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Title: Carbon Accumulation, Flux, and Fate in Stordalen Mire, a Permafrost Peatland in Transition

Journal Article · · Global Biogeochemical Cycles
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1029/2021GB007113· OSTI ID:1842354
ORCiD logo [1]; ORCiD logo [2]; ORCiD logo [3]; ORCiD logo [4]; ORCiD logo [3];  [5]; ORCiD logo [6]; ORCiD logo [6]; ORCiD logo [5]; ORCiD logo [7];  [8];  [9]; ORCiD logo [10]; ORCiD logo [3]
  1. Department of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Science Florida State University Tallahassee FL USA, Now at Science and Math Division Tallahassee Community College Tallahassee FL USA
  2. Department of Geological Sciences and Bolin Centre for Climate Research Stockholm University Stockholm Sweden
  3. Department of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Science Florida State University Tallahassee FL USA
  4. Thomas H. Gosnell School of Life Sciences Rochester Institute of Technology Rochester NY USA
  5. Earth Systems Research Center Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans and Space and Department of Earth Sciences University of New Hampshire Durham NH USA
  6. Climate and Ecosystem Sciences Division Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Berkeley CA USA
  7. Department of Microbiology The Ohio State University Columbus OH USA
  8. Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Woods Hole MA USA
  9. Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology University of Arizona Tucson AZ USA
  10. Department of Microbiology The Ohio State University Columbus OH USA, Department of Soil, Water and Environmental Sciences University of Arizona Tucson AZ USA

Abstract Stordalen Mire is a peatland in the discontinuous permafrost zone in arctic Sweden that exhibits a habitat gradient from permafrost palsa, to Sphagnum bog underlain by permafrost, to Eriophorum ‐dominated fully thawed fen. We used three independent approaches to evaluate the annual, multi‐decadal, and millennial apparent carbon accumulation rates (aCAR) across this gradient: seven years of direct semi‐continuous measurement of CO 2 and CH 4 exchange, and 21 core profiles for 210 Pb and 14 C peat dating. Year‐round chamber measurements indicated net carbon balance of −13 ± 8, −49 ± 15, and −91 ± 43 g C m −2  y −1 for the years 2012–2018 in palsa, bog, and fen, respectively. Methane emission offset 2%, 7%, and 17% of the CO 2 uptake rate across this gradient. Recent aCAR indicates higher C accumulation rates in surface peats in the palsa and bog compared to current CO 2 fluxes, but these assessments are more similar in the fen. aCAR increased from low millennial‐scale levels (17–29 g C m −2  y −1 ) to moderate aCAR of the past century (72–81 g C m −2  y −1 ) to higher recent aCAR of 90–147 g C m −2  y −1 . Recent permafrost collapse, greater inundation and vegetation response has made the landscape a stronger CO 2 sink, but this CO 2 sink is increasingly offset by rising CH 4 emissions, dominated by modern carbon as determined by 14 C. The higher CH 4 emissions result in higher net CO 2‐equivalent emissions, indicating that radiative forcing of this mire and similar permafrost ecosystems will exert a warming influence on future climate.

Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
Grant/Contract Number:
DE‐SC0004632; DE‐SC0010580
OSTI ID:
1842354
Journal Information:
Global Biogeochemical Cycles, Journal Name: Global Biogeochemical Cycles Vol. 36 Journal Issue: 1; ISSN 0886-6236
Publisher:
American Geophysical Union (AGU)Copyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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