Permafrost thaw causes large carbon loss in boreal peatlands while changes to peat quality are limited ...
Rapid, ongoing permafrost thaw of peatlands in the discontinuous permafrost zone is exposing a globally significant store of soil carbon (C) to microbial processes. Mineralisation and release of this peat C to the atmosphere as greenhouse gases is a potentially important feedback to climate change....
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Dataset |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Dryad
2023
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://dx.doi.org/10.5061/dryad.47d7wm3kk https://datadryad.org/stash/dataset/doi:10.5061/dryad.47d7wm3kk |
| Summary: | Rapid, ongoing permafrost thaw of peatlands in the discontinuous permafrost zone is exposing a globally significant store of soil carbon (C) to microbial processes. Mineralisation and release of this peat C to the atmosphere as greenhouse gases is a potentially important feedback to climate change. Here we investigated the effects of permafrost thaw on peat C at a peatland complex in western Canada. We collected 15 complete peat cores (between 2.7 abd 4.5 m deep) along four chronosequences, from elevated permafrost plateaus to saturated thermokarst bogs that thawed up to 600 years ago. The peat cores were analysed for peat C storage and peat quality, as indicated by decomposition proxies (FTIR and C/N ratios) and potential decomposability using a 200-day aerobic incubation. Our results suggest net C loss following thaw, with average total peat C stocks decreasing by ~19.3 +/- 7.2 kg C m-2 over <600 years (~13% loss). Average post-thaw accumulation of new peat at the surface over the same period was ~13.1 ... |
|---|