Massive peatland carbon banks vulnerable to rising temperatures

Peatlands contain one-third of the world’s soil carbon (C). If destabilized, decomposition of this vast C bank could accelerate climate warming; however, the likelihood of this outcome remains unknown. Here, we examine peatland C stability through five years of whole-ecosystem warming and two years...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nature communications 2020-05, Vol.11 (1), p.2373-2373, Article 2373
Main Authors: Hopple, A. M., Wilson, R. M., Kolton, M., Zalman, C. A., Chanton, J. P., Kostka, J., Hanson, P. J., Keller, J. K., Bridgham, S. D.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
38/22
38/23
631/158/2165
704/106/47/4113
Carbon
Carbon cycle
carbon cycle, climate change ecology
Carbon dioxide
Climate change
climate-change ecology
Decomposition
Emissions
Environmental changes
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
Gas production
Global warming
Humanities and Social Sciences
Methane
multidisciplinary
Oil and gas production
Peat
Peatlands
Pore water
Science
Science (multidisciplinary)
Soil profiles
Soil properties
Soils
Stability
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Summary:Peatlands contain one-third of the world’s soil carbon (C). If destabilized, decomposition of this vast C bank could accelerate climate warming; however, the likelihood of this outcome remains unknown. Here, we examine peatland C stability through five years of whole-ecosystem warming and two years of elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations (eCO 2 ). Warming exponentially increased methane (CH 4 ) emissions and enhanced CH 4 production rates throughout the entire soil profile; although surface CH 4 production rates remain much greater than those at depth. Additionally, older deeper C sources played a larger role in decomposition following prolonged warming. Most troubling, decreases in CO 2 :CH 4 ratios in gas production, porewater concentrations, and emissions, indicate that the peatland is becoming more methanogenic with warming. We observed limited evidence of eCO 2 effects. Our results suggest that ecosystem responses are largely driven by surface peat, but that the vast C bank at depth in peatlands is responsive to prolonged warming. One-third of Earth’s carbon is sequestered in peatlands, and its stability in the face of climate change is unknown. Here the authors show that warming leads to the release of carbon as methane, but only the most prolonged warming leads to the breakdown and release of deep, old carbon.
ISSN:2041-1723
2041-1723
DOI:10.1038/s41467-020-16311-8