, H.C. Tree Rings and Climate. (1976). Academic Press, London.Google Scholar
Holmes, R.L., Adams, R.K., and Fritts, H.C. Tree-ring chronologies of western North America: California, eastern Oregon and northern Great Basin, with procedures used in the chronology development work, including user manuals for computer programs COFECHA and ARSTAN. Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research, University of Arizona, Tucson Chronology Series VI, (1986). 50–65.Google Scholar
Holzkämper, S., Kuhry, P., Kultti, S., Gunnarson, B.E., and Sonninen, E. Stable isotopes in tree rings as proxies for winter precipitation changes in the Russian Arctic over the past 150 years. Geochronometria 32, (2008). 37–46.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jones, P.D., Briffa, K.R., Osborn, T.J., Lough, J.M., van Ommen, T.D., Vinther, B.M., Luterbacher, J., Wahl, E.R., Zwiers, F.W., Mann, M.E., Schmidt, G.A., Ammann, C.M., Buckley, B.M., Cobb, K.M., Esper, J., Goosse, H., Graham, N., Jansen, E., Kiefer, T., Kull, C., Küttel, M., Mosley-Thompson, E., Overpeck, J.T., Riedwyl, N., Schulz, M., Tudhope, A.W., Villalba, R., Wanner, H., Wolff, E., and Xoplaki, E. High-resolution palaeoclimatology of the last millennium: a review of current status and future prospects. The Holocene 19, (2009). 3–49.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kaislahti Tillman, P., Holzkämper, S., Kuhry, P., Sannel, A.B.K., Loader, N.J., and Robertson, I. Long-term climate variability in continental subarctic Canada: a 6200-year record derived from stable isotopes in peat. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 298, (2010). 235–246.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kaislahti Tillman, P., Holzkämper, S., Kuhry, P., Sannel, B., Loader, N.J., and Robertson, I. Stable carbon and oxygen isotopes in Sphagnum fuscum peat from subarctic Canada: implications for palaeoclimate studies. Chemical Geology 270, (2010). 216–226.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kirdyanov, A.V., Treydte, K.S., Nikolaev, A., Helle, G., and Schleser, G.H. Climate signals in tree-ring width, density and δ13C from larches in Eastern Siberia (Russia). Chemical Geology 252, (2008). 31–41.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kürschner, W.M., (1996). Leaf stomata as biosensors of palaeoatmospheric CO2 levels. Ph.D. thesis, Utrecht University, LPP contributions series no. 5: 153 pp.Google Scholar
Laberge, M.-J., and Payette, S. Long-term monitoring of permafrost change in a palsa peatland in northern Quebec, Canada: 1983–1993. Arctic and Alpine Research 27, (1995). 167–171.Google Scholar
Leavitt, S.W., and Long, A. Sampling strategy for stable carbon isotope analysis of tree rings in pine. Nature 311, (1984). 145–147.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lindholm, T. Growth dynamics of the peat moss Sphagnum fuscum on hummocks on a raised bog in southern Finland. Annales Botanici Fennici 27, (1990). 67–78.Google Scholar
Loader, N.J., Robertson, I., Barker, A.C., Switsur, V.R., and Waterhouse, J.S. An improved technique for the batch processing of small wholewood samples to α-cellulose. Chemical Geology 136, (1997). 313–317. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0009-2541(96)00133-7 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Loader, N.J., McCarroll, D., van der Knaap, W.O., Roberts, I., and Gagen, M. Characterizing carbon isotopic variability in Sphagnum . The Holocene 17, (2007). 403–410.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Loisel, J., and Garneau, M. Late Holocene paleoecohydrology and carbon accumulation estimates from two boreal peat bogs in eastern Canada: potential and limits of multi-proxy archives. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 291, (2010). 493–533.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Loisel, J., Garneau, M., and Hélie, J.-F. Modern Sphagnum δ13C signatures follow a surface moisture gradient in two boreal peat bogs, James Bay lowlands, Québec. Journal of Quaternary Science 24, (2009). 209–214.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Loisel, J., Garneau, M., and Hélie, J.-F. Sphagnum δ13C values as indicators of palaeohydrological changes in a peat bog. The Holocene 20, (2010). 285–291.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
MacDonald, G.M., Szeicz, J.M., Claricoates, J., and Dale, K.A. Response of the central Canadian treeline to recent climatic changes. Annals of the Association of American Geographers 88, (1998). 183–208.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McCarroll, D., and Loader, N.J. Stable isotopes in tree rings. Quaternary Science Reviews 23, (2004). 771–801. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2003.06.017 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McCarroll, D., Gagen, M.H., Loader, N.J., Robertson, I., Anchukaitis, K.J., Los, S., Young, G.H.F., Jalkanen, R., Kirchhefer, A., and Waterhouse, J.S. Correction of tree ring stable carbon isotope chronologies for changes in the carbon dioxide content of the atmosphere. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 73, (2009). 1539–1547.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ménot-Combes, G., and Burns, S.J. Carbon isotopes in ombrogenic peat bog plants as climatic indicators: calibration from an altitudinal transect in Switzerland. Organic Geochemistry 32, (2001). 233–245.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ménot-Combes, G., Burns, S.J., and Leuenberger, M. Variations of 18O/16O in plants from temperate peat bogs (Switzerland): implications for paleoclimatic studies. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 202, (2002). 419–434.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moschen, R., Kühl, N., Peters, S., Vos, H., and Lücke, A. Temperature variability at Dürres Maar, Germany during the migration period and at high medieval times, inferred from stable carbon isotopes of Sphagnum cellulose. Climate of the Past Discussions 7, (2011). 535–573.Google Scholar
