Current Projects and Recent Papers
Keywords: Peatlands and wetlands, soils, carbon cycling, terrestrial ecosystem dynamics, paleoecology, paleoclimatology, environmental change, Holocene, alpine, arctic, Caribbean, and Antarctic regions
Current Projects
Representative Set of External Grants Received
Lead PI, National Science Foundation, CAREER Program, $816,374; CAREER: Past, Present, and Future of the Peatlands of the Caribbean: Implications for the Carbon Cycle in a Changing Climate.
This project combines new field work with paleoecological and modeling studies as well as extensive student training on the terrestrial carbon balance of Caribbean peatlands. My students and I seek to know how these ecosystems function, how they have responded to past environmental changes, and how they might respond to future disturbances. We are integrating 1) new data collection from multiple sites along the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua and Costa Rica, 2) a synthesis of existing data from other Caribbean peatlands, and 3) processed-based ecological simulations. The overarching question is: what are the conditions that enable peatland initiation, facilitate peat development, and control peatland carbon balance over decadal to millennial timescales? Overall, we will produce the first comprehensive assessment of the location, extent, genesis, and development of Caribbean peatlands. This work is necessary to assess the past, present, and future resilience of tropical ecosystems and help inform land management decisions; it will also allow to benchmark Earth System Models and test hypotheses about the role of tropical peatlands in the Holocene global carbon cycle. Outreach includes a photo story by photographer Patrick Campbell and field notes published by Dr. Loisel in the January 2024 issue of Wetland Science and Practice.
Lead PI, Past Global Changes (PAGES), COP26 award, $8,200; Championing our Peatlands (COP) - how peatlands will help us fix our climate.
The C-PEAT working group was present at UN’s COP26 and contributed to the UNEP's Global Peatland Initiative’s «Peatland Pavilion» with: (1) a library of global peat cores and an interactive peat core map, (2) a series of peat drawings to highlight the loss of peatland archives, and (3) the Carbon Park concept. Loisel contributed an invited lecture (recording). An outreach article was also published in Carbon Brief.
Lead PI, Past Global Changes (PAGES), Data steward award, $15,000; C-PEAT data stewardship for dataset integration into the LiPD framework & Neotoma database.
The C-PEAT working group (co-lead by Loisel) has been synthesizing and uploading peatland-carbon datasets to PANGAEA. So far, these datasets only comprise: age-depth model information and peat geochemical data (bulk density, carbon and nitrogen content, etc.). But we still haven't organized or archived our peat-based paleoecological datasets. Those are going to become increasingly important, as one of the main goals of C-PEAT is to make peat-based paleo data more accessible. The interest is high among the peat community to see peat records integrated to regional paleoclimate reconstructions, such as the 2k network. Increasing the accessibility and visibility of peat-core data should help fulfill this goal. We hope we can convince the lake, speleothem, tree-ring, ice, and other specialists of peat's promise as an archive!
Institutional PI and Elected lead PI, 2018-23, National Science Foundation, Macro-Systems Biology and Navigating the New Arctic Programs, $1,675,735 (Loisel: $445,520); Collaborative Research: RUI: MSB FRA: Peat Expansion in Arctic Tundra: Pattern, Process, and the Implication for the Carbon Cycle in a Changing Climate (TundraPEAT).
This project examines potential migration/expansion of the northern peatland frontier in a warming Arctic and its significance in the regional and pan-Arctic carbon cycle. This research team integrates (1) new data collection from multiple tundra sites along the northernmost peat-forming frontiers of the North American Arctic, (2) laboratory incubation experiments, (3) a synthesis of existing data from the tundra and boreal biomes, and (4) ecosystem-scale process model simulations. The overarching question is: will the warming Arctic transform into a peat-rich landscape, as the boreal zone is now, or are there essential conditions lacking in a warming Arctic that will prevent this? To address this broad question, the research focuses on two key elements of the Arctic peat-forming ecosystems: peat patches, and the role of Sphagnum in the formation, persistence, and rapid rates of carbon sequestration of these potentially incipient peatlands. Using observational, experimental, and modeling results, along with synthesis products from a coordinated international research network, the research team will test hypotheses on (1) the ages, carbon accumulation rates, and continental pattern of these rapidly forming and migrating peat patches; (2) the various responses of production and decomposition processes to temperature and moisture change; and (3) the role of Sphagnum in modifying microclimate and shifting balance between their productivity and decomposability. Outreach materials include a storymap prepared by one of my students.
