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ABSTRACT: We studied the vegetation, testate amoebae and abiotic variables (depth of the water table, pH, electrical conductivity, Ca
and Mg concentrations of water extracted from mosses) along the bog to extremely rich fen gradient in sub-alpine peatlands
of the Upper Engadine (Swiss Alps). Testate amoeba diversity was correlated to that of mosses but not of vascular plants.
Diversity peaked in rich fen for testate amoebae and in extremely rich fen for mosses, while for testate amoebae and mosses
it was lowest in bog but for vascular plants in extremely rich fen. Multiple factor and redundancy analyses (RDA) revealed
a stronger correlation of testate amoebae than of vegetation to water table and hydrochemical variables and relatively strong
correlation between testate amoeba and moss community data. In RDA, hydrochemical variables explained a higher proportion
of the testate amoeba and moss data than water table depth. Abiotic variables explained a higher percentage of the species
data for testate amoebae (30.3% or 19.5% for binary data) than for mosses (13.4%) and vascular plants (10%). These results
show that (1) vascular plant, moss and testate amoeba communities respond differently to ecological gradients in peatlands
and (2) testate amoebae are more strongly related than vascular plants to the abiotic factors at the mire surface. These differences
are related to vertical trophic gradients and associated niche differentiation.
Microbial Ecology 04/2012; 59(3):499-510. · 2.91 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Abstract Our palaeoecological study covers 73 years of history (1929â2002) of a kettle hole peatland inundated by water from a nearby, dammed lake. Testate amoebae, pollen and non-pollen palynomorphs (NPPs) were used to track the shift to wetter conditions in the peatland. Lead-210 was used to try and construct the chronology. We investigated how peatland testate amoebae communities changed since the damming of a nearby river. Furthermore, we evaluated how rapidly local vegetation responded to the increase in wetness, and how vegetation changes correlated with shifts in testate amoebae and NPPs. The Mukrza kettle hole provided palaeoecological evidence of trophic state and hydrological changes since the lake filled with water in 1929. Three stages of development were revealed. The first two were associated with initial inundation, and the third was related to Sphagnum expansion and acidification. Quantitative reconstruction of groundwater level and pH, inferred using testate amoebae, confirmed our hy
Journal of Paleolimnology 04/2012; 3:499-511. · 1.90 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: In Chlebowo mire (Wielkopolska region), we investigated testate amoebae in relation to 10 environmental parameters in the
semi-natural floating vegetation of flooded peat workings. The measured parameters included: depth to water table (DWT), ground-water
pH, color, conductivity, PO4, NO3, NH4, SO4, Ca, and Mg. Detrended correspondence analysis and canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) were used to analyze relations
between the composition of testate amoebae communities and those variables. In canonical correspondence analysis, DWT, pH,
and Mg remained after forwardselection as the main factors characterizing the changes in testate amoebae communities along
the moisture and nutrient gradients. Characteristic species of testate amoebae for the various stages of floating-mat development
in the flooded peat workings were distinguished. Communities of testate amoebae along with present-day vegetation reflect
the process of progressive acidification, driven mainly by Sphagnum fallax. We consider this as secondary succession, since preliminary investigations of peat stratigraphy revealed sedge peat below
no more than 5–40 cm of Sphagnum peat in undisturbed parts of the mire. This study increases our understanding of relationships between testate amoebae and
their habitat, which is valuable for palaeoenvironmental studies. A local transfer function was developed with the use of
six models: partial least squares, maximum likelihood, modern analogue technique, weighted averaging, tolerance down-weighted
averaging, and weighted averaging-partial least squares. The weighted averaging model performed the best for depth to water
table (root mean square error of prediction RMSEP = 6.99) and pH (RMSEP = 0.8). Results will be used as part of a regional
training set to improve palaeoenvironmental reconstructions of Sphagnum peatlands.
