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Contrasting Trait-Mediated Mechanisms Shape Peatland Testate Amoeba Communities Under Long-Term Drying Across Fen-Bog
Brunella Palacios Ganoza1, Olivia Kuuri-Riutta2, Anna M Laine2
1School of Forest Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, Joensuu, Finland. brunella.palacios.ganoza@uef.fi.
Microbial Ecology
|June 3, 2026
Summary
Boreal peatlands
Area of Science:
- Ecology
- Environmental Science
- Soil Biology
Background:
- Boreal peatlands are vital carbon sinks and hydrological regulators.
- Climate change-induced drying threatens peatland stability.
- Soil biota's functional traits are key to peatland resilience, but mechanisms are unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the functional stability of soil testate amoebae (TA) communities under experimental drying.
- To compare trait-based stability mechanisms across different peatland types (rich fen, poor fen, bog).
- To understand how water level drawdown impacts peatland soil food webs.
Main Methods:
- Experimental water level drawdown (WLD) applied for two decades across three peatland types.
- Comparison of functional trait patterns between ambient and WLD plots.
- Analysis of species turnover and functional beta diversity.
Main Results:
- Long-term WLD intensified environmental filtering across all peatland types.
- Rich fens showed resilience (species turnover, stable function); bogs showed resistance (drought-adapted traits, stable species composition).
- Poor fens lost functional stability due to low redundancy and dominance of wet-adapted traits.
Conclusions:
- Bogs are most stable under moderate drying, while fens (especially poor fens) are vulnerable.
- Peatland type-specific functional thresholds influence stability and carbon dynamics under climate change.
- Warming compromises peatland soil biota and ecosystem functions.
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