Development of a subarctic peatland linked to slope dynamics at Lac Wiyâshâkimî (Nunavik, Canada)

A palaeoecological study of a subarctic minerotrophic peatland was undertaken to reconstruct the formation of the site as an archive of slope geomorphological processes. The study peatland is located about 400 m from Caribou slope (unofficial name) on Lepage Island, Lac Wiyâshâkimî, Nunavik (northern Québec, Canada). The site is close to the lakeshore and receives runoff directly from Caribou slope and its catchment. Gravity processes have been active on Caribou slope since the deglaciation of the region at approximately 6000 cal. yr BP. These processes may be differentiated in terms of Holocene stages of intensity. The objective of our study was to detect evidence of gravity processes in the peatland and to note their frequency since its establishment using loss-on-ignition testing, macrofossil analysis and radiocarbon dating. Our results indicate that peat began to accumulate over the sandy-gravelly sediments at around 4900 cal. yr BP. Larix Laricina, Carex aquatilis and Carex rostrata were present at this time until 4660 cal. yr BP, at which point these taxa were replaced by aquatic taxa such as Hippuris vulgaris and Daphnia (aquatic invertebrates). The percentage of mineral sediments (sand) remained high during this period, which could be linked to slope activity. After 4660 cal. yr BP, sandy sediments diminished while episodes of aquatic conditions and sand inflow occurred on at least three occasions (at 4660, 3905 and 3130 cal. yr BP). The increase in water flow and the introduction of more medium to fine sand into the peatland could be linked to slope movements and the long-distance runout of debris flow that we observed in the field. Given these factors, conditions at the study site remained wet from the earliest phases until the present. Unlike the subarctic permafrost peatlands in northern Québec, permafrost did not become established at the study site.

Assessing the effects of climate change and land use on northern Labrador forest stands based on paleoecological data

We reconstructed the late Holocene vegetation of the Nain region (northern Labrador, northeastern Canada) in order to assess the influence of climate and historic land use on past shifts in forest composition. Chronostratigraphy was used in combination with macrofossil and pollen data from monoliths sampled from four peatlands. Paleoecological reconstructions produced a vegetation history spanning 4900 years for the Nain region that is largely concordant with other studies in Labrador. An initial open forest tundra phase was followed by an increase in tree cover at around 2800 cal yr BP. Paludification began ∼200 cal yr BP. A decline in Picea and its subsequent disappearance from most of the sites occurred ∼170 cal yr BP (AD 1780) in a period of relatively mild conditions during the Little Ice Age. This event was followed by the establishment of Larix laricina in the region. Local anthropogenic factors are likely responsible for these later developments, as they were not observed in other regional studies. The period around AD 1780 corresponds to the establishment of the Moravian missionaries on the Labrador coast, which increased the need for fuel and lumber. We conclude that changes in land use are reflected in the patterns of vegetation and hydrological change at the study sites.

Successful reproduction by the eastern larch beetle (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) in the absence of an overwintering period

Eastern larch beetles, Dendroctonus simplex LeConte (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae), are monophagous, phloem-feeding herbivores of eastern larch (tamarack), Larix laricina (Du Roi) Koch (Pinaceae). Recently dead or moribund trees are preferentially colonised. Outbreaks of eastern larch beetles are generally localised and short-lived, although a large outbreak has been occurring in the Great Lakes region of North America since 2000. The beetle is reported as univoltine, with a single, spring-emergent, reproductive parent generation establishing one to three sibling broods per year. Some progeny emerging during summer or fall re-enter the tree bole close to ground level to overwinter, while remaining brood adults overwinter within pupal chambers in situ. Owing to these behaviours, eastern larch beetles have been suggested to possess an obligate overwintering reproductive diapause. However, studies have not confirmed this hypothesis. We tested the reproductive viability of non-overwintered progeny in three laboratory experiments. Non-overwintered progeny were reproductively viable, suggesting that a portion of the population may exhibit a facultative adult overwintering diapause. Progeny that emerged naturally from the host (i.e., putative fall-emergers) demonstrated reproductive rates almost six-fold those of manually extracted insects demonstrating a propensity to remain in situ (i.e., putative spring-emergers). These results shed new light onto the reproductive behaviour of eastern larch beetles, and suggest that future population dynamics may be influenced by a warming climate.

Late-winter habitat use by the Fisher, Pekania pennanti (Erxleben, 1777), in the Boreal Plains Ecozone of northwestern Saskatchewan, Canada

Late-winter habitat use by the Fisher, Pekania pennanti (Erxleben, 1777) in northwestern Saskatchewan was assessed in February 2009, 2011, and 2012. A total of 78 Fisher tracks were recorded over 60 300 m of snowshoe surveys. Fisher tracks were significantly less frequent than expected in Tamarack (Larix laricina [Du Roi] K. Koch) stands with > 40% crown closure and mainly 0–10 m trees (P < 0.05) and in open areas. Fishers used other habitat types equal to availability, including muskeg and coniferous, mixed, and deciduous forest stands. Maintaining mosaics of forest stands of different seral stages interspersed with muskeg would meet the late-winter habitat needs of Fishers in the Boreal Plains Ecozone of northwestern Saskatchewan.

Holocene development of maritime ombrotrophic peatlands of the St. Lawrence North Shore in eastern Canada

Macrofossil analyses were used to reconstruct long-term vegetation successions within ombrotrophic peatlands (bogs) from the northern shorelines of the St. Lawrence Estuary (Baie-Comeau) and the Gulf of St. Lawrence (Havre-St-Pierre). Over the Holocene, the timing and the ecological context of peatland inception were similar in both regions and were mainly influenced by fluctuations in relative sea level. Peat accumulation started over deltaic sands after the withdrawal of the Goldthwait Sea from 7500 cal yr BP and above silt–clay deposits left by the Laurentian marine transgression after 4200 cal yr BP. In each region, the early vegetation communities were similar within these two edaphic contexts where poor fens with Cyperaceae and eastern larch (Larix laricina) established after land emergence. The rapid transitions to ombrotrophy in the peatlands of Baie-Comeau are associated with particularly high rates of peat accumulation during the early developmental stage. The results suggest that climate was more propitious to Sphagnum growth after land emergence in the Baie-Comeau area. Macrofossil data show that treeless Sphagnum-dominated bogs have persisted over millennia and that fires had few impacts on the vegetation dynamics. This study provides insight into peatland vegetation responses to climate in a poorly documented region of northeastern America.

Survival and growth of eastern larch, balsam fir, and black spruce six years after winter browning in northeastern Ontario, Canada

In spring 2007, young conifers suffered extensive needle and bud injury near Hearst, Kapuskasing, and Cochrane in northeastern Ontario, Canada. Analysis of weather data revealed that the damage was likely caused by earlier than normal loss of cold hardiness during higher than normal temperatures in late April and early May. The dehardened trees were damaged in the cold days that followed. We report the survival and growth of eastern larch (Larix laricina), balsam fir (Abies balsamea), and black spruce (Picea mariana) in the affected area based on field assessments and stem analysis of affected trees following the event. Total survival through six growing seasons following damage was 98% in eastern larch but only about 70% in balsam fir and black spruce. The effect of the damage on tree growth was greater and longer lasting for diameter than height. Both survival and growth reductions were associated with high levels of mature needle loss and bud damage. Implications of these findings for forest management are discussed in light of expected climate change.