Wetlands 04/2012; 28(1):164-175. · 1.34 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Modern period long-term human and climatic impacts on a small mire in the Jura Mountains were assessed using testate amoebae, macrofossils and pollen. This multiproxy data analysis permitted detailed interpretations of local and regional environmental change and thus a partial disentanglement of the different variables that influence long-term mire development. From the Middle Ages until A.D. 1700 the mire vegetation was characterised by ferns, Caltha and Vaccinium, but then abruptly changed into the modern vegetation characterised by Cyperaceae, Potentilla and Sphagnum. The cause for this change was most probably deforestation, possibly enhanced by climatic cooling. A decrease in trampling intensity by domestic animals from A.D. 1950 onwards allowed Sphagnum growth and climatic warming in the A.D. 1980s and 1990s may have been responsible for considerable changes in the species composition. The mire investigated is an example of the rapid changes in mire vegetation and peat development that occurred throughout the central European mountain region during the past centuries as a result of changing climate and land-use practice. These processes are still active today and will determine the future development of high-altitude mires.
Vegetation History and Archaeobotany 04/2012; 17:185-197. · 2.12 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: The Żabieniec kettle hole is the first peatland in central Poland analyzed quantitatively with four biotic proxies (plant
macrofossils, pollen, testate amoebae and chironomids) to reconstruct the past environmental change. Palaeoecological data
were supported by historical and archaeological records. We focused on autogenic vegetation change and human impact in relation
to climatic effects. The aims of our study were (a) to describe the development history of the mire during the last 2,000
years, (b) to date and reconstruct the anthropogenic land-use changes and (c) to discuss a possible climatic signal in the
peat archive. The combination of proxies revealed dramatic shifts that took place in the peatland since the Roman Period.
Żabieniec was a very wet telmatic habitat until ca. AD 600. Then, the water table declined, and the site transformed into
a Sphagnum-dominated mire. This dry shift took place mainly during the Early Medieval Period. Human impact was gradually increasing,
and it was particularly emphasized by deforestation since AD 1250 (beginning of the Late Medieval Period). Consequently, surface
run-off and aeolian transport from the exposed soils caused the eutrophication of the mire. Furthermore, chironomids and testate
amoebae reveal the beginning of a wet shift ca. AD 1350. Openness considerably increased in the Late Medieval and the Modern
Periods. The highest water table during the last 1,000 years was recorded between AD 1500 and 1800. This wet event is connected
with deforestation, but it could be also associated with the Little Ice Age. Our study shows plant succession in the Żabieniec
peatland, which can be explained with the recent landscape transformation. However, such changes are also possibly linked
with the major climatic episodes during the last two millennia, such as the Medieval Warm Period and the Little Ice Age.
KeywordsCentral Poland-Kettle hole-Testate amoebae-Pollen-Macrofossils-Human impact-Climate-Environmental archaeology
05/2010: pages 213-230;
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ABSTRACT: We present the first testate amoeba-based palaeohydrological reconstruction from the Swiss Alps, and the first depth to the water table (DWT) calibration dataset for this region. Compared to existing models, our new calibration dataset performs well (RMSEP = 4.88), despite the length of the water table gradient covered (53 cm). The present-day topography and vegetation of the study mire Mauntschas suggest that it is partly ombrotrophic (large Sphagnum fuscum hummocks, one of which was the coring site) but mostly under the minerotrophic influence of springs in the mire and runoff from the surrounding area. Ombrotrophic Sphagnum fuscum hummocks developed at the sampling site only during the last 50 years, when testate amoebae indicate a shift towards dry and/or acid conditions. Prior to AD 1950 the water table was much higher, suggesting that the influence of the mineral-rich water prevented the development of ombrotrophic hummocks. The reconstructed DWT correlated with Pinus cembra pollen accumulation rates, suggesting that testate amoebae living on the mire and P. cembra growing outside of it partly respond to the same factor(s). Finally, temperature trends from the nearby meteorological station paralleled trends in reconstructed DWT. However, contrary to other studies made on raised bogs of northwestern Europe, the highest correlation was observed for winter temperature, despite the fact that testate amoebae would more logically respond to moisture conditions during the growing season. The observed correlation with winter temperature might reflect a control of winter severity on surface moisture during at least the first part of the growing season, through snow melt and soil frost phenomena influencing run-off. More ecohydrological work on sub-alpine mires is needed to understand the relationships between climate, testate amoebae and peatland development. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Journal of Quaternary Science 01/2010; 25(2):190 - 202. · 2.31 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: We studied the vegetation, testate amoebae and abiotic variables (depth of the water table, pH, electrical conductivity, Ca and Mg concentrations of water extracted from mosses) along the bog to extremely rich fen gradient in sub-alpine peatlands of the Upper Engadine (Swiss Alps). Testate amoeba diversity was correlated to that of mosses but not of vascular plants. Diversity peaked in rich fen for testate amoebae and in extremely rich fen for mosses, while for testate amoebae and mosses it was lowest in bog but for vascular plants in extremely rich fen. Multiple factor and redundancy analyses (RDA) revealed a stronger correlation of testate amoebae than of vegetation to water table and hydrochemical variables and relatively strong correlation between testate amoeba and moss community data. In RDA, hydrochemical variables explained a higher proportion of the testate amoeba and moss data than water table depth. Abiotic variables explained a higher percentage of the species data for testate amoebae (30.3% or 19.5% for binary data) than for mosses (13.4%) and vascular plants (10%). These results show that (1) vascular plant, moss and testate amoeba communities respond differently to ecological gradients in peatlands and (2) testate amoebae are more strongly related than vascular plants to the abiotic factors at the mire surface. These differences are related to vertical trophic gradients and associated niche differentiation.
Microbial Ecology 12/2009; 59(3):499-510. · 2.91 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: This high-resolution, multiproxy, palaeoenvironmental study of the Słowińskie Błota raised bog in N Poland, 10 km from the Baltic Sea, covering the last 1200 years reveals different aspects of environmental change in a range of spatial scales from local to regional. Testate amoebae allowed quantitative reconstruction of the local water table using a transfer function based on a training set from N and W Poland. Special attention is paid to the testate amoeba Arcella discoides, which responds to rapid water-table fluctuations more than to average surface wetness. Macrofossils supported by local pollen tracked the local vegetation dynamics caused by local human impact and disturbance, including nutrients. Regional pollen showed human-induced landscape change outside the bog. Tree rings of Pinus sylvestris reflected the history of tree establishment and desiccation of the bog. Strong correlations between DCA axes 1 of regional pollen, of macrofossils and of testate amoebae, and a testate-amoebae-based water-table reconstruction that excludes A. discoides, indicate that changes on all spatial scales are linked, which is explained by a strong hydrologic connection between bog and surroundings. The combination of proxies shows that groundwater levels were modified by both human impact and climate change.
Boreas 04/2009; 38(2):214 - 229. · 1.91 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: To date only five partial and two complete SSU rRNA gene sequences are available for the lobose testate amoebae (Arcellinida). Consequently, the phylogenetic relationships among taxa and the definition of species are still largely dependant on morphological characters of uncertain value, which causes confusion in the phylogeny, taxonomy and the debate on cosmopolitanism of free-living protists. Here we present a SSU rRNA-based phylogeny of the Hyalospheniidae including the most common species. Similar to the filose testate amoebae of the order Euglyphida the most basal clades have a terminal aperture; the ventral position of the pseudostome appears to be a derived character. Family Hyalospheniidae appears paraphyletic and is separated into three clades: (1) Heleopera sphagni, (2) Heleopera rosea and Argynnia dentistoma and (3) the rest of the species from genera Apodera, Hyalosphenia, Porosia and Nebela. Our data support the validity of morphological characters used to define species among the Hyalospheniidae and even suggest that taxa described as varieties may deserve the rank of species (e.g. N. penardiana var. minor). Finally our results suggest that the genera Hyalosphenia and Nebela are paraphyletic, and that Porosia bigibbosa branches inside the main Nebela clade.
