Organic and inorganic carbon concentrations and fluxes from managed and unmanaged boreal first-order catchments

Rantakari, Miitta; Mattsson, Tuija; Kortelainen, Pirkko; Piirainen, Sirpa; Finér, Leena; Ahtiainen, Marketta

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2009.12.025

Cited by 60 publications

(53 citation statements)

References 50 publications

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“…However, there was no consistent snow layer in Skogaryd in 2008, so that the impact of the spring melting period was probably negligible. Total inorganic C (TIC) export reported in the literature seems to be of minor importance (< 30 kg C ha −1 yr −1 ; Öquist et al, 2009;Rantakari et al, 2010;Wallin et al, 2010;Dyson et al, 2011). Overall, with reported maxima of 30 and 115 kg C ha −1 yr −1 , the contribution of discharge C losses to the total C budget at Skogaryd is probably low as literature The measured CH 4 flux was very low and always negative; i.e.…”

Section: Potential Losses Due To Dischargementioning

confidence: 82%

“…For afforested organic soils, total organic C (TOC) export ranges between 58 and 115 kg C ha −1 yr −1 and depends on a variety of factors including the organic matter content, discharge during the spring melting period as well as the magnitude of winter precipitation (Laudon et al, 2004;Köhler et al, 2008;Haei et al, 2010;Rantakari et al, 2010;Dyson et al, 2011). Due to the high C content and the high winter precipitation in 2008 the TOC export in Skogaryd was probably higher than that reported in studies by Köhler et al (2008) and Dyson et al (2011), where soils had a lower C content.…”

Section: Potential Losses Due To Dischargementioning

confidence: 99%

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A fertile peatland forest does not constitute a major greenhouse gas sink

et al. 2013

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Abstract. Afforestation has been proposed as a strategy to mitigate the often high greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from agricultural soils with high organic matter content. However, the carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) and nitrous oxide (N 2 O) fluxes after afforestation can be considerable, depending predominantly on site drainage and nutrient availability. Studies on the full GHG budget of afforested organic soils are scarce and hampered by the uncertainties associated with methodology. In this study we determined the GHG budget of a spruce-dominated forest on a drained organic soil with an agricultural history. Two different approaches for determining the net ecosystem CO 2 exchange (NEE) were applied, for the year 2008, one direct (eddy covariance) and the other indirect (analyzing the different components of the GHG budget), so that uncertainties in each method could be evaluated. The annual tree production in 2008 was 8.3 ± 3.9 t C ha −1 yr −1 due to the high levels of soil nutrients, the favorable climatic conditions and the fact that the forest was probably in its phase of maximum C assimilation or shortly past it. The N 2 O fluxes were determined by the closed-chamber technique and amounted to 0.9 ± 0.8 t C eq ha −1 yr −1 . According to the direct measurements from the eddy covariance technique, the site acts as a minor GHG sink of −1.2 ± 0.8 t C eq ha −1 yr −1 . This contrasts with the NEE estimate derived from the indirect approach which suggests that the site is a net GHG emitter of 0.6 ± 4.5 t C eq ha −1 yr −1 . Irrespective of the approach applied, the soil CO 2 effluxes counter large amounts of the C sequestration by trees. Due to accumulated uncertainties involved in the indirect approach, the direct approach is considered the more reliable tool. As the rate of C sequestration will likely decrease with forest age, the site will probably become a GHG source once again as the trees do not compensate for the soil C and N losses. Also forests in younger age stages have been shown to have lower C assimilation rates; thus, the overall GHG sink potential of this afforested nutrient-rich organic soil is probably limited to the short period of maximum C assimilation.

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Section: Potential Losses Due To Dischargementioning

confidence: 82%

Section: Potential Losses Due To Dischargementioning

confidence: 99%

A fertile peatland forest does not constitute a major greenhouse gas sink

et al. 2013

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“…Differences in concentration responses and flux responses to drainage could also arise in drier continental mire systems, despite cool conditions (e.g. Rantakari et al, 2010). Therefore we gave precedence to flux measurements where available, but relied on concentration data where flux data were unavailable.…”

Section: Estimation Of Doc Response To Drainagementioning

confidence: 99%

“…The only comparative CO2 evasion estimates for drained and undrained peatlands (based on dissolved CO2 concentrations rather than direct evasion measurements) were made by Rantakari et al (2010). Their results give mean CO2 evasion rates of 12 g C m -2 yr -1 for four undrained peatlands, and 24 g C m -2 yr -1 for four drained peatlands, although the latter was influenced by a very high value for one site.…”

Section: On-site Emissions Of Other Ghgs From Drainage Channelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The role of waterborne carbon in the greenhouse gas balance of drained and re-wetted peatlands

