Comment on “Wetland drying and succession across the Kenai Peninsula Lowlands, south-central Alaska”Appears in Can. J. For. Res. 35: 1931-1941 (2005).

Abstract

Klein et al. (2005, Can. J. For. Res. 35: 1931–1941) compare aerial photographs and report dramatically lower lake levels on the northern Kenai Peninsula, Alaska. They hypothesize that the lower lake levels may be caused by a decline in moisture surplus driven by climate change. However, the reported decline in surplus appears to be insufficient to explain the lower lake levels. Here I develop a simple sensitivity analysis to test their hypothesis and also show how tectonic processes such as the Great Alaskan earthquake could dramatically lower lake levels by fracturing an underlying aquitard. Tectonic processes, therefore, could potentially alter forest succession and wetland ecosystems by inducing hydrologic changes that mimic changes in climate.