Protist 05/2008; 159(2):165-76. · 3.14 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: We studied the relationship between testate amoebae (Protozoa) communities and the depth to the water table (DWT), pH, conductivity, and microhabitat type in Sphagnum dominated peatlands of north-western Poland and built predictive (transfer function) models for inferring DWT and pH based on the testate amoebae community structure. Such models can be used for peatland monitoring and paleoecology. A total of 52 testate amoebae taxa were recorded. In a redundancy analysis, DWT and pH explained 20.1% of the variation in the species data and allowed us to identify three groups of taxa: species that are associated with (1) high DWT and low pH, (2) low DWT and low pH, and (3) high pH and mid-range DWT. Our transfer function models allow DWT and pH to be estimated with mean errors of 9.89 cm and 0.71 pH units. The prediction error of the DWT model and the tolerance of the species both increase with increasing dryness. This pattern mirrors the ecology of Sphagnum mosses: Species growing in wet habitats are more sensitive to change in water table depth than the species growing in drier microhabitats. Our results are consistent with studies of testate amoeba ecology in other regions, and they provide additional support for the use of these organisms in paleoecological and biomonitoring contexts.
Microbial Ecology 08/2005; 50(1):48-63. · 2.91 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: This high-resolution, multiproxy, palaeoenvironmental study of the Slowinskie Blota raised bog in N Poland, 10km from the Baltic Sea, covering the last 1200 years reveals different aspects of environmental change in a range of spatial scales from local to regional. Testate amoebae allowed quantitative reconstruction of the local water table using a transfer function based on a training set from N and W Poland. Special attention is paid to the testate amoeba Arcella discoides, which responds to rapid water-table fluctuations more than to average surface wetness. Macrofossils supported by local pollen tracked the local vegetation dynamics caused by local human impact and disturbance, including nutrients. Regional pollen showed human-induced landscape change outside the bog. Tree rings of Pinus sylvestris reflected the history of tree establishment and desiccation of the bog. Strong correlations between DCA axes 1 of regional pollen, of macrofossils and of testate amoebae, and a testate-amoebae-based water-table reconstruction that excludes A. discoides, indicate that changes on all spatial scales are linked, which is explained by a strong hydrologic connection between bog and surroundings. The combination of proxies shows that groundwater levels were modified by both human impact and climate change.
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ABSTRACT: ‘Little Ice Age’ (LIA) climatic deteriorations have been abundantly documented in various archives such as ice, lake sediments and peat bog deposits. Palaeoecological analyses of peat samples have identified these climatic deteriorations using a range of techniques, for example palynology, plant macrofossils, testate amoebae or carbon isotopic analyses. The use of inorganic geochemistry and the reconstruction of dust fluxes has remained a challenge in tracing the nature of LIA climatic changes. Although the idea of enhanced erosion conditions and storminess is commonly discussed, the conditions for dust deposition in peatlands over Europe during the LIA are rarely favourable, because the natural forest cover over Europe was much more important than nowadays, preventing dust deposition. This intense forest canopy masks the deposition of dust in peatlands. In northern Poland, near the Baltic shore, the Słowin´skie Błota area was deforested around AD 1100, ie, just before the LIA, and therefore constitutes a key area for the reconstruction of LIA climatic change. With the support of a well-constrained chronology, climatic fluctuations are recorded in an ombrotrophic bog using inorganic geochemistry, plant macrofossils and carbon isotopic analyses. The reconstruction of LIA climatic changes is in good agreement with other records from Poland and NE Europe. However, a c. 50-year discrepancy can be observed between various records. This discrepancy is possibly due to progressive time-dependent cooling gradient from north to south Europe.