Lead PI, 2017-18, National Geographic Society, $21,820; The value of Magallanes peatlands on the carbon market.
This project quantifies the spatial distribution of belowground soil-carbon stocks in southern Patagonia to help calculate national soil-carbon reference levels for Chile as defined by the United Nation Climate Change Conference. This project uses a unique combination of remote sensing imagery, ground-based geophysical surveys (GPR), ecosystem modeling, and soil analysis. We are also developing the concept of “Carbon Parks” as a means to protect these carbon-rich ecosystems. Carbon Parks can complement the Paris Climate Agreement’s global temperature targets and build on recent proposals such as the Global Deal for Nature, which recommends global protection targets that conserve species and secure ecosystem services. Outreach materials include a short documentary prepared by my students.
Lead PI, 2018-19, National Geographic Society & Texas Fund for Geography Education, $47,961; I Dig It: A soil education toolkit for high school geography teachers.
This educational project provides High School teachers with a geography education toolkit that is designed to familiarize their students with soils, food/fiber production, land-use change, and soil degradation. I developed this soil curriculum with the assistance of 10 undergraduate students: https://www.welovesoil.org/.
Representative Set of Internal Grants Received
PI, 2022-23, Texas A&M University, Seed Grant College Merger Award, $10,000; Rapid plant colonization by Distichia cushions across the High Andes since the Little Ice Age.
This award provides seed funding to collaborate with Dr. Kira Delmore (College of Sciences) on a new project that seeks to understand why and how “Distichia” cushion plant communities seem to have abruptly emerged across the high Andes over the past 100 years. To solve this classic biogeography question, we will use novel genomic tools. Specifically, we will use samples from Peru, Columbia, and Bolivia to test the following competing hypotheses: (1) cushion-forming Distichia plants survived in a single refuge and propagate; (2) the species had several refugia across the Andes. With regards to the latter hypothesis, we are interested in which adaptation(s) these different refugia may bring to the species capacity to adapt and survive to the harsh Andean conditions.
PI, 2021-22, Texas A&M University, Presidential Transformational Teaching Grant (PTTG) Program, $20,000; A Data-Driven Approach to Eco-Friendly Decision Making.
This course provides undergraduate students with an opportunity to collaborate on a semester-long, interdisciplinary project aimed at gathering and synthesizing data to evaluate a number of eco-friendly “solutions” for sustainable living. For example, what is the carbon footprint of a new electric car? What about a reusable grocery bag? The emphasis will be on carbon cycling literacy. Students who enroll in this course will gain valuable knowledge and critical thinking skills, learn how to recognize reputable sources of information, gather and analyze data, combine and fact-check material from across many disciplines, and present their findings in written and oral formats. This hands-on training will also allow students to disseminate their findings to a general audience in the form of blog posts. The vision for this blog is that it will grow into a reliable source of information for a lay audience over the years, as new student projects will be added every semester. I would also like to turn those blog entries into a book on sustainable living.
PI, 2020-21, Texas A&M University, Triads for Transformation (T3) Program, $32,000; Carbon Parks as Conservation Tools.
This project develops an ecosystem service valuation system for ecosystem carbon storage. We quantify carbon storage for different ecosystems (forests, grasslands, peatlands, agricultural lands) using models and assemble available data for performance analysis. We then integrate carbon storage within ecosystem service valuation tools.
PI, 2018-21, Texas A&M University, X-Grant Program, $500,000; Monitoring rapidly changing arctic ecosystems using high-resolution satellite data and artificial intelligence.
This project combines novel satellite-based datasets (from NASA and PLANET) with emerging computational and information technologies such as Machine-Learning and Artificial Intelligence to monitor and document rapid changes in permafrost soils and their associated greenhouse gas emissions across the Arctic landscape. Our specific research objectives are to (1) generate high-resolution maps of permafrost-affected ecosystems in the Arctic, and (2) provide new soil carbon stock and flux estimates by combining our imagery with large datasets that have been compiled by partner organizations.
