I study the key role that peatlands play as carbon sinks and as resilient ecosystems in the face of climate change. My research supports the conservation and better management of wetlands, contributing to nature-based climate solutions. In partnership with Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) and Parks Canada, my projects aim to generate data to inform the conservation, restoration, and land-use planning around peatlands and natural ecosystems in a changing climate.
One major research axis focuses on recent carbon accumulation in boreal and subarctic peatlands. Through geochronological (210Pb, 137Cs, 14C) and biogeochemical analyses of soil cores, combined with paleoecological reconstructions, my developing lab (ReCAP) documents recent carbon balances across diverse environmental settings. These data help us better understand the effects of recent natural and anthropogenic disturbances, placing them in the context of long-term ecosystem trajectories.
A second research axis, in collaboration with the University of Galway and the Ryan Institute (Ireland), focuses on the application of geophysical techniques for mapping and characterizing organic soils and identifying poorly-documented carbon stocks. By integrating gamma spectrometry (both handheld and airborne/UAV) with remote sensing, this work aims to improve the detection of wetlands—including those under dense forest canopies—refine estimates of their extent and associated carbon stocks and support strategic field sampling.
Milner, A.M., Baird, A.J., Green, S.M., Swindles, G.T., Young, D.M., Sanderson, N.K., Timmins, M.S.I., Gałka, M., 2021. A regime shift from erosion to carbon accumulation in a temperate northern peatland. Journal of Ecology 109(1), 125-138.
Robitaille, M., Garneau, M., van Bellen, S., Sanderson, N.K., 2021. Long-term and recent ecohydrological dynamics of patterned peatlands in north-central Quebec (Canada). Holocene 31(5), 844-857.
Barnett, R.L., Bernatchez, P., Garneau, M., Brain, M.J., Charman, D.J., Stephenson, D.B., Haley, S., Sanderson, N., 2019. Late Holocene sea-level changes in eastern Québec and potential drivers. Quaternary Science Reviews 203, 151-169.
Green, S.M., Dungait, J.A.J., Tu, C., Buss, H.L., Sanderson, N., Hawkes, S.J., Xing, K., Yue, F., Hussey, V.L., Peng, J., Johnes, P., Barrows, T., Hartley, I.P., Song, X., Jiang, Z., Meersmans, J., Zhang, X., Tian, J., Wu, X., Liu, H., Song, Z., Evershed, R., Gao, Y., Quine, T.A., 2019. Soil functions and ecosystem services research in the Chinese karst Critical Zone. Chemical Geology 527, 119107.
Grenfell, S.E., Fortune, F., Mamphoka, M.F., Sanderson, N., 2019. Coastal wetland resilience to climate change: Modelling ecosystem response to rising sea level and salinity in a variable climate. Anthropocene Coasts 2(1), 1-20.
Aquino-López, M.A., Blaauw, M., Christen, J.A., Sanderson, N.K., 2018. Bayesian Analysis of 210 Pb Dating. Journal of Agricultural, Biological, and Environmental Statistics 23(3), 317-333.
Estop-Aragonés, C., Cooper, M.D.A., Fisher, J.P., Thierry, A., Garnett, M.H., Charman, D.J., Murton, J.B., Phoenix, G.K., Treharne, R., Sanderson, N.K., Burn, C.R., Kokelj, S.V., Wolfe, S.A., Lewkowicz, A.G., Williams, M., Hartley, I.P., 2018. Limited release of previously-frozen C and increased new peat formation after thaw in permafrost peatlands. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 118, 115-129.
Gallego-Sala, A.V., Charman, D.J., Brewer, S., Page, S.E., Prentice, I.C., Friedlingstein, P., Moreton, S., Amesbury, M.J., Beilman, D.W., Björck, S., Blyakharchuk, T., Bochicchio, C., Booth, R.K., Bunbury, J., Camill, P., Carless, D., Chimner, R.A., Clifford, M., Cressey, E., Courtney-Mustaphi, C., De Vleeschouwer, F., de Jong, R., Fialkiewicz-Koziel, B., Finkelstein, S.A., Garneau, M., Githumbi, E., Hribjlan, J., Holmquist, J., Hughes, P.D.M., Jones, C., Jones, M.C., Karofeld, E., Klein, E.S., Kokfelt, U., Korhola, A., Lacourse, T., Le Roux, G., Lamentowicz, M., Large, D., Lavoie, M., Loisel, J., Mackay, H., MacDonald, G.M., Makila, M., Magnan, G., Marchant, R., Marcisz, K., Martínez Cortizas, A., Massa, C., Mathijssen, P., Mauquoy, D., Mighall, T., Mitchell, F.J.G., Moss, P., Nichols, J., Oksanen, P.O., Orme, L., Packalen, M.S., Robinson, S., Roland, T.P., Sanderson, N.K., Sannel, A.B.K., Silva-Sánchez, N., Steinberg, N., Swindles, G.T., Turner, T.E., Uglow, J., Väliranta, M., van Bellen, S., van der Linden, M., van Geel, B., Wang, G., Yu, Z., Zaragoza-Castells, J., Zhao, Y., 2018. Latitudinal limits to the predicted increase of the peatland carbon sink with warming. Nature Climate Change 8(10), 907-913.
Swindles, G.T., Morris, P.J., Whitney, B., Galloway, J.M., Gałka, M., Gallego-Sala, A., Macumber, A.L., Mullan, D., Smith, M.W., Amesbury, M.J., Roland, T.P., Sanei, H., Patterson, R.T., Sanderson, N., Parry, L., Charman, D.J., Lopez, O., Valderamma, E., Watson, E.J., Ivanovic, R.F., Valdes, P.J., Turner, T.E., Lähteenoja, O., 2018. Ecosystem state shifts during long-term development of an Amazonian peatland. Global Change Biology 24(2), 738-757.
Kelly, T.J., Lawson, I.T., Roucoux, K.H., Baker, T.R., Jones, T.D., Sanderson, N.K., 2017. The vegetation history of an Amazonian domed peatland. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 468, 129-141.
Swindles, G.T., Morris, P.J., Mullan, D., Watson, E.J., Turner, T.E., Roland, T.P., Amesbury, M.J., Kokfelt, U., Schoning, K., Pratte, S., Gallego-Sala, A., Charman, D.J., Sanderson, N., Garneau, M., Carrivick, J.L., Woulds, C., Holden, J., Parry, L., Galloway, J.M., 2015. The long-term fate of permafrost peatlands under rapid climate warming. Scientific Reports 5, 17951.
Département de géographie, Université du Québec à Montréal
Codirection : Étienne Boucher
Sujet de recherche : contexte d’aggradation et persistance du pergélisol dans des palses boisées près de Radisson, QC.
Département de géographie, Université du Québec à Montréal
Sujet de recherche : Plan de restauration d'un ouvrage de retenue d'un site minier abandonné en Abitibi : application d'une nouvelle cadre d'évaluation des impacts environnementaux
Institut des sciences de l'environnement, Université du Québec à Montréal
Sujet de recherche : Analyse des risques environnementaux et stratégies d'adaptation aux changements climatiques dans les marais côtiers d’eaux douce ou saumâtre
Department of Geography, Planning and Environment, Concordia University
Codirection : Jeannine-Marie St-Jacques
Sujet de recherche : Fire history reconstruction in the parc national de la Gaspésie: Assessing the vulnerability of Québec’s old growth forests and Gaspésie caribou in the face of climate change
Institut des sciences de l'environnement, Université du Québec à Montréal
Sujet de recherche : Le minimalisme : réponse aux excès de la société de consommation