A novel testate amoebae trait-based approach to infer environmental disturbance in Sphagnum peatlands.

ABSTRACT: Species' functional traits are closely related to ecosystem processes through evolutionary adaptation, and are thus directly connected to environmental changes. Species' traits are not commonly used in palaeoecology, even though they offer powerful advantages in understanding the impact of environmental disturbances in a mechanistic way over time. Here we show that functional traits of testate amoebae (TA), a common group of palaeoecological indicators, can serve as an early warning signal of ecosystem disturbance and help determine thresholds of ecosystem resilience to disturbances in peatlands. We analysed TA traits from two Sphagnum-dominated mires, which had experienced different kinds of disturbances in the past 2000 years - fire and peat extraction, respectively. We tested the effect

SUBMITTER: Marcisz K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5034269 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature