uid=HFR,o=lter,dc=ecoinformatics,dc=org all public read doi:10.6073/pasta/9329fd9e05ad60b40f53f649a9b857bb Rebecca Anderson David Foster https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1171-3762 2023 English

As peatlands form they create a temporal archive of community development, allowing the reconstruction of vegetation dynamics through the analysis of sediments and the development of detailed chronologies of successional change. Peatland formation occurs through two mechanisms: (i) terrestrialization, when a water body fills with sediments and peat; and (ii) paludification, the conversion of dry land to peatland. In temperate regions, where high summer temperatures may limit peat accumulation, general models of peatland development suggest that allogenic factors such as climate change control peatland development and that terrestrialization is the primary mechanism of formation. This study evaluates this widely accepted model by comparing the developmental histories of three peatlands within the same climate region in New England in order to: (i) describe the development and timing of successional events among peatlands; (ii) document the roles of paludification and terrestrialization as developmental mechanisms; and (iii) evaluate the importance of climate change vs. autogenic factors in peatland development in this temperate region. Basin morphometry, sediment stratigraphies, and chronologies of community change determined through radiocarbon dating indicate that peatland development at each site involved terrestrialization followed by paludification, with no apparent influence of broad-scale climate change on the timing of these processes. Paludification was consistently initiated coincident with the consolidation of a shrub mat across each lake-basin, and was controlled in extent and rate by the topography of the adjoining uplands. The timing of stratigraphic changes varied among sites, suggesting that autogenic factors associated with the accumulation of peat rather than regional climate change controlled development. These results provide the foundation for a model of temperate peatland development driven by autogenic factors and caution against the use of temperate peatland development as a proxy for climatic reconstruction.

climate change peatland sediments LTER controlled vocabulary disturbance LTER core area Harvard Forest HFR LTER USA HFR default

This dataset is released to the public under Creative Commons CC0 1.0 (No Rights Reserved). Please keep the dataset creators informed of any plans to use the dataset. Consultation with the original investigators is strongly encouraged. Publications and data products that make use of the dataset should include proper acknowledgement.

Creative Commons Zero v1.0 Universal https://spdx.org/licenses/CC0-1.0.html CC0-1.0 https://harvardforest.fas.harvard.edu/exist/apps/datasets/showData.html?id=hf074 Central New England. Coordinates based on WGS84 datum. -72.21 -72.01 +42.72 +42.54 -12000 2000 complete Information Manager Harvard Forest

324 North Main Street Petersham MA 01366 USA

(978) 724-3302 hf-im@lists.fas.harvard.edu Harvard Forest

324 North Main Street Petersham MA 01366 USA

(978) 724-3302 (978) 724-3595 https://harvardforest.fas.harvard.edu

Sediment cores were taken in 25-m grid throughout 3 small (~ 10 ha) peatland basins in northern Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire. The stratigraphy of each core was described and radiocarbon dates were taken from cores on a transect across the basin.

Harvard Forest

324 North Main Street Petersham MA 01366 USA

(978) 724-3302 (978) 724-3595 https://harvardforest.fas.harvard.edu https://ror.org/059cpzx98 pointOfContact The Harvard Forest Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) program examines ecological dynamics in the New England region resulting from natural disturbances, environmental change, and human impacts. National Science Foundation LTER grants: DEB-8811764, DEB-9411975, DEB-0080592, DEB-0620443, DEB-1237491, DEB-1832210. hf074-01-peatlands.csv peatlands data hf074-01-peatlands.csv 33410 de2de4e01976cb6134c4c6dff1985f92 1 \r\n column , https://harvardforest.fas.harvard.edu/data/p07/hf074/hf074-01-peatlands.csv site site name site name transect which north/south grid point which north/south grid point point which east/west grid point which east/west grid point dpf for edge points, how far past the closest grid point meter 0.1 real NA missing value depth.probe depth as probed from peatland centimeter 1 whole NA missing value depth.clay depth of cored sediments from surface to mineral centimeter 1 whole NA missing value woody.peat.1 depth (cm) of peat deposit - woody peat type 1 depth (cm) of peat deposit - woody peat type 1 woody.peat.2 depth (cm) of peat deposit - woody peat type 2 depth (cm) of peat deposit - woody peat type 2 shrub.peat depth (cm) of peat deposit depth (cm) of peat deposit sedge.shrub.peat depth (cm) of peat deposit depth (cm) of peat deposit gyttja.macrofossils depth (cm) of aquatic sediments with macrofossils depth (cm) of aquatic sediments with macrofossils gyttja depth (cm) of aquatic sediment depth (cm) of aquatic sediment clay presence of clay sediment y yes grid.point point on permanent grid for Prospect Hill, Harvard Forest point on permanent grid for Prospect Hill, Harvard Forest 639 historical community regional paleological