Biomass Yield and Greenhouse Gas Emissions from a Drained Fen Peatland Cultivated with Reed Canary Grass under Different Harvest and Fertilizer Regimes

Kandel, Tanka P.; Elsgaard, Lars; Karki, Sandhya; Lærke, Poul Erik

doi:10.1007/s12155-013-9316-5

Cited by 38 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…RCG was fertilized with surface application of 0.6 g N, 0.1 g P and 0.5 g K per mesocosm on 23 July 2012 (corresponding to 80 kg N, 13 kg P and 77 kg K ha −1 ). This fertilization rate corresponded to the rate applied in a previous study at the RCG field site from where the mesocosms were collected (Kandel et al, 2013a), except that the nitrogen rate was slightly increased in the mesocosm study as lower N mineralization was expected at higher GWLs. After the regrowth of RCG in spring 2013, RCG was fertilized with the same amount of fertilizer on 30 April and again in 28 June 2013.…”

Section: Experimental Designmentioning

confidence: 52%

“…Further studies are needed to assess the optimum amount and timing of fertilization required for optimum growth of RCG with acceptable N 2 O emissions. Emissions of N 2 O caused by N fertilization should not offset the benefit of fossil fuel substitution obtained by the fertilizer-induced increase of biomass production (Kandel et al, 2013a). Regarding the overall GHG emission, the CO 2 emissions from ER was clearly the dominant RCG-derived GHG flux.…”

Section: Effect Of Rcg Cultivation On Ghg Balance From Rewetted Peatlandmentioning

confidence: 96%

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Effect of reed canary grass cultivation on greenhouse gas emission from peat soil at controlled rewetting

2015

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Abstract. Cultivation of bioenergy crops in rewetted peatland (paludiculture) is considered as a possible land use option to mitigate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. However, bioenergy crops like reed canary grass (RCG) can have a complex influence on GHG fluxes. Here we determined the effect of RCG cultivation on GHG emission from peatland rewetted to various extents. Mesocosms were manipulated to three different ground water levels (GWLs), i.e. 0, −10 and −20 cm below the soil surface in a controlled semi-field facility. Emissions of CO 2 (ecosystem respiration, ER), CH 4 and N 2 O from mesocosms with RCG and bare soil were measured at weekly to fortnightly intervals with static chamber techniques for a period of 1 year. Cultivation of RCG increased both ER and CH 4 emissions, but decreased the N 2 O emissions. The presence of RCG gave rise to 69, 75 and 85 % of total ER at −20, −10 and 0 cm GWL, respectively. However, this difference was due to decreased soil respiration at the rising GWL as the plant-derived CO 2 flux was similar at all three GWLs. For methane, 70-95 % of the total emission was due to presence of RCG, with the highest contribution at −20 cm GWL. In contrast, cultivation of RCG decreased N 2 O emission by 33-86 % with the major reductions at −10 and −20 cm GWL. In terms of global warming potential, the increase in CH 4 emissions due to RCG cultivation was more than offset by the decrease in N 2 O emissions at −10 and −20 cm GWL; at 0 cm GWL the CH 4 emissions was offset only by 23 %. CO 2 emissions from ER were obviously the dominant RCG-derived GHG flux, but aboveground biomass yields, and preliminary measurements of gross photosynthetic production, showed that ER could be more than balanced due to the photosynthetic uptake of CO 2 by RCG. Our results support that RCG cultivation could be a good land use option in terms of mitigating GHG emission from rewetted peatlands, potentially turning these ecosystems into a sink of atmospheric CO 2 .

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Section: Experimental Designmentioning

confidence: 52%

Section: Effect Of Rcg Cultivation On Ghg Balance From Rewetted Peatlandmentioning

confidence: 96%

Effect of reed canary grass cultivation on greenhouse gas emission from peat soil at controlled rewetting

2015

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“…However, midday net CO 2 uptake also occurred at RCG‐C after intermittent rainfall at the end of June which indicates that nonfertilized RCG cultivations might also sequester CO 2 given sufficient water supply. In comparison, both fertilized and nonfertilized RCG cultivations with VWC > 55% provided midday net CO 2 uptake for the entire growing season in a Danish study (Kandel et al ., ). Daily net CO 2 uptake rates also decreased by about half from wet to dry years in a RCG cultivation in eastern Finland (Shurpali et al ., ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…The yields in both RCG‐F (2.3 t ha −1 ) and RCG‐C (0.4 t ha −1 ) were at the bottom end of the range of 2.0 to 13.9 t ha −1 and 1.0 to 11.0 t ha −1 previously reported for fertilized and nonfertilized RCG cultivations, respectively (Shurpali et al ., ; Heinsoo et al ., ; Mander et al ., ; Kandel et al ., ; Karki et al ., ). The low yields in this study were likely due to water stress constraining plant growth during an exceptionally dry summer.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Nonlinear regression models following Kandel et al . () were used to estimate annual RE and GPP fluxes based on T a , PAR and vegetation development. Specifically, GPP fluxes from each collar were fitted to PAR inside the chamber using a hyperbolic function with an additional parameter describing the seasonal changes in vegetation biomass (expressed by the collar‐specific g cc estimates) (Eqn ):

