8 research outputs found
Differential response of carbon cycling to long-term nutrient input and altered hydrological conditions in a continental Canadian peatland
Peatlands play an important role in global carbon cycling, but their responses to long-term anthropogenically changed hydrologic conditions and nutrient infiltration are not well known. While experimental manipulation studies, e.g., fertilization or water table manipulations, exist on the plot scale, only few studies have addressed such factors under in situ conditions. Therefore, an ecological gradient from the center to the periphery of a continental Canadian peatland bordering a eutrophic water reservoir, as reflected by increasing nutrient input, enhanced water level fluctuations, and increasing coverage of vascular plants, was used for a case study of carbon cycling along a sequence of four differently altered sites. We monitored carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) surface fluxes and dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) and CH4 concentrations in peat profiles from April 2014 through September 2015. Moreover, we studied bulk peat and pore-water quality and we applied δ13C–CH4 and δ13C–CO2 stable isotope abundance analyses to examine dominant CH4 production and emission pathways during the growing season of 2015. We observed differential responses of carbon cycling at the four sites, presumably driven by abundances of plant functional types and vicinity to the reservoir. A shrub-dominated site in close vicinity to the reservoir was a comparably weak sink for CO2 (in 1.5 years: -1093±794, in 1 year: +135±281 gCO2m-2; a net release) as compared to two graminoid-moss-dominated sites and a moss-dominated site (in 1.5 years: -1552 to -2260 gCO2m-2, in 1 year: -896 to -1282 gCO2m-2). Also, the shrub-dominated site featured notably low DIC pore-water concentrations and comparably 13C-enriched CH4 (δ13C–CH4: -57.81±7.03 ‰) and depleted CO2 (δ13C–CO2: -15.85±3.61 ‰) in a more decomposed peat, suggesting a higher share of CH4 oxidation and differences in predominant methanogenic pathways. In comparison to all other sites, the graminoid-mossdominated site in closer vicinity to the reservoir featured a ~30% higher CH4 emission (in 1.5 years: +61.4±32, in 1 year: +39.86±16.81 gCH4m-2). Low δ13C–CH4 signatures (-62.30±5.54 ‰) indicated only low mitigation of CH4 emissions by methanotrophic activity here. Pathways of methanogenesis and methanotrophy appeared to be related to the vicinity to the water reservoir: the importance of acetoclastic CH4 production apparently increased toward the reservoir, whereas the importance of CH4 oxidation increased toward the peatland center. Plant-mediated transport was the prevailing CH4 emission pathway at all sites even where graminoids were rare. Our study thus illustrates accelerated carbon cycling in a strongly altered peatland with consequences for CO2 and CH4 budgets. However, our results suggest that long-term excess nutrient input does not necessarily lead to a loss of the peatland carbon sink function
Differential response of carbon cycling to long-term nutrient input and altered hydrological conditions in a continental Canadian peatland
Peatlands play an important role in global carbon cycling, but
their responses to long-term anthropogenically changed hydrologic conditions
and nutrient infiltration are not well known. While experimental manipulation
studies, e.g., fertilization or water table manipulations, exist on the plot
scale, only few studies have addressed such factors under in situ conditions.
Therefore, an ecological gradient from the center to the periphery of a continental
Canadian peatland bordering a eutrophic water reservoir, as reflected by
increasing nutrient input, enhanced water level fluctuations, and increasing
coverage of vascular plants, was used for a case study of carbon cycling
along a sequence of four differently altered sites. We monitored carbon
dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) surface fluxes and dissolved
inorganic carbon (DIC) and CH4 concentrations in peat profiles from
April 2014 through September 2015. Moreover, we studied bulk peat and
pore-water quality and we applied δ13C–CH4 and
δ13C–CO2 stable isotope abundance analyses to
examine dominant CH4 production and emission pathways during the
growing season of 2015. We observed differential responses of carbon cycling
at the four sites, presumably driven by abundances of plant functional types
and vicinity to the reservoir. AÂ shrub-dominated site in close vicinity to
the reservoir was a comparably weak sink for CO2 (in
1.5 years: −1093 ± 794, in 1 year:
+135 ± 281 g CO2 m−2; a net release) as compared
to two graminoid-moss-dominated sites and a moss-dominated site (in
1.5 years: −1552 to −2260 g CO2 m−2, in
1 year: −896 to −1282 g CO2 m−2). Also, the shrub-dominated site featured notably low DIC pore-water concentrations
and
comparably 13C-enriched CH4
(δ13C– CH4: −57.81 ± 7.03 ‰) and
depleted CO2 (δ13C–CO2:
−15.85 ± 3.61 ‰) in a more decomposed peat, suggesting
a higher share of CH4 oxidation and differences in predominant
methanogenic pathways. In comparison to all other sites, the graminoid-moss-dominated site in closer vicinity to the reservoir featured
a  ∼  30 % higher CH4 emission (in 1.5 years:
+61.4 ± 32, in 1 year:
+39.86 ± 16.81 g CH4 m−2). Low
δ13C–CH4 signatures
(−62.30 ± 5.54 ‰) indicated only low mitigation of
CH4 emissions by methanotrophic activity here. Pathways of
methanogenesis and methanotrophy appeared to be related to the vicinity to
the water reservoir: the importance of acetoclastic CH4 production
apparently increased toward the reservoir, whereas the importance of
CH4 oxidation increased toward the peatland center. Plant-mediated
transport was the prevailing CH4 emission pathway at all sites even
where graminoids were rare. Our study thus illustrates accelerated carbon
cycling in a strongly altered peatland with consequences for CO2 and
CH4 budgets. However, our results suggest that long-term excess
nutrient input does not necessarily lead to a loss of the peatland carbon
sink function