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ABSTRACT: Vegetation responses to environmental gradients in peatlands are well documented but little is known about how these patterns compare with those of soil organisms. We studied the vegetation, testate amoebae, and abiotic variables (depth of the water table – DWT, pH, electrical conductivity, Ca and Mg concentrations of water extracted from mosses) along the bog to extremely rich fen gradient in sub-alpine peatlands of Engadine (Swiss Alps). Testate amoeba diversity was correlated to that of mosses but not of vascular plants. Diversity peaked in rich fens for testate amoebae and in extremely rich fens for mosses, while it was lowest in bogs for testate amoebae and mosses but in the extremely rich fen for vascular plants. Multiple factor (MFA) and redundancy (RDA) analyses revealed a stronger correlation of testate amoebae than of vegetation to water table and hydrochemical variables and relatively strong correlation between testate amoeba and moss community data. In RDA hydrochemical variables explained a higher proportion of the testate amoeba and moss data than DWT. Abiotic variables explained a higher percentage of the species data for testate amoebae (30.3%, or 19.5% for binary data) than for mosses (13.4%) and vascular plants (10%). These results show that 1) above-ground and below-ground communities respond differently to ecological gradients in peatlands, 2) testate amoebae are more strongly related than vascular plants to the abiotic factors at the mire surface. These differences are related to vertical trophic gradients and associated niche differentiation.
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ABSTRACT: We reconstructed the Holocene developmental history of a kettle-hole peatland in the Tuchola Forest of Northern Poland, using pollen, testat amoebae and plant macrofossil indicators. Our aims were to determine the timing and pattern of autogenic succession and natural and anthropogenic influences on the peatland. Northern Poland is under mixed oceanic and continental climatic influences but has so far been less studied in a palaeoecological context than more oceanic regions of Europe. In the first terrestrial developmental phase of the mire, the testate amoebae-inferred depth to water table revealed two major dry shifts at ca. 9400 (end of lake phase) and ca. 7100 cal BP (a period of global cooling and dry shift in Western Europe). Conditions became wetter again in two steps at ca. 6700 and ca. 5800 BP after a dry event at ca. 6100 BP. The timing of the wet shift at 5800 BP corresponds to wet periods in Western Europe. Peat accumulation rates were low (0.1 mm yr− 1) between ca. 5600 and ca. 3000 BP when sedges dominated the peatland. In the last 2500 yrs surface moisture fluctuated with wet events at ca. 2750–2400, and 2000 BP, and dry events at ca. 2250–2100 and 1450 BP. After 1450 BP a trend towards wetter conditions culminated at ca. 500 cal BP, possibly caused by local deforestation. Over the mire history, pH (inferred from testate amoebae) was mostly low (around 5) with two short-lived shifts to alkaline conditions (7.5) at ca. 6100 and 1450 BP indicating a minerotrophic influence from surface run-off into the mire. Up to about 1000 BP the ecological shifts inferred from the three proxies agree with palaeoclimatic records from Poland and Western Europe. After this date, however correlation is less clear suggesting an increasing local anthropogenic impact on the mire. This study confirms that kettle-hole peatlands can yield useful palaeoenvironmental data as well as recording land-use change and calls for more comparable studies in regions are the interface between major climate influences.
Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology.
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54:76-80.
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ABSTRACT: A comparison of the tree-ring width of pines growing in areas adjacent to a peat bog and on a Baltic raised bog dome suggests that cambium activity in each tree group is affected by different factors. The study was aimed at pinpointing effects of meteorological factors on two pine populations growing under different hydrological conditions. The study further sought to identify periods during which anthropogenic pressure affected the two populations. The pines growing on mineral soil were characterised by ring-width growthâclimate responses typical of this part of Europe, whereas the tree-ring growth of the pines growing on the peat bog showed no unequivocal relationship with meteorological conditions. The tree-ring width growth dynamics of that population responded primarily to changes in the level of the groundwater table. These changes were associated with human activities over the last two centuries. The development of the tree stands on the peat bog and in its immediate vicinity was reconstructed
29:211-217.
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pages 91-105;
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Mariusz Lamentowicz
13:175-184.
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2:15-26.
