Long-term nutrient addition increased CH4 emission from a bog through direct and indirect effects

Peatlands are globally significant sources of atmospheric methane (CH4). While several studies have examined the effects of nutrient addition on CH4 dynamics, there are few long-term peatland fertilization experiments, which are needed to understand the aggregated effects of nutrient deposition on ecosystem functioning. We investigated responses of CH4 flux and production to long-term field treatments with three levels of N (1.6-6.4 g m-2 yr-1 as NH4NO3), potassium and phosphorus (PK, 5.0 g P and 6.3 g K m-2 yr-1 as KH2PO4), and NPK in a temperate bog. Methane fluxes were measured in the field from May to August in 2005 and 2015. In 2015 CH4 flux was higher in the NPK treatment with 16 years of 6.4 g N m-2 yr-1 than in the control (50.5 vs. 8.6 mg CH4 m-2 d-1). The increase in CH4 flux was associated with wetter conditions derived from peat subsidence. Incubation of peat samples, with and without short-term PK amendment, showed that potential CH4 production was enhanced in the PK treatments, both from field application and by amending the incubation. We suggest that changes in this bog ecosystem originate from long-term vegetation change, increased decomposition and direct nutrient effects on microbial dynamics

A Multi-Year Record of Methane Flux at the Mer Bleue Bog, Southern Canada

The Mer Bleue peatland is a large ombrotrophic bog with hummock-lawn microtopography, poor fen sections and beaver ponds at the margin. Average growing-season (May-October) fluxes of methane (CH4) measured in 2002-2003 across the bog ranged from less than 5 mg m-2 d-1 in hummocks, to greater than 100 mg m-2 d-1 in lawns and ponds. The average position of the water table explained about half of the variation in the season average CH4 fluxes, similar to that observed in many other peatlands in Canada and elsewhere. The flux varied most when the water table position ranged between -15 and -40 cm. To better establish the factors that influence this variability, we measured CH4 flux at approximate

Vegetation feedbacks of nutrient addition lead to a weaker carbon sink in an ombrotrophic bog

To study vegetation feedbacks of nutrient addition on carbon sequestration capacity, we investigated vegetation and ecosystem CO2 exchange at Mer Bleue Bog, Canada in plots that had been fertilized with nitrogen (N) or with N plus phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) for 7-12 years. Gross photosynthesis, ecosystem respiration, and net CO2 exchange were measured weekly during May-September 2011 using climate-controlled chambers. A substrate-induced respiration technique was used to determine the functional ability of the microbial community. The highest N and NPK additions were associated with 40% less net CO2 uptake than the control. In the NPK additions, a diminished C sink potential was due to a 20-30% increase in ecosystem respiration, while gross photosynthesis rates did not change as great

Plant biomass and production and CO2 exchange in an ombrotrophic bog

Summary Above-ground biomass was measured at bog hummock, bog hollow and poor-fen sites in Mer Bleue, a large, raised ombrotrophic bog near Ottawa, Ont., Canada. The average above-ground biomass was 587 g m−2 in the bog, composed mainly of shrubs and Sphagnum capitula. In the poor fen, the average biomass was 317 g m−2, comprising mainly sedges and herbs and Sphagnum capitula. Vascular plant above-ground biomass was greater where the water table was lower, with a similar but weaker relationship for Sphagnum capitula and vascular leaf biomass. Below-ground biomass averaged 2400 g m−2 at the bog hummock site, of which 300 g m−2 was fine roots (\u3c 2 mm diameter), compared with 1400 g m−2 in hollows (fine roots 450 g m−2) and 1200 g m−2 at the poor-fen site. Net Ecosystem Exchange (NEE) of CO2 was measured in chambers and used to derive ecosystem respiration and photosynthesis. Under high light flux (PAR of 1500 µmol m−2 s−1), NEE ranged across sites from 0.08 to 0.22 mg m−2 s−1 (a positive value indicates ecosystem uptake) in the spring and summer, but fell to –0.01 to –0.13 mg m−2 s−1 (i.e. a release of CO2) during a late-summer dry period. There was a general agreement between a combination of literature estimates of photosynthetic capacity for shrubs and mosses and measured biomass and summer-time CO2 uptake determined by the eddy covariance technique within a bog footprint (0.40 and 0.35–0.40 mg m−2 s−1, respectively). Gross photosynthesis was estimated to be about 530 g m−2 year−1, total respiration 460 g m−2 year−1, and export of DOC, DIC and CH4 10 g m−2 year−1, leaving an annual C sequestration rate of 60 g m−2 year−1. Root production and decomposition are important parts of the C budget of the bog. Root C production was estimated to be 161–176 g m−2 year−1, resulting in fractional turnover rates of 0.2 and 1 year−1 for total and fine roots, respectively