Postglacial Climate Change, Paleoecological Dynamics and Carbon Accumulation in Pacific Canada

了解和管理现代环境和生态系统是通过对过去的研究。湖泊和泥炭沼泽是环境条件的敏感记录器，其沉积物提供了自上次冰期以来气候和生态系统变化的极好档案。在我们的研究中，我们专注于过去气候变化对生态和环境影响的三个方面，以了解未来气候变化可能产生的影响。未来五年的主要目标是：1）了解自上一个冰河时代以来加拿大太平洋地区森林的发展，并确定气候的自然变化如何影响过去的植物群落; 2）了解气候变化对我们森林的遗传后果; 3）破译气候和植被的变化如何影响泥炭地碳的积累和储存。泥炭地之所以重要，是因为它们单位面积储存的碳比任何其他陆地生态系统都多，因此是二氧化碳的重要汇。这项研究有助于确定气候变化对这些重要碳汇的可能影响，通过确定过去的气候和植被变化如何影响泥炭地的碳储存。为此，我们分析了保存在湖泊沉积物和泥炭中的物理，化学和生物证据。我们鉴定植物化石，如花粉和种子，以确定植物群落在数千年来的变化。这些沉积物中还保存着古老的植物DNA，这可以帮助我们了解冰川消退后树木迁移的模式，并最终了解气候变化对我们森林的遗传后果。我们还分析了其他化石，如昆虫遗骸以及沉积物的物理和化学性质，以确定过去气候和碳积累的变化。通过结合来自多个地点的数据，我们可以确定过去气候变化的区域模式，并利用这些模式来了解森林和泥炭地如何应对和适应过去的气候变化。这使我们能够预测气候变化的影响，并通过改善森林和环境管理做法为这些影响做好准备。

Understanding and managing modern environments and ecosystems is informed by studies of the past. Lakes and peat bogs are sensitive recorders of environmental conditions and their sediments provide excellent archives of changes in climate and ecosystems since the last glaciation. In our research, we focus on three aspects of the ecological and environmental impacts of past climate change in order to understand the possible impacts of future climate change. The main objectives over the next five years are to: 1) understand the development of forests in Pacific Canada since the last ice age and determine how natural variability in climate affected plant communities in the past; 2) understand the genetic consequences of climate change for our forests; and 3) decipher how changes in climate and vegetation have influenced the accumulation and storage of carbon in peatlands. Peatlands are important because they store more carbon per unit area than any other terrestrial ecosystem and are therefore significant sinks for carbon dioxide. This research helps to determine the possible impacts of climate change on these important carbon sinks by identifying how past changes in climate and vegetation influenced carbon storage in peatlands. To do this, we analyze physical, chemical and biological evidence preserved in lake sediments and peat. We identify fossil plant remains such as pollen and seeds to determine how plant communities have changed over thousands of years. Ancient plant DNA is also preserved in these sediments and this can help us to understand the patterns of tree migration following deglaciation and ultimately the genetic consequences of climate change for our forests. We also analyze other fossils such as insect remains as well as the physical and chemical properties of the sediments to identify past changes in climate and carbon accumulation. By combining data from several sites, we can identify regional patterns in past climate change and use these to understand how forests and peatlands have responded and adapted to past changes in climate. This allows us to make predictions about the impacts of climate change and to prepare for these impacts by improving forest and environmental management practices.