Twentieth-century ecological disasters in central European monoculture pine plantations led to critical transitions in peatlands

Abstract

The frequency of extreme events worldwide is steadily increasing. Therefore, it is crucial to recognize the accompanying response of different ecosystems. Monoculture tree plantations with simplified ecosystem linkages in food webs are particularly vulnerable to catastrophic events like fires, wind throws, droughts, and insect outbreaks. These events threaten forests and other associated ecosystems, including peatlands, which are extremely important in regulating the global carbon cycle and, thus, mitigating the effects of a warming climate. Here, we traced a 2000-year history of the Miały peatland, which is located in one of Poland's largest pine plantation complexes, and we examined how this peatland responded to some of the largest environmental disasters observed in the 20th century across central Europe: the 1922-1924 Panolis flammea outbreak and the 1992 fire. As a disturbance proxy, we used a multi-proxy palaeoecological analysis (plant macrofossils, testate amoebae, pollen, non-pollen palynomorphs, and micro- and macrocharcoal) supported by a neodymium isotope record. We showed several critical transitions in the peatland associated with extreme events and anthropogenic impacts, which triggered significant changes in the peatland's ecological status.