18.10.2019 Assessing ecological effects of peatland use with testate amoebae (Daza Secco)

Due to their ability to store carbon in the form of peat, peatlands play a key role in the carbon cycle. Besides carbon accumulation, peatlands release dissolved organic matter to surface waters in their catchments, emit methane, and nitrous oxide. Hence, they can strongly affect the global climate. As a result of different human activities these ecosystems have been heavily degraded. Emmanuela Daza Secco assessed the usefulness of testate amoebae as biological indicators of peatland disturbance and restoration actions success.
Published
18.10.2019

Peatlands provide a unique habitat for wildlife, help in water regulation, and store valuable palaeo-environmental information. As a result of different human activities, such as mining, peat extraction, forestry and agriculture, peatland ecosystems have been heavily degraded, so reliable and effective methods are needed to monitor their status.

In her doctoral dissertation, Emmanuela Daza Secco assessed the usefulness of testate amoebae as biological indicators of peatland disturbance and restoration actions success, their use as surrogates of plant community responses to peatland restoration, as well as indicators of disturbances caused by peat extraction in surrounding lakes. In addition, Daza Secco investigated the environmental factors affecting testate amoebae, such as temperature, chemical properties of water and water table level.

Testate amoebae showed fast responses to peatland restoration actions

Testate amoebae proved to be an excellent tool to measure human-induced impacts on Finnish peatlands as their responses to human-induced changes overrode natural variation caused by spatiality and seasonality. On the other hand, testate amoebae showed to respond faster to peatland restoration actions compared to plant communities. In contrast, testate amoebae communities in lake sediments did not reflect effects of peat extraction.

Overall, the study showed promising results when considering terrestrial testate amoebae as indicators of peatland land use changes, including the evaluation of restoration success.

However, more studies are required to evaluate the usefulness of testate amoebae lake sediment communities as indicators of the effects of peat extraction on receiving lakes. The results also highlighted the need for future research combining molecular tools and morphological analysis of testate amoebae to fully understand their potential use as indicators of peatland changes and to further comprehend their complexity and biodiversity.

The research is published in JYU Dissertations series, number 125, Jyväskylä, 2019. ISBN 978-951-39-7843-3 (PDF) URN:ISBN:978-951-39-7843-3 ISSN 2489-9003. Link to publication: 

M.Sc. Emmanuela Daza Secco defends her doctoral dissertation in Aquatic Sciences "Assessing ecological effects of peatland use with testate amoebae" on Friday 18th of October at the Department of Biological and Environmental Science lecture hall YAA 303 at 12 o'clock (Ylistönrinne, Survontie 9). Opponent is Doctor Matthew Amesbury from University of Exeter, UK and Custos is Docent Jari Haimi from Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥. The doctoral dissertation is held in English.

For further information:
M.Sc. Emmanuela Daza Secco, emitadaza@gmail.com
Communications officer Tanja Heikkinen, tanja.s.heikkinen@jyu.fi, puh. +358 50 581 8351
The Faculty of Mathematics and Science 
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