GPP = \frac{a \times A_{normalmax} \times PAR \times g_{{cc}_{norm}}}{a \times PAR \times A_{normalmax} \times g_{{cc}_{norm}}}

where GPP is gross primary production (mg CO 2 ‐C m −2 h −1 ), PAR is the photosynthetically active radiation ( μ mol m −2 s −1 ) inside the chamber, α is the light‐use efficiency of photosynthesis (i.e., the initial slope of the light response curve, mg CO 2 ‐C μ mol photons −1 ), A max is maximum photosynthesis at light saturation (mg CO 2 ‐C m −2 h −1 ), and

g_{{normalcc}_{normalnorm}}

is the collar‐specific chromatic greenness index normalized to scale between 0 and 1.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Full carbon and greenhouse gas balances of fertilized and nonfertilized reed canary grass cultivations on an abandoned peat extraction area in a dry year

et al. 2016

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Bioenergy crop cultivation on former peat extraction areas is a potential after-use option that provides a source of renewable energy while mitigating climate change through enhanced carbon (C) sequestration. This study investigated the full C and greenhouse gas (GHG) balances of fertilized (RCG-F) and nonfertilized (RCG-C) reed canary grass (RCG; Phalaris arundinacea) cultivation compared to bare peat (BP) soil within an abandoned peat extraction area in western Estonia during a dry year. Vegetation sampling, static chamber and lysimeter measurements were carried out to estimate above-and belowground biomass production and allocation, fluxes of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), methane (CH 4 ) and nitrous oxide (N 2 O) in cultivated strips and drainage ditches as well as the dissolved organic carbon (DOC) export, respectively. Heterotrophic respiration was determined from vegetation-free trenched plots. Fertilization increased the above-to belowground biomass production ratio and the autotrophic to heterotrophic respiration ratio. The full C balance (incl. CO 2 , CH 4 and DOC fluxes from strips and ditches) was 96, 215 and 180 g C m À2 yr À1 in RCG-F, RCG-C and BP, respectively, suggesting that all treatments acted as C sources during the dry year. The C balance was driven by variations in the net CO 2 exchange, whereas the combined contribution of CH 4 and DOC fluxes was <5%. The GHG balances were 3.6, 7.9 and 6.6 t CO 2 eq ha À1 yr À1 in RCG-F, RCG-C and BP, respectively. The CO 2 exchange was also the dominant component of the GHG balance, while the contributions of CH 4 and N 2 O were <1% and 1-6%, respectively. Overall, this study suggests that maximizing plant growth and the associated CO 2 uptake through adequate water and nutrient supply is a key prerequisite for ensuring sustainable high yields and climate benefits in RCG cultivations established on organic soils following drainage and peat extraction.

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Adaptation of fen peatlands to climate change: rewetting and management shift can reduce greenhouse gas emissions and offset climate warming effects

Bockermann,

Eickenscheidt,

Drösler

2024

Biogeochemistry

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In Germany, emissions from drained organic soils contributed approximately 53.7 Mio. t of carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2-eq) to the total national greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in 2021. In addition to restoration measures, shifting management practices, rewetting, or using peatlands for paludiculture is expected to significantly reduce GHG emissions. The effects of climate change on these mitigation measures remains to be tested. In a 2017 experimental field study on agriculturally used grassland on organic soil, we assessed the effects of rewetting and of predicted climate warming on intensive grassland and on extensively managed sedge grassland (transplanted Carex acutiformis monoliths). The testing conditions of the two grassland types included drained versus rewetted conditions (annual mean water table of − 0.13 m below soil surface), ambient versus warming conditions (annual mean air temperature increase of + 0.8 to 1.3 °C; use of open top chambers), and the combination of rewetting and warming. We measured net ecosystem exchange of CO2, methane and nitrous oxide using the closed dynamic and static chamber method. Here, we report the results on the initial year of GHG measurements after transplanting adult Carex soil monoliths, including the controlled increase in water level and temperature. We observed higher N2O emissions than anticipated in all treatments. This was especially unexpected for the rewetted intensive grasslands and the Carex treatments, but largely attributable to the onset of rewetting coinciding with freeze–thaw cycles. However, this does not affect the overall outcomes on mitigation and adaptation trends. We found that warmer conditions increased total GHG emissions of the drained intensive grassland system from 48.4 to 66.9 t CO2-eq ha−1 year−1. The shift in grassland management towards Carex paludiculture resulted in the largest GHG reduction, producing a net cooling effect with an uptake of 11.1 t CO2-eq ha−1 year−1. Surprisingly, we found that this strong sink could be maintained under the simulated warming conditions ensuing an emission reduction potential of − 80 t CO2-eq ha−1 year−1. We emphasize that the results reflect a single initial measurement year and do not imply the permanence of the observed GHG sink function over time. Our findings affirm that rewetted peatlands with adapted plant species could sustain GHG mitigation and potentially promote ecosystem resilience, even under climate warming. In a warmer world, adaptation measures for organic soils should therefore include a change in management towards paludiculture. Multi-year studies are needed to support the findings of our one-year experiment. In general, the timing of rewetting should be considered carefully in mitigation measures.

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Biomass Yield and Greenhouse Gas Emissions from a Drained Fen Peatland Cultivated with Reed Canary Grass under Different Harvest and Fertilizer Regimes

Cited by 38 publications

References 45 publications

Effect of reed canary grass cultivation on greenhouse gas emission from peat soil at controlled rewetting

Effect of reed canary grass cultivation on greenhouse gas emission from peat soil at controlled rewetting

Full carbon and greenhouse gas balances of fertilized and nonfertilized reed canary grass cultivations on an abandoned peat extraction area in a dry year

Adaptation of fen peatlands to climate change: rewetting and management shift can reduce greenhouse gas emissions and offset climate warming effects

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