Porter, T., Pisaric, M., Kokelj, S., and Edwards, T. Climatic signals in δ13C and δ18O of tree-rings from white spruce in the Mackenzie Delta region, northern Canada. Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research 41, (2009). 497–505.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rossi, S., Deslauriers, A., Anfodillo, T., Morin, H., Saracino, A., Motta, R., and Borghetti, M. Conifers in cold environments synchronize maximum growth rate of tree-ring formation with day length. New Phytologist 170, (2006). 301–310.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rozanski, K., Araguas-Araguas, L., and Gonfiantini, R. Isotopic patterns in modern global precipitation. Climate Change in Continental Isotopic Records. Geophysical Monograph Series 78, (1993). 1–36.Google Scholar
Sannel, A.B.K., and Kuhry, P. Long-term stability of permafrost in subarctic peat plateaus, west-central Canada. The Holocene 18, (2008). 589–601.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schoning, K., Charman, D.J., and Wastegoard, S. Reconstructed water tables from two ombrotrophic mires in eastern central Sweden compared with instrumental meteorological data. The Holocene 15, (2005). 111–118.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Serreze, M.C., Walsh, J.E., Chapin, F.S., Osterkamp, T., Dyurgerov, M., Romanovsky, V., Oechel, W.C., Morison, J., Zhang, T., and Barry, R.G. Observational evidence of recent change in the northern high-latitude environment. Climatic Change 46, (2000). 159–207.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sidorova, O.V., Siegwolf, R., Saurer, M., Naurzbaev, M.M., and Vaganov, E.A. Isotopic composition (δ13C, δ18O) in wood and cellulose of Siberian larch trees for early Medieval and recent periods. Journal of Geophysical Research 113, (2008). G02019 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Skrzypek, G., Kaluzny, A., Wojtun, B., and Jedrysek, M.-O. The carbon stable isotopic composition of mosses: a record of temperature variation. Organic Geochemistry 38, (2007). 1770–1781.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Skrzypek, G., Kałużny, A., Wojtuń, B., and Jędrysek, M.-O. The carbon stable isotopic composition of mosses: a record of temperature variation. Organic Geochemistry 38, (2007). 1770–1781.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tardif, J.C., Conciatori, F., and Leavitt, S.W. Tree rings, δ13C and climate in Picea glauca growing near Churchill, subarctic Manitoba, Canada. Chemical Geology 252, (2008). 88–101.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Treydte, K.S., Frank, D., Esper, J., Andreu, L., Bednarz, Z., Berninger, F., Boettger, T., D'Alessandro, C., Etien, N., Filot, M., Grabner, M., Guillemin, M., Guttierez, E., Haupt, M., Helle, G., Hilasvuori, E., Jungner, H., Kalela-Brundin, M., Krapiec, M., Leuenberger, M., Loader, N.J., Masson-Delmotte, V., Pazdur, A., Pawelczyk, S., Pierre, M., Planells, O., Pukiene, R., Reynolds-Henne, C., Rinne, K.T., Saracino, A., Saurer, M., Sonninen, E., Stievenard, M., Switsur, V.R., Szczepanek, M., Szychowska-Krapiec, E., and Todaro, L. Signal strength and climate calibration of a European tree-ring isotope network. Geophysical Research Letters 34, (2007). http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2007GL031106 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Treydte, K.S., Frank, D.C., Saurer, M., Helle, G., Schleser, G.H., and Esper, J. Impact of climate and CO2 on a millennium-long tree-ring carbon isotope record. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 73, (2009). 4635–4647.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wigley, T.M.L., Briffa, K.R., and Jones, P.D. On the average value of correlated time series, with applications in dendroclimatology and hydrometeorology. Journal of Climate and Applied Meteorology 23, (1984). 201–213.2.0.CO;2>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wilmking, M., Sanders, T., Zhang, Y., Kenter, S., Holzkämper, S., and Crittenden, P. (in press). Effects of climate, site conditions and seed quality on recent treeline dynamics in NW Russia – Permafrost and lack of reproductive success hamper treeline advance? Ecosystems.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zanazzi, A., and Mora, G. Paleoclimatic implications of the relationship between oxygen isotope ratios of moss cellulose and source water in wetlands of Lake Superior. Chemical Geology 222, (2005). 281–291.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zoltai, S.C. Permafrost distribution in peatlands of west-central Canada during the Holocene warm period 6000 yr BP. Geographie Physique et Quaternaire 49, (1995). 45–54.CrossRefGoogle Scholar