Effects of a Changing Climate on Peatlands in Permafrost Zones: a Literature Review and Application to Ontario’S Far North

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Effects of a Changing Climate on Peatlands in Permafrost Zones: a Literature Review and Application to Ontario’S Far North Ministry of Natural Resources Effects of a Changing Climate 34 on Peatlands in Permafrost Zones: A Literature Review CLIMATE CHANGE and Application to Ontario’s RESEARCH Far North REPORT CCRR-34 Responding to Climate Change Through Partnership Sustainability in a Changing Climate: An Overview of MNR’s Climate Change Strategy (2011-2014) Climate change will affect all MNR programs and the • Facilitate the development of renewable energy by natural resources for which it has responsibility. This collaborating with other Ministries to promote the val- strategy confirms MNR’s commitment to the Ontario ue of Ontario’s resources as potential green energy government’s climate change initiatives such as the sources, making Crown land available for renewable Go Green Action Plan on Climate Change and out- energy development, and working with proponents lines research and management program priorities to ensure that renewable energy developments are for the 2011-2014 period. consistent with approval requirements and that other Ministry priorities are considered. Theme 1: Understand Climate Change • Provide leadership and support to resource users MNR will gather, manage, and share information and industries to reduce carbon emissions and in- and knowledge about how ecosystem composition, crease carbon storage by undertaking afforestation, structure and function – and the people who live and protecting natural heritage areas, exploring oppor- work in them – will be affected by a changing climate. tunities for forest carbon management to increase Strategies: carbon uptake, and promoting the increased use of • Communicate internally and externally to build wood products over energy-intensive, non-renewable awareness of the known and potential impacts of alternatives. climate change and mitigation and adaptation op- • Help resource users and partners participate in a tions available to Ontarians. carbon offset market, by working with our partners • Monitor and assess ecosystem and resource condi- to ensure that a robust trading system is in place tions to manage for climate change in collaboration based on rules established in Ontario (and potentially with other agencies and organizations. in other jurisdictions), continuing to examine the • Undertake and support research designed to mitigation potential of forest carbon management in improve understanding of climate change, including Ontario, and participating in the development of pro- improved temperature and precipitation projections, tocols and policies for forest and land-based carbon ecosystem vulnerability assessments, and im- offset credits. proved models of the carbon budget and ecosys- tem processes in the managed forest, the settled Theme 3: Help Ontarians Adapt landscapes of southern Ontario, and the forests MNR will provide advice and tools and techniques to and wetlands of the Far North. help Ontarians adapt to climate change. Strategies • Transfer science and understanding to decision- include: makers to enhance comprehensive planning and • Maintain and enhance emergency management management in a rapidly changing climate. capability to protect life and property during extreme events such as flooding, drought, blowdown and Theme 2: Mitigate Climate Change wildfire. MNR will reduce greenhouse gas emissions in sup- • Use scenarios and vulnerability analyses to develop port of Ontario’s greenhouse gas emission reduction and employ adaptive solutions to known and emerg- goals. Strategies: ing issues. • Continue to reduce emissions from MNR opera- • Encourage and support industries, resource users tions though vehicle fleet renewal, converting to and communities to adapt, by helping to develop un- other high fuel efficiency/low-emissions equipment, derstanding and capabilities of partners to adapt their demonstrating leadership in energy-efficient facility practices and resource use in a changing climate. development, promoting green building materials • Evaluate and adjust policies and legislation to re- and fostering a green organizational culture. spond to climate change challenges. Effects of a Changing Climate on Peatlands in Permafrost Zones: A Literature Review and Application to Ontario’s Far North Jim McLaughlin1* and Kara Webster1,2 1 Ontario Forest Research Institute, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Sault Ste Marie, Ontario 2 Present address, Canadian Forest Service, Great Lakes Forestry Centre, Sault Ste Marie, Ontario * Corresponding author, [email protected] 2013 Science and Information Resources Division • Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication Data McLaughlin, Jim W. Effects of a changing climate on peatlands in permafrost zones : a literature review and application to Ontario’s far north [electronic resource] / Jim McLaughlin and Kara Webster. (Climate change research report ; CCRR-34) Electronic monograph in PDF format. Issued also in printed form. Includes some text in French. Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 978-1-4606-1438-9 1.Peatland ecology – Ontario, Northern. 2. Peatland ecology – Hudson Bay Region. 3. Peat bog ecology – Ontario, Northern. 4. Carbon cycle (Biogeochemistry) – Ontario, Northern. 5. Carbon cycle (Biogeochemistry) – Hudson Bay Region. 6. Climatic changes – Environmental aspects – Ontario, Northern. I. Webster, Kara L. (Kara Liane), 1972 – II. Ontario. Ministry of Natural Resources. Applied Research and Development Branch. III. Title. IV. Series: Climate change research report (Online) ; CCRR-34 S592.85 M34 2013 577.687097131 C2013-964013-4 © 2013, Queen’s Printer for Ontario Printed in Ontario, Canada Single copies of this publication are available from: Applied Research and Development Ontario Forest Research Institute Ministry of Natural Resources 1235 Queen Street East Sault Ste. Marie, ON Canada P6A 2E5 Telephone: (705) 946-2981 Fax: (705) 946-2030 E-mail: [email protected] Cette publication hautement spécialisée Effects of a Changing Climate on Peatlands in Permafrost Zones: A Literature Review and Application to Ontario’s Far North n’est disponible qu’en Anglais en vertu du Règlement 411/97 qui en exempte l’application de la Loi sur les services en français. Pour obtenir de l’aide en français, veuillez communiquer avec le ministère de Richesses naturelles au information. [email protected]. This paper contains recycled materials. i Abstract The Far North of Ontario encompasses 45.2 million hectares of land, with peatlands—defined here as non-forested bogs and fens—as the dominant land class, accounting for nearly 50% of the landscape and storing approximately 36 Gt (1 Gt = 1015 g) of carbon. The Hudson Bay Lowlands (HBL) account for nearly 50% of the land area and stores about 75% of the peatland carbon in the Far North. The HBL is the largest peatland complex with the southernmost distribution of non-alpine permafrost in North America. More than 75% of the HBL occurs in Ontario, where the provincial Far North Act, 2010 includes a land use planning objective of maintaining biological diversity, ecological processes and ecological functions, including the storage and sequestration of carbon in the Far North. Because peatlands account for nearly 75% of the HBL landscape, we reviewed the peatland literature and identified peatland succession, permafrost thaw, hydrology, and fire as potential climate change indicators that drive peatland carbon budgets. As well, remote sensing can be used to scale these indicators to estimate current and project future states of the HBL landscape and the strength of its carbon sink. We propose two hypotheses of potential climate change effects on peatland carbon in the HBL: (1) in northern ecoregions accelerated permafrost thawing and wetter peat enhances methane emissions and (2) in southern ecoregions increased evapotranspiration and drier peat accelerates carbon dioxide losses through peat decomposition (and possible fire). We also propose a climate change vulnerability and adaptation assessment framework for HBL peatlands and discuss challenges to its development and application in land use planning. ii Resumé Effets d’un climat changeant sur les tourbières dans les zones pergélisolées : Revue de la littérature et application au Grand Nord de l’Ontario Le Grand Nord de l’Ontario englobe 45,2 millions d’hectares de terres, dont la majeure partie, soit près de 50 p. 100 de la surface terrestre de la région, est formée de tourbières – définies ici comme étant les baissières et les marais non boisés – lesquelles stockent environ 36 Gt (1 Gt = 1015 g) de dioxyde de carbone. Les basses-terres de la baie d’Hudson (BTBH) représentent près de 50 p. 100 de ce territoire et stockent environ 75 p. 100 du carbone séquestré par les tourbières du Grand Nord. Les BTBH constituent la zone de tourbières la plus vaste, située le plus au sud du pergélisol non alpin en Amérique du Nord. Plus de 75 p. 100 des BTBH se trouvent en Ontario, où la Loi de 2010 sur le Grand Nord provinciale prévoit que la planification de l’aménagement du territoire ait pour objectif de maintenir la biodiversité ainsi que les processus et fonctions écologiques, y compris le stockage et la séquestration du dioxyde de carbone. Vu que les tourbières forment près de 75 p. 100 de la superficie des BTBH, nous avons étudié la littérature pertinente et repéré la succession écologique des tourbières, le dégel du pergélisol, l’hydrologie et les incendies comme indicateurs possibles du changement climatique et de son influence sur le bilan de carbone des tourbières.
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