Recent Papers
In Review, Accepted, and In Press
Published
Galka M, Loisel J, Knorr H-H, Diaconu A-C, Obremska M, Teickner H, Feurdea A. 2023. How degraded are the peatland and forest ecosystems in the Bieszczady Mountains? An assessment using long-term records. Land Degradation and Development, 34 (4), 1246-1262. https://doi.org/10.1002/ldr.4530
Loisel J, Gallego-Sala A. 2022. Ecological Resilience of restored peatlands to climate change.
Invited review. Nature Communications Earth & Environment, 3 (1), 208. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-022-00547-x
Galka M, Diaconnu A-C, Feurdean A, Loisel J, Teickner H, Broder T, Knorr K-H. 2022. Relations of fire, palaeohydrology, vegetation succession, and carbon accumulation, as reconstructed from a mountain bog in the Harz Mountains (Germany) during the last 6200 years. Geoderma, 424. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2022.115991
Galka M, Holzer A, Feurdean A, Loisel J, Teickner H, Diaconu A-C, Broder T, Knorr K-H. 2022. Sensitivity of mountain bog to disturbances in the catchment area over the last 10,000 years. Multi-proxy palaeoecological studies of peat cores from Schwarzwald Mts. Ecological Indicators, 140. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2022.1090393
Parmesan C, Morecroft M, Trisurat Y, Adrian R, Anshari G, Arneth A, Gao Q, Gonzalez P, Harris R, Price J, Stevens N, Talukdar G, Ackerly D, Anderson E, Bremerich V, Brotons L, Chen Y-Y, Dhimal M, Domisch S, Douwes E, Flecker E, Foden W, Gallagher V, Goulding M, Gaxiola A, Grey K-A, Harrison S, Keith D, Kraemer B, Langhans S, Latimer A, Loisel J, Pearce-Higgins J, Midgley G, Mordecai E, Moreira F, Myers-Smith I, Townsend Peterson A, Postigo J, Rocklöv J, Gallego-Sala A, Seddon N, Singer M, Slingsby J, Strutz S, Turetsky M, Turner B, Young K. 2022. Terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems and their services (Chapter 2). Invited contribution. IPCC AR6 Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability (working group II). https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg2/
Outreach: I was interviewed by the Canadian Broadcasting Channel (CBC) (in French).
Loisel J, Walenta J. 2022. Carbon Parks could secure essential ecosystems for climate stabilization. Nature Evolution & Ecology. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-022-01695-1
Beall* K, Loisel J, Medina-Cetina Z. 2022. PermaBN: a Bayesian Network framework to help predict permafrost thaw in the Arctic. Ecological Informatics, 69: 101601. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoinf.2022.101601
Yu Z, Joos F, Bauska TK, Stocker B, Fisher H, Loisel J, Brovkin V, Hugelius G, Nehrbass-Ahles C, Kleinen T, Schmitt J. 2021. No support for carbon storage of >1000 GtC in northern peatlands. Nature Geoscience, 14: 465-467.
Young DM, Baird AJ, Gallego-Sala A, Loisel J. 2021. A cautionary tale about using the apparent carbon accumulation rate (aCAR) obtained from peat cores. Scientific Reports, 11: 9547. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-88766-8
Loisel J. 2021. CubeSats technology and periglacial landscape analysis. Invited book chapter. In: M Bishop and J Giardino (eds.). Treatise in Geomorphology, 2nd edition. Elsevier. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780128182345000390/
Loisel J, Gallego-Sala AV, Amesbury MJ, Magnan G, Anshari G, Beilman D, Benavides JC, Blewett J, Camill P, Charman DJ, Chawchai S, Hedgpeth A, Kleinen T, Korhola A, Large D, Mansilla CA, Müller J, van Bellen S, West JB, Yu Z, Bubier J, Garneau M, Moore T, Sannel ABK., Page S, Väliranta M, Bechtold M, Brovkin V, Cole LES, Chanton JP, Christensen TR, Davies MA, De Vleeschouwer F, Finkelstein SA, Frolking S, Gałka M, Gandois L, Girkin N, Harris L, Heinemeyer A, Hoyt AM, Jones MC, Joos F, Juutinen S, Kaiser K, Lacourse T, Lamentowicz M, Larmola T, Leifeld J, Lohila A, Milner A, Minkkinen K, Moss P, Naafs BDA, Nichols J, O’Donnell J, Payne R, Philben M, Quillet A, Ratnayake AS, Roland T, Sjogersten S, Sonnentag O, Swindles GT, Swinnen W, Talbot J, Treat C, Valach AC, Wu J, Piilo S. 2021. Future vulnerability of the global peatland carbon sink. Nature Climate Change, 11: 70-77. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-020-00944-04
Outreach: two pieces aimed for a general audience were published in The Conversation (by Loisel; available in English and Indonesian) and Carbon Brief (by Gallego-Sala and Loisel). TAMU’s College of Geosciences also published a press release. Hugelius G, Loisel J, Chadburn S, Jackson R, MacDonald G, Marushchak M, Packalen M, Siewert M, Treat C, Turetsky M, Voigt C, Yu Z. 2020. Large stocks of peatland carbon and nitrogen are vulnerable to permafrost thaw. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 117(34): 20438-20446. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1916387117
Loisel J, Bunsen MS*. 2020. Abrupt fen-bog transition across southern Patagonia: timing, causes, and impacts on carbon sequestration. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 8:273. https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2020.00273
Bunsen MS*, Loisel J. 2020. Carbon storage dynamics in peatlands: Comparing recent‐ and long‐term accumulation histories in southern Patagonia. Global Change Biology, 26(10): 5778-5795. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.15262
Xia Z, Zheng Y, Stelling J, Loisel J, Huang Y, Yu Z. 2020. Understanding environmental controls on the carbon and water isotopes in peatland Sphagnum mosses. Geochimica Cosmochimica Acta, 277(15): 265-284. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gca.2020.03.034
Gunderson K, Holmes C, Loisel J. 2020. Recent digital technology trends in geoscience teaching, research, and practice. GSA Today, 30(1): 39-41. https://doi.org/10.1130/GSATG404GW.1
Jiang Z*, Von Ness K*, Loisel J, Wang A. 2019. ArcticNet: A Deep Learning Solution to Classify Arctic Wetlands. Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition. https://github.com/geekJZY/arcticnet
Treat C, Broothaerts N, Dalton A, Dommain R, Douglas T, Drexler J, Finkelstein S, Grosse G, Hope G, Hutchings J, Jones M, Kleinen T, Kuhry P, Lacourse T, Lähteenoja O, Loisel J, Notebaert B, Payne R, Peteet D, Sannel B, Stelling J, Strauss J, Swindles G, Talbot J, Tarnocai C, Verstraeten G, Williams C, Xia Z, Yu Z, Brovkin V. 2019. Widespread global peatland establishment and persistence since the last interglacial. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 116(11): 4822-4827. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1813305116
Galka M, Szal M, Broder T, Loisel J, Knorr K-H. 2019. Peatbog resilience to pollution and climate change over the past 2700 years in the Harz Mountains, Germany. Ecological Indicators 97, 183-193. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2018.10.015
