Diatoms in Paleoenvironmental Studies of Peatlands
Rafael Carballeira,
Xabier Pontevedra-Pombal
Affiliations
Rafael Carballeira
Centro de Investigacións Científicas Avanzadas (CICA), Facultade de Ciencias, Universidade da Coruña, 15071 A Coruña, Galicia, Spain
Xabier Pontevedra-Pombal
Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, Faculty of Biology, University of Santiago de Compostela, 15782 Santiago de Compostela, Galicia, Spain
The great diversity of diatoms in aquatic ecosystems and their close relationship with water chemistry make them one of the most informative and widely used biological proxies in paleoenvironmental studies of wetlands, except for peatland ecosystems. Currently, significant controversy still exists over the preservation of diatoms in peat. However, considerable evidence indicates that diatoms remain in good condition in minerotrophic peatlands, and they have been successfully used in paleoenvironmental studies in high-latitude regions and especially in Southern Europe.
