Identifying diatom indicator species across environmental gradients in Newfoundland peatlands

Peatlands, both bogs and fens, are organic wetlands that provide a myriad of ecosystem services. To support proper stewardship of peatlands, a more thorough understanding of spatial variability across them is required. To address this, we investigated the abiotic drivers of surface diatom assemblage composition across Newfoundland peatlands. We collected samples from 26 peatlands representing all 9 Newfoundland ecoregions. At each peatland, a surface peat sample was harvested from each representative microhabitat (e.g., hummocks, hollows, pools), for a total of 78 samples, to account for variability in abiotic conditions. We found 10 significant indicator species (p < 0.1), representing four clusters of environmental conditions. Our findings suggest that common indicator species are ubiquitous across certain clusters of environmental conditions within Newfoundland peatlands, and that these species are reflective of those conditions. Indicator species identified via this research can be used as a biomonitoring tool to track abiotic conditions in peatlands across spatial and temporal scales. Results will be used as a calibration set for paleoecological reconstruction and will facilitate identification and conservation of Newfoundland’s peatlands as effective carbon sinks and reservoirs of biodiversity.