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Variation in carbon and nitrogen concentrations among peatland categories at the global scale

Journal Article · · PLoS ONE
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  1. Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Jena (Germany); Trent University, Peterborough, ON (Canada)
  2. Trent University, Peterborough, ON (Canada)
  3. Laurentian University, Sudbury, ON (Canada)
  4. Syracuse University, NY (United States)
  5. USDA Forest Service, Houghton, MI (United States)
  6. University of the Highlands and Islands (United Kingdom)
  7. Instituto de Investigaciones de la Amazonia Peruana, Iquitos (Peru)
  8. James Hutton Institute, Aberdeen (United Kingdom)
  9. Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL (United States)
  10. University of Bayreuth (Germany)
  11. University of Ferrara (Italy)
  12. Department of Biological Sciences, Arcata, CA (United States)
  13. Appalachian State University, Boone, NC (United States)
  14. Zhejiang University, Hangzhou (China)
  15. Landcare Research, Hamilton (New Zealand)
  16. Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (Singapore)
  17. Instituto de Investigaciones Forestales y Agropecuarias (CONICET-INTA), Río Negro (Argentina)
  18. Newcastle University (United Kingdom)
  19. RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC (Australia)
  20. University of Alberta, Edmonton (Canada)
  21. École Centrale de Lyon, Université de Lyon, Environmental Microbial Genomics, Laboratoire Ampère, Ecully (France)
  22. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA (United States)
  23. University of Nebraska, Omaha, NE (United States)
  24. University of Helsinki (Finland); Natural Resources Institute Finland, Helsinki (Finland)
  25. University of Helsinki (Finland)
  26. University of Muenster (Germany)
  27. USDA Forest Service, Grand Rapids, MI (United States)
  28. Natural Resources Institute Finland, Helsinki (Finland)
  29. Rochester Institute of Technology, NY (United States)
  30. Ontario Forest Research Institute, Sault Ste. Marie, ON, United States
  31. McGill University, Montreal (Canada)
  32. University of Florida, Gainesville, FL (United States)
  33. Ohio State University, Columbus, OH (United States)
  34. Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, Kensington, W.A. (Australia)
  35. Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
  36. California State University, San Bernardino, CA (United States)
  37. University of Tartu (Estonia); King Saud University, Riyadh (Saudi Arabia)
  38. Vietnamese Academy of Forest Sciences, Hanoi City (Vietnam)
  39. USDA Forest Service, Cordesville, SC (United States)
  40. University of Eastern Finland, Joensuu (Finland)
  41. University of Colorado, Boulder, CO (United States)
  42. University of South Bohemia, České Budějovice (Czech Republic)
  43. University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH (United States)
  44. Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center, USGS Menlo Park, CA (United States)
  45. Northeast Normal University, Changchun (China)
  46. Hebei Agricultural University, Baoding (China)
  47. Earth Innovation Institute, San Francisco, CA (United States)
  48. University of Cincinnati, OH (United States)
  49. Laurentian University, Sudbury, ON (Canada); University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon (Canada)
  50. Cornell University, Ithaca, NY (United States)
  51. Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology (China)
  52. Utah Valley University, Orem, UT (United States)
+ Show Author Affiliations
Peatlands account for 15 to 30% of the world’s soil carbon (C) stock and are important controls over global nitrogen (N) cycles. However, C and N concentrations are known to vary among peatlands contributing to the uncertainty of global C inventories, but there are few global studies that relate peatland classification to peat chemistry. We analyzed 436 peat cores sampled in 24 countries across six continents and measured C, N, and organic matter (OM) content at three depths down to 70 cm. Sites were distinguished between northern (387) and tropical (49) peatlands and assigned to one of six distinct broadly recognized peatland categories that vary primarily along a pH gradient. Peat C and N concentrations, OM content, and C:N ratios differed significantly among peatland categories, but few differences in chemistry with depth were found within each category. Across all peatlands C and N concentrations in the 10–20 cm layer, were 440 ± 85.1 g kg-1 and 13.9 ± 7.4 g kg-1, with an average C:N ratio of 30.1 ± 20.8. Among peatland categories, median C concentrations were highest in bogs, poor fens and tropical swamps (446–532 g kg-1) and lowest in intermediate and extremely rich fens (375–414 g kg-1). The C:OM ratio in peat was similar across most peatland categories, except in deeper samples from ombrotrophic tropical peat swamps that were higher than other peatlands categories. Peat N concentrations and C:N ratios varied approximately two-fold among peatland categories and N concentrations tended to be higher (and C:N lower) in intermediate fens compared with other peatland types. This study reports on a unique data set and demonstrates that differences in peat C and OM concentrations among broadly classified peatland categories are predictable, which can aid future studies that use land cover assessments to refine global peatland C and N stocks.
Research Organization:
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
National Science Foundation (NSF); Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC); USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC05-00OR22725
OSTI ID:
2203827
Journal Information:
PLoS ONE, Journal Name: PLoS ONE Journal Issue: 11 Vol. 17; ISSN 1932-6203
Publisher:
Public Library of ScienceCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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Related Subjects

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
Bogs
Chemistry
Fens
Forests
Ice cores
Soil chemistry
Swamps
Wetlands