Insights and issues with estimating northern peatland carbon stocks and fluxes since the Last Glacial Maximum

Loisel, Julie; Bellen, Simon van; Pelletier, Luc; Talbot, Julie; Hugelius, Gustaf; Karran, Daniel J.; Yu, Zicheng; Nichols, J. E.; Holmquist, James R.

doi:10.1016/j.earscirev.2016.12.001

Cited by 107 publications

(98 citation statements)

References 205 publications

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“…The seasonal value of R A_SH_bg is calculated by determining it as a proportion of instantaneous R FF value and then estimating it as this proportion of the modeled seasonal R FF . ** R H was determined by difference using Equation (2). Values are significantly different if they have no letter in common; letters should be compared only within one flux component in a column between sites or microforms.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Peatlands contain one of the largest terrestrial carbon (C) stocks, estimated at~600 Gt C [1], with northern peatland C storage accounting for~390-440 Gt [1,2]. The large C stock has been accumulated as a result of only a marginal difference, over millennia, between photosynthetic C uptake and loss of C as ecosystem respiration, methane (CH 4 ) emissions, and water-borne outflows [3].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Partitioning Forest‐Floor Respiration into Source Based Emissions in a Boreal Forested Bog: Responses to Experimental Drought

Munir

Khadka

et al. 2017

Forests

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Abstract:Northern peatlands store globally significant amounts of soil carbon that could be released to the atmosphere under drier conditions induced by climate change. We measured forest floor respiration (R FF ) at hummocks and hollows in a treed boreal bog in Alberta, Canada and partitioned the flux into aboveground forest floor autotrophic, belowground forest floor autotrophic, belowground tree respiration, and heterotrophic respiration using a series of clipping and trenching experiments. These fluxes were compared to those measured at sites within the same bog where water-table (WT) was drawn down for 2 and 12 years. Experimental WT drawdown significantly increased R FF with greater increases at hummocks than hollows. Greater R FF was largely driven by increased autotrophic respiration driven by increased growth of trees and shrubs in response to drier conditions; heterotrophic respiration accounted for a declining proportion of R FF with time since drainage. Heterotrophic respiration was increased at hollows, suggesting that soil carbon may be lost from these sites in response to climate change induced drying. Overall, although WT drawdown increased R FF , the substantial contribution of autotrophic respiration to R FF suggests that peat carbon stocks are unlikely to be rapidly destabilized by drying conditions.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Partitioning Forest‐Floor Respiration into Source Based Emissions in a Boreal Forested Bog: Responses to Experimental Drought

Munir

Khadka

et al. 2017

Forests

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“…Globally, Northern Hemisphere peatlands cover only~3% of the Earth's total land area but are the most important carbon (C) store within the terrestrial biosphere (Rydin & Jeglum, 2013), storing an estimated 500 ± 100 Gt C (Gorham, 1991;Loisel et al, 2017;Yu et al, 2014). The peatland coverage of Europe is estimated at 593,727 km 2 , 5.4% of the total surface area; in the UK peatlands cover 11% of the land area (Tanneberger et al, 2017), where their C budgets have been extensively studied (e.g., Billett et al, 2004).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Molecular Budget for a Peatland Based Upon ¹³C Solid‐State Nuclear Magnetic Resonance

et al. 2018

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Peatlands can accumulate organic matter into long‐term carbon (C) storage within the soil profile. This study used solid‐state 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (13C‐NMR) to investigate the transit of organic C through a peatland ecosystem to understand the molecular budget that accompanies the long‐term accumulation of C. Samples of biomass, litter, peat soil profile, particulate organic matter, and dissolved organic matter (DOM) were taken from the Moor House National Nature Reserve, a peat‐covered catchment in northern England where both the dry matter and C budget for the ecosystem were known. The results showed that: The interpretation of the 13C‐NMR spectra shows that polysaccharides are preferentially removed through the ecosystem, while lignin components are preferentially retained and come to dominate the organic matter accumulated at depth in the profile. The DOM is derived from the oxidation of both biomass and the degradation of lignin, while the particulate organic matter is derived from erosion of the peat profile. The DOM is differentiated by its proportion of oxidized functional groups and not by its aromatic content. The changes in functionality leading to DOM production suggest side chain oxidation resulting in C‐C cleavage/depolymerisation of lignin, a common reaction within white rot fungi. The 13C‐NMR budget shows that O‐alkyl functional groups are disproportionately lost between primary production and accumulation in the deep peat, while C‐alkyl functional groups are disproportionately preserved. The carbon lost as gases (CO2 and CH4) was estimated to be composed of 93% polysaccharide‐derived carbon and 7% lignin‐derived carbon.

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“…Globally soils store 1,300–1,500 Pg of C in the top meter (Figure a). Much of this SOC is in lands, impacted directly by cropping, grazing, and forestry practices, with 30% residing in lands only indirectly impacted by human activities such as peatlands and permafrost soils (Hugelius et al., ; Köchy, Hiederer, & Freibauer, ; Loisel et al., ). The distribution of soils in managed lands follows the distribution of human land use (Figure b,c) and overlaying the estimated SOC stocks with human land use data shows that the majority of near‐surface SOC stocks are directly affected by human activities today (Figure c).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Networking our science to characterize the state, vulnerabilities, and management opportunities of soil organic matter

Harden

Hugelius

Ahlström

et al. 2017

Global Change Biology

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Insights and issues with estimating northern peatland carbon stocks and fluxes since the Last Glacial Maximum

Cited by 107 publications

References 205 publications

Partitioning Forest‐Floor Respiration into Source Based Emissions in a Boreal Forested Bog: Responses to Experimental Drought

Partitioning Forest‐Floor Respiration into Source Based Emissions in a Boreal Forested Bog: Responses to Experimental Drought

A Molecular Budget for a Peatland Based Upon ¹³C Solid‐State Nuclear Magnetic Resonance

Networking our science to characterize the state, vulnerabilities, and management opportunities of soil organic matter

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Insights and issues with estimating northern peatland carbon stocks and fluxes since the Last Glacial Maximum

Cited by 107 publications

References 205 publications

Partitioning Forest‐Floor Respiration into Source Based Emissions in a Boreal Forested Bog: Responses to Experimental Drought

Partitioning Forest‐Floor Respiration into Source Based Emissions in a Boreal Forested Bog: Responses to Experimental Drought

A Molecular Budget for a Peatland Based Upon 13C Solid‐State Nuclear Magnetic Resonance

Networking our science to characterize the state, vulnerabilities, and management opportunities of soil organic matter

Contact Info

Product

Resources

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A Molecular Budget for a Peatland Based Upon ¹³C Solid‐State Nuclear Magnetic Resonance