Amesbury MJ, Booth RK, Roland TB, Bunbury J, Clifford MJ, Charman DJ, Elliot S, Finkelstein S, Garneau M, Hugues PDM, Lamarre A, Loisel J, Mackay H, Magnan G, Markel ER, Mitchell EAD, Payne RJ, Pelletier N, Roe H, Sullivan ME, Swindles GT, Talbot J, van Bellen S, Warner BG. 2018. Towards a global synthesis of 5 peatland testate amoeba ecology: development of a new continental-scale palaeohydrological transfer function for North America and comparison to European data. Quaternary Science Reviews 201, 481-500. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2018.10.034
Gallego-Sala A, Charman D, Brewer S, Page S, Prentice C, Friedlingstein P, Moreton S, Amesbury M, Beilman D, Björck S, Blyakharchuk T, Bochicchio C, Booth R, Bunbury J Camill P, Carless D, Chimner R, Clifford M, Cressey E, Courtney-Mustaphi C, De Vleeschouwer F, de Jong R, Fialkiewicz-Koziel B, Finkelstein S, Garneau M, Githumbi E, Hribjlan J, Holmquist J, Hughes P, Jones C, Jones M, Karofeld E, Klein E, Kokfelt U, Korhola A, Lacourse T, Le Roux G, Lamentowicz M, Large D, Lavoie M, Loisel J, Mackay H, MacDonald G, Makila M, Magnan G, Marchant R, Marcisz K, Martínez Cortizas A, Massa C, Mathijssen P, Mauquoy D, Mighall T, Mitchell F, Moss P, Nichols J, Oksanen P, Orme L, Packalen M, Robinson S, Roland T, Sanderson N, Sannel A, Silva-Sánchez N, Steinberg N, Swindles G, Turner T, Uglow J, Väliranta M, van Bellen S, van der Linden M, van Geel B, Wang G, Yu Z, Zaragoza-Castells J, Zhao Y. 2018. Latitudinal limits to the predicted increase of the peatland carbon sink with warming. Nature Climate Change, 8: 907-913. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-018-0271-1
Xia Z, Yu Z, Loisel J. 2018. Centennial-scale dynamics of the Southern Hemisphere westerly winds across the Drake Passage over the past two millennia. Geology, 46 (10): 855–858. https://doi.org/10.1130/G40187.1
Stelling J, Yu Z, Beilman DW, Loisel J. 2018. Peatbank response to late Holocene temperature and hydroclimate change in the western Antarctic Peninsula. Quaternary Science Reviews, 188: 77-89. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2017.10.033
Loisel J, MacDonald GM, Thomson M. 2017. Little Ice Age climatic erraticism as an analogue for future enhanced hydroclimatic variability across the American Southwest. PLoS One. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0186282 Outreach: UCLA published a press release.
Loisel J, Yu Z, Beilman DW, Kaiser K, Parnikoza I. 2017. Peatland Ecosystem Processes in the Maritime Antarctic During Warm Climates. Scientific Reports 7, 12344. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-12479-0
Harden J, Hugelius G, Ahlström A, Blankinship J, Bond-Lamberty B, Lawrence C, Loisel J, Malhotra A, Jackson R, Ogle S, Phillips C, Ryals R, Todd-Brown K, Vargas R, Vargas S, Cotrufo F, Keiluweit M, Heckman K, Crow S, Silver W, DeLonge M, Nave L. 2017. Pathways for the science community to characterize the state, vulnerabilities, and management opportunities of soil organic matter. Global Change Biology, 24(2): 705-718. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.13896
Outreach: The key messages from the article were discussed in the press by The Guardian and Bloomberg. TAMU’s College of Geosciences also published a press release.
Loisel J, van Bellen S, Pelletier L, Talbot J, Hugelius G, Karran D*, Yu Z, Nichols J, Holmquist J. 2017. Insights and issues with estimating northern peatland carbon stocks and fluxes since the Last Glacial Maximum. Invited review. Earth Science Reviews, 165:59-80. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2016.12.001
Yu Z, Beilman DW, Loisel J. 2016. Transformations of landscape and peat-forming ecosystems responding to late Holocene climate change in the western Antarctic Peninsula. Geophysical Research Letters, 43. https://doi.org/10.1002/2016GL069380
Treat CC, Jones MC, Camill P, Garneau M, Gallego-Sala A, Harden JW, Hugelius G, Klein ES, Kokfelt U, Kuhry P, Loisel J, Mathijssen PJH, O’Donnell JA, Oksanen PO, Ronkainen TM, Sannel ABK, Talbot J, Tarnocai CM, Väliranta M. 2015. Effects of permafrost aggradation on peat properties as determined from a pan-arctic synthesis of plant macrofossils. Journal of Geophysical Research – Biogeosciences 121(1): 78-94. https://doi.org/10.1002/2015JG003061
Loisel J. 2015. Peatlands as carbon sinks / Las turberas como sumideros de carbono, Chapter 11 p. 297-315. In: E Domínguez and D Vega-Valdés (eds.). Funciones y servicios ecosistémicos de las turberas en Magallanes. INIA Nº 33. Punta Arenas, Chile. 334 pp. Invited book chapter.
