Quantifying Peatland Ecohydrological Resilience to Drought

泥炭地覆盖了加拿大陆地表面的17%，主要位于北方和亚北极生态区。泥炭地生态系统是全球气候调节器和区域重要的水资源，包含全球土壤碳库的三分之一，占全球地表淡水的10%。然而，气候变化预计将导致更干燥的条件，增加植被压力和野火的发生率增加。虽然实地证据表明，泥炭地通常是具有弹性的生态系统，但一些模拟研究表明，泥炭地将代表气候变化下对干旱的强烈和持续的积极反馈。因此，迫切需要开发和采用一种新的方法来量化泥炭地的生态水文过程，以确定其对气候变化介导的干旱的适应能力。因此，本研究的目的是量化泥炭地的生态水文适应干旱。** 苔藓生态生理学实验室实验将与泥炭恢复力的实地过程量化相补充，以应对不同严重程度的干旱。本研究将采用一种新的时空方法，研究深度（和演替状态）从0.1米到> 2米的泥炭湿地。将使用用于模拟干旱对泥炭地生态水文学的影响的实验室和田间实验对数学模型进行参数化，以评估泥炭深度对干旱的阈值。** 本研究将培养和发展12名高素质的人才，包括2名硕士和2名博士生。该研究将提供新的信息，增强的模型，指导方针和建议，帮助政府和行业更好地了解自然资源管理决策和应对泥炭地气候变化的长期生态和水文影响。干旱与气候变化之间的关系可能对林业活动、野火社区保护和碳固存产生重大影响。

Peatlands cover ~17% of Canada's land surface and are located primarily in the boreal and subarctic ecozones. Peatland ecosystems represent a global climate regulator and a regionally important water resource, containing one-third of the global soil carbon pool and accounting for 10% of the global surface fresh water. However, climate change is expected to lead to drier conditions, increased vegetation stress and a greater incidence of wildfire. While field evidence suggests that peatlands are generally resilient ecosystems, some modelling studies suggest peatlands will represent a strong and persistent positive feedback to drying under climate change. Consequently, there is an urgent need to develop and adopt a new approach to quantify ecohydrological processes in peatlands to determine their resilience to climate change mediated drought. As such, the aim of this research is to quantify peatland ecohydrological resilience to drought. ******Moss ecophysiology lab experiments will be complemented with a field based process quantification of peat resilience in response to varying severity of drought. A novel space for time approach will be used in this research by examining peat-filled wetlands ranging in depth (and successional state) from 0.1m to >2m. A mathematical model will be parameterized using the lab and field experiments used to simulate the effects of drought on peatland ecohydrology to assess peat depth thresholds to drought. ******This research will train and develop 12 highly qualified personnel including 2 MSc and 2 PhD students. The research will provide new information, enhanced models, guidelines, and recommendations that will help government and industry better understand the long-term ecological and hydrological ramifications of natural resource management decisions and responses to climate change of peatlands. The relationship between drought and climate change could have significant implications for forestry activities, wildfire community protection and carbon sequestration.