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Title: Adding stable carbon isotopes improves model representation of the role of microbial communities in peatland methane cycling

Journal Article · · Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1002/2016MS000817· OSTI ID:1363819
ORCiD logo [1]; ORCiD logo [2];  [1]; ORCiD logo [3]; ORCiD logo [4]; ORCiD logo [5];  [6]; ORCiD logo [7];  [8];  [9];  [1]
  1. Earth Systems Research Center, Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans and Space, University of New Hampshire Durham New Hampshire USA
  2. Thomas H. Gosnell School of Life Sciences, Rochester Institute of Technology, One Lomb Memorial Drive Rochester New York USA
  3. Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Science Florida State University Tallahassee Florida USA
  4. Department of Geological Sciences Stockholm University Stockholm Sweden
  5. Earth Systems Research Center, Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans and Space, University of New Hampshire Durham New Hampshire USA, Department of Earth Sciences University of New Hampshire Durham New Hampshire USA
  6. Australian Centre for Ecogenomics, School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences University of Queensland Brisbane Queensland Australia
  7. Department of Microbiology The Ohio State University Columbus Ohio USA
  8. Department of Biological Sciences University of Massachusetts Lowell Lowell Massachusetts USA
  9. Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology University of Arizona Tucson Arizona USA
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Climate change is expected to have significant and uncertain impacts on methane (CH4) emissions from northern peatlands. Biogeochemical models can extrapolate site-specific CH4 measurements to larger scales and predict responses of CH4 emissions to environmental changes. However, these models include considerable uncertainties and limitations in representing CH4 production, consumption, and transport processes. To improve predictions of CH4 transformations, we incorporated acetate and stable carbon (C) isotopic dynamics associated with CH4 cycling into a biogeochemistry model, DNDC. By including these new features, DNDC explicitly simulates acetate dynamics and the relative contribution of acetotrophic and hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis (AM and HM) to CH4 production, and predicts the C isotopic signature (δ13C) in soil C pools and emitted gases. When tested against biogeochemical and microbial community observations at two sites in a zone of thawing permafrost in a subarctic peatland in Sweden, the new formulation substantially improved agreement with CH4 production pathways and δ13C in emitted CH4 (δ13C-CH4), a measure of the integrated effects of microbial production and consumption, and of physical transport. We also investigated the sensitivity of simulated δ13C-CH4 to C isotopic composition of substrates and, to fractionation factors for CH4 production (αAM and αHM), CH4 oxidation (αMO), and plant-mediated CH4 transport (αTP). The sensitivity analysis indicated that the δ13C-CH4 is highly sensitive to the factors associated with microbial metabolism (αAM, αHM, and αMO). The model framework simulating stable C isotopic dynamics provides a robust basis for better constraining and testing microbial mechanisms in predicting CH4 cycling in peatlands.

Research Organization:
Univ. of Arizona, Tucson, AZ (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC)
Grant/Contract Number:
DE‐SC0004632; DE‐SC0010580; SC0004632; SC0010580
OSTI ID:
1363819
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1363820; OSTI ID: 1393576
Journal Information:
Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems, Journal Name: Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems Vol. 9 Journal Issue: 2; ISSN 1942-2466
Publisher:
American Geophysical Union (AGU)Copyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 17 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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