Loisel J, Yu Z, Beilman DW, Camill P, Alm J, Amesbury MJ, Anderson D, Andersson S, Bochicchio C, Barber K, Belyea LR, Bunbury J, Chambers FM, Charman DJ, De Vleeschouwer F, Fiałkiewicz-Kozieł B, Finkelstein SA, Gałka M, Garneau M, Hammarlund D, Hinchcliffe W, Holmquist J, Hughes P, Jones MC, Klein ES, Kokfelt U, Korhola A, Kuhry P, Lamarre A, Lamentowicz M, Large D, Lavoie M, MacDonald G, Magnan G, Mäkilä M, Mallon G, Mathijssen P, Mauquoy D, McCarroll J, Moore TR, Nichols J, O’Reilly B, Oksanen P, Packalen M, Peteet D, Richard PJH, Robinson S, Ronkainen T, Rundgren M, Sannel ABK, Tarnocai C, Thom T, Tuittila E-S, Turetsky M, Väliranta M, van der Linden M, van Geel B, van Bellen S, Vitt D, Zhao Y, Zhou W. 2014. A database and synthesis of northern peatland soil properties and Holocene carbon and nitrogen accumulation. The Holocene, 24(9): 1028-1042. https://doi.org/10.1177/0959683614538073
Yu Z, Loisel J, Charman DJ, Beilman DW, Camill P. 2014. Holocene peatland carbon dynamics in the circum-Arctic region: an Introduction. The Holocene, 24(9): 1021-1027. https://doi.org/10.1177/0959683614540730
Loisel J, Yu Z. 2013. Surface vegetation patterning controls carbon accumulation in peatlands. Geophysical Research Letters, 40. https://doi.org/10.1002/grl.50744
Loisel J, Yu Z. 2013. Holocene peatland carbon dynamics in Patagonia. Quaternary Science Reviews, 69: 125-141. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2013.02.023
Loisel J, Yu Z, Parsekian A, Nolan J, Slater L. 2013. Quantifying landscape morphology influence on peatland lateral expansion using ground penetrating radar (GPR) and peat core analysis. Journal of Geophysical Research – Biogeosciences, 118. https://doi.org/10.1002/jgrg20029
Yu Z, Loisel J, Turetsky MR, Cai S, Zhao Y, Frolking S, MacDonald GM, Bubier JL. 2013. Evidence for elevated emissions from high-latitude wetlands causing high atmospheric CH 4 concentration in the early Holocene. Global Biogeochemical Cycles, 27. https://doi.org/10.1002/gbc20025
Loisel J, Yu Z. 2013. Recent acceleration of carbon accumulation in a boreal peatland, south-central Alaska. Journal of Geophysical Research – Biogeosciences, 118. https://doi.org/10.1029/2012jg001978
Charman D, Beilman D, Blaauw M, Booth RK, Brewer S, Chambers F, Christen JA, Gallego-Sala AV, Harrison SP, Hughes PDM, Jackson S, Korhola A, Mauquoy D, Mitchell F, Prentice IC, van der Linden M, De Vleeschouwer F, Yu Z, Alm J, Bauer IE, McCorish Y, Garneau M, Hohl V, Huang Y, Karofeld E, Le Roux G, Loisel J, Moschen R, Nichols JE, Nieminen TM, MacDonald GM, Phadtare NR, Rausch N, Sillasoo Ü, Swindles GT, Tuittila E-S, Ukonmaanaho L, Väliranta M, van Bellen S, van Geel B, Vitt D, Zhao Y. 2013. Climate-related changes in peatland carbon accumulation during the last millennium. Biogeosciences, 10: 929-944. https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-10-929-2013
Loisel J, Gallego-Sala AV, Yu Z. 2012. Global-scale pattern of peatland Sphagnum growth driven by photosynthetically active radiation and growing season length. Biogeosciences, 9: 2737-2746. https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-9-2737-2012
Yu Z, Loisel J, Brosseau D, Beilman D, Hunt S. 2010. Global peatland dynamics since the Last Glacial Maximum. Geophysical Research Letters 37, L13402. https://doi.org/10.1029/2010GL043584 Outreach: This article received a spotlight review in Eos, the AGU news magazine.