2015

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Article (refereed) -postprintEvans, Chris D.; Renou-Wilson, Flo; Strack, Maria. 2016. The role of waterborne carbon in the greenhouse gas balance of drained and rewetted peatlands [in special issue: Carbon cycling in aquatic ecosystems] Aquatic Sciences, 78 (3). 573-590. 10.1007/s00027-015-0447-y Contact CEH NORA team at noraceh@ceh.ac.ukThe NERC and CEH trademarks and logos ('the Trademarks') are registered trademarks of NERC in the UK and other countries, and may not be used without the prior written consent of the Trademark owner.The role of waterborne carbon in the greenhouse gas balance of drained and re-wetted peatlands AbstractAccounting for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and removals in managed ecosystems has generally focused on direct land-atmosphere fluxes, but in peatlands a significant proportion of total carbon loss occurs via fluvial transport. This study considers the composition of this 'waterborne carbon' flux, its potential contribution to GHG emissions, and the extent to which it may change in response to land-management. The work describes, and builds on, a methodology to account for major components of these emissions developed for the 2013 Wetland Supplement of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. We identify two major components of GHG emissions from waterbodies draining organic soil: i) 'on site' emissions of methane (and to a lesser extent CO2) from drainage ditches located within the peatland; and ii) 'off site' emissions of CO2 resulting from downstream oxidation of dissolved and particulate organic carbon (DOC and POC) within the aquatic system. Methane emissions from ditches were found to be large in many cases (mean 60 g CH4 m -2 yr -1 based on all reported values), countering the view that methane emissions cease following wetland drainage. Emissions were greatest from ditches in intensive agricultural peatlands, but data were sparse and showed high variability. For DOC, the magnitude of the natural flux varied strongly with latitude, from 5 g C m -2 yr -1 in northern boreal peatlands to 60 g C m -2 yr -1 in tropical peatlands. Available data suggest that DOC fluxes increase by around 60% following drainage, and that this increase may be reversed in the longer-term through re-wetting, although variability between studies was high, especially in relation to re-wetting response. Evidence regarding the fate of DOC is complex and inconclusive, but overall suggests that the majority of DOC exported from peatlands is converted to CO2 through photo-and/or bio-degradation in rivers, standing waters and oceans. The contribution of POC export to GHG emissions is even more uncertain, but we estimate that over half of exported POC may eventually be converted to CO2. Although POC fluxes are normally small, they can become very large when bare peat surfaces are exposed to fluvial erosion. Overall, we estimate that waterborne carbon emissions may contribute about 1 to 4 t CO2-eq ha -1 yr -1 of additional GHG emissions from drained peatlands. For a number of worked examples this repres...

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“…It was therefore likely that the drainage at the site was maintained mainly by the transpiration of the tree stand, which is a typical situation in drained peatland forests in Finland (Hökkä et al, 2008). Leaching of dissolved carbon from Finnish drained peatlands typically results in a loss of about 10 to 15 g C m −2 yr −1 (Sallantaus and Kaipainen, 1996;Kortelainen et al, 1997;Sarkkola et al, 2009;Rantakari et al, 2010). On the other hand, C is also imported into the peatland from surrounding landscapes and in deposition.…”

Section: Annual Uptake Of Co 2 Exceeds Peat Decompositionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Greenhouse gas flux measurements in a forestry-drained peatland indicate a large carbon sink

et al. 2011

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Abstract. Drainage for forestry purposes increases the depth of the oxic peat layer and leads to increased growth of shrubs and trees. Concurrently, the production and uptake of the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), methane (CH 4 ) and nitrous oxide (N 2 O) change: due to the accelerated decomposition of peat in the presence of oxygen, drained peatlands are generally considered to lose peat carbon (C). We measured CO 2 exchange with the eddy covariance (EC) method above a drained nutrient-poor peatland forest in southern . Photosynthesis was detected throughout the year when the air temperature exceeded −3 • C. As the annual accumulation of C in the above and below ground tree biomass (175 ± 35 g C m −2 ) was significantly lower than the accumulation observed by the flux measurement (240 ± 30 g C m −2 ), about 65 g C m −2 yr −1 was likely to have accumulated as organic matter into the peat soil. This is a higher average accumulation rate than previously reported for natural northern peatlands, and the first time C accumulation has been shown by EC measurements to occur in a forestry-drained peatland. Our results suggest that forestry-drainage may significantly increase the CO 2 uptake rate of nutrient-poor peatland ecosystems.

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Organic and inorganic carbon concentrations and fluxes from managed and unmanaged boreal first-order catchments

Cited by 60 publications

References 50 publications

A fertile peatland forest does not constitute a major greenhouse gas sink

A fertile peatland forest does not constitute a major greenhouse gas sink

The role of waterborne carbon in the greenhouse gas balance of drained and re-wetted peatlands

Greenhouse gas flux measurements in a forestry-drained peatland indicate a large carbon sink

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