Cushion bogs are stronger carbon dioxide net sinks than moss-dominated bogs as revealed by eddy covariance measurements on Tierra del Fuego, Argentina

Abstract

<p><strong>Abstract.</strong> The near-pristine bog ecosystems of Tierra del Fuego in southernmost Patagonia have so far not been studied in terms of their current carbon dioxide (CO<sub>2</sub>) sink strength. CO<sub>2</sub> flux data from southern hemisphere peatlands is scarce in general. In this study, we present CO<sub>2</sub> net ecosystem exchange (NEE) fluxes from two Fuegian bog ecosystems with contrasting vegetation communities. One site is located in a glaciogenic valley and developed as a peat moss-dominated raised bog, the other site is a vascular plant-dominated cushion bog located at the coast of the Beagle Channel. We measured NEE fluxes with two identical eddy covariance (EC) setups at both sites for more than two years. With the EC method, we were able to observe NEE fluxes on ecosystem level and at high temporal resolution. Using a mechanistic modeling approach, we estimated daily NEE models to gap-fill and partition the half-hourly net CO<sub>2</sub> fluxes into components related to photosynthetic uptake (gross primary production, GPP) and to total ecosystem respiration (TER). We found a larger relative variability of annual NEE sums between both years at the moss-dominated site. A warm and dry first year led to comparably high TER sums. Photosynthesis was also promoted by warmer conditions but less strong than TER with respect to absolute and relative GPP changes. The annual NEE-C uptake was more than three times smaller in the warm year. Close to the sea at the cushion bog site, the mean temperature difference between both observed years was less pronounced, and TER stayed on similar levels. A higher amount of available radiation in the second observed year led to an increase of GPP (5 %) and NEE (35 %) carbon (C) uptake. The average annual NEE-C uptake of the cushion bog (−122 ± 76 g m<sup>−2</sup> a<sup>−1</sup>, n = 2) was more than four times larger than the average uptake of the moss-dominated bog (−27 ± 28 g m<sup>−2</sup> a<sup>−1</sup>, n = 2).</p>

Disturbance alters relationships between soil carbon pools and aboveground vegetation attributes in an anthropogenic peatland in Patagonia

“…The negative influence of vascular plant diversity in soil C reservoirs has been associated with increased soil oxygenation, microbial activity, and the organic matter decomposition rate. Vascular plant litter is less recalcitrant than Sphagnum litter and decomposes faster and showed higher productivity over peat mosses (Holl et al, 2019;Scheffer et al, 2001;Thormann et al, 1999). These interactions eventually facilitate the release of ancient carbon as CO 2 into the atmosphere (Walker et al, 2016).…”

Comparison of eddy covariance CO<sub>2</sub> and CH<sub>4</sub> fluxes from mined and recently rewetted sections in a NW German cutover bog

“…Low frequency loss due to finite averaging time and linear raw data detrending was corrected for according to Moncrieff et al (2004). More details on the single flux calculation steps are given in Holl et al (2019a). Thirty minute fluxes were screened for quality according to the following scheme.…”