Loisel J, Garneau M. 2010. Late-Holocene paleoecohydrology and carbon accumulation estimates from two boreal peat bogs in eastern Canada: potential and limits of multi-proxy analyses. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 291:493-533. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2010.03.020
Loisel J, Garneau M, Hélie J-F. 2010. Sphagnum δ 13 C values as indicators of paleohydrological changes in a peat bog. The Holocene 20(2): 285-291. https://doi.org/10.1177/0959683609350389
Loisel J, Garneau M, Hélie J-F. 2009. Modern Sphagnum δ 13 C signatures follow a surface- moisture gradient in two boreal peat bogs, James Bay lowlands, Québec. Journal of Quaternary Science 24(3): 209-214. https://doi.org/10.1002/jqs.1221
Ali AA, Ghaleb B, Garneau M, Asnong H, Loisel J. 2008. Recent peat accumulation rates in minerotrophic peatlands of Bay James region, Eastern Canada, inferred by 210 Pb and 137 Cs radiometric techniques. Applied Radiation and Isotopes 66: 1350-1358. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apradiso.2008.02.091
Other Publications (Not Refereed)
Outreach Articles
Gallego-Sala A, Loisel J. 2021. Are the world’s peatlands better protected after COP26? Guest post. Carbon Brief. https://www.carbonbrief.org/guest-post-are-the-worlds-peatlands-better-protected-after-cop26
Gallego-Sala A, Loisel J. 2020. How human activity threatens the world’s carbon-rich peatlands. Guest post. Carbon Brief. https://www.carbonbrief.org/guest-post-how-human-activity-threatens-the-worlds-carbon-rich-peatlands
Loisel J. 2020. Peatlands keep a lot of carbon out of Earth’s atmosphere, but that could end with warming and development. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/peatlands-keep-a-lot-of-carbon-out-of-earths-atmosphere-but-that-could-end-with-warming-and-development-151364
Book Reviews
Loisel J. 2022. Comentario bibliográfico: Funciones y servicios ecosistémicos de las turberas de Sphagnum en la región de Aysén. Invited book review. Anales del Instituto de la Patagonia, 49. https://doi.org/10.22352/AIP202149015
Comments
Amesbury M, Gallego-Sala A, Loisel J. 2019. Peatlands are prolific carbon sinks. Invited article. Nature Geoscience, 12:880-881. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-019-0455-y
Loisel J, Casellas Connors J, Hugelius G, Harden J, Morgan C. 2019. Soils can help mitigate CO2 emissions, despite the challenges. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 116(21): 10211-10212. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1900444116
Workshop and Conference Reports
Loisel J. and Gallego-Sala A. In Press. C-PEAT at COP26. Past Global Changes Magazine. 9
Gallego-Sala A, Loisel J., Garneau M. 2019. Peatland ecosystem services during the Anthropocene and beyond. Past Global Changes Magazine, 27(2), 77. https://pastglobalchanges.org/publications/pages-magazines/pages-magazine/12937
Loisel J., Gallego-Sala A. 2018. A forward modeling approach to paleoclimatic interpretation of peat cores. Quaternary Perspectives Magazine, 25(2), 7. https://www.inqua.org/media/uploads/5cf551e470225_QP25-2.pdf
Loisel J., Gallego-Sala A. 2018. New research directions for the PAGES C-PEAT working group. Past Global Changes Magazine, 26(2): 91. https://www.pastglobalchanges.org/publications/pages-magazines/pages-magazine/12737
Loisel J., Malhotra A, Phillips C. 2017. A new platform for managing soil carbon and soil health. Eos Magazine (AGU), 98. https://doi.org/10.1029/2017EO080753
Loisel J., Yu Z, Charman D. 2014. A synthesis of northern peatland carbon accumulation history. Quaternary Perspectives Magazine. No URL; the online archive begins in 2016.
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