Holocene development and climatic sensitivity of an Amazonian peatland pole forest: Nueva York, Peru

Åkesson C.M.; Roucoux K.H.; Boom A.; Dargie G.C.; del Aguila-Pasquel J.; Flores G.; Gulliver P.; Hiles W.; Baker T.R.; Draper F.C.; Hastie A.; Honorio Coronado E.N.; Kelly T.J.; Mitchard E.T.A.; Sassoon D.; Williams M.; Lawson I.T. · Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology (2026) · DOI: 10.1016/j.palaeo.2026.114162

Resumen

Extensive peat-forming wetlands are now known to occur in several parts of Amazonia, but scientific research on their properties is still in its infancy. Here, we present a new palaeoecological study of a peatland pole forest site, Nueva York, Peru. We use nineteen radiocarbon dates and pollen, geochemical, and sedimentological proxies on a 4.9 m long core spanning the last 7800 years to reconstruct the history of the site. Peat initiation occurred at c. 6200 calendar years before present (cal yr B.P.), but apparent rates of accumulation were low until c. 2300 cal yr B.P., possibly due to adverse hydroclimatic conditions and/or an episode of secondary peat decomposition, since which time some 4 m of peat has accumulated. The vegetation succession involved terrestrialization of an open water body with colonization by an open fen vegetation, followed by flooded Mauritiella-dominated palm swamp, mixed hardwood swamp forest, a second palm swamp (Mauritiella- and Mauritia-dominated), and finally peatland pole forest. The apparent endogenic succession was deflected on multiple occasions, suggesting that the site was affected by allogenic factors which may include river channel migration, human impact, and/or climatic events. The age-depth model strongly indicates that, unlike at other sites from the region, there is no evidence for interruption of carbon accumulation since 2300 cal yr B.P. Our new record adds to a growing body of evidence to suggest that the wetlands of western Amazonia are remarkably diverse not only in their present ecosystem properties, but also in their history and sensitivity to external forcing.