Effect of peat quality on microbial greenhouse gas formation in an acidic fen
Peatlands play an important role in the global carbon cycle and represent both an important stock of soil carbon and a substantial natural source of relevant greenhouse gases like CO 2 and CH 4 . While it is known that the quality of organic matter affects microbial degradation and mineralization pr...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:55acbbb9d68641dc9a6f1e36af4c5030 2023-05-15T17:58:18+02:00 Effect of peat quality on microbial greenhouse gas formation in an acidic fen M. Reiche G. Gleixner K. Küsel 2010-01-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-7-187-2010 https://doaj.org/article/55acbbb9d68641dc9a6f1e36af4c5030 EN eng Copernicus Publications http://www.biogeosciences.net/7/187/2010/bg-7-187-2010.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1726-4170 https://doaj.org/toc/1726-4189 1726-4170 1726-4189 doi:10.5194/bg-7-187-2010 https://doaj.org/article/55acbbb9d68641dc9a6f1e36af4c5030 Biogeosciences, Vol 7, Iss 1, Pp 187-198 (2010) Ecology QH540-549.5 Life QH501-531 Geology QE1-996.5 article 2010 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-7-187-2010 2022-12-31T14:26:10Z Peatlands play an important role in the global carbon cycle and represent both an important stock of soil carbon and a substantial natural source of relevant greenhouse gases like CO 2 and CH 4 . While it is known that the quality of organic matter affects microbial degradation and mineralization processes in peatlands, the manner in which the quality of peat organic matter affects the formation of CO 2 and CH 4 remains unclear. In this study we developed a fast and simple peat quality index in order to estimate its potential greenhouse gas formation by linking the thermo-degradability of peat with potential anaerobic CO 2 and CH 4 formation rates. Peat samples were obtained at several depths (0–40 cm) at four sampling locations from an acidic fen (pH 4.7). CO 2 and CH 4 formation rates were highly spatially variable and depended on depth, sampling location, and the composition of pyrolysable organic matter. Peat samples active in CO 2 and CH 4 formation had a quality index above 1.35, and the fraction of thermally labile pyrolyzable organic matter (comparable to easily available carbon substrates for microbial activity) obtained by thermogravimetry was above 35%. Curie-point pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry mainly identified carbohydrates and lignin as pyrolysis products in these samples, indicating that undecomposed organic matter was found in this fraction. In contrast, lipids and unspecific pyrolysis products, which indicate recalcitrant and highly decomposed organic matter, correlated significantly with lower CO 2 formation and reduced methanogenesis. Our results suggest that undecomposed organic matter is a prerequisite for CH 4 and CO 2 development in acidic fens. Furthermore, the new peat quality index should aide the estimation of potential greenhouse gas formation resulting from peatland restoration and permafrost thawing and help yield more robust models of trace gas fluxes from peatlands for climate change research. Article in Journal/Newspaper permafrost Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Curie Point ENVELOPE(-63.483,-63.483,-64.833,-64.833) Biogeosciences 7 1 187 198 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Ecology QH540-549.5 Life QH501-531 Geology QE1-996.5 |
spellingShingle |
Ecology QH540-549.5 Life QH501-531 Geology QE1-996.5 M. Reiche G. Gleixner K. Küsel Effect of peat quality on microbial greenhouse gas formation in an acidic fen |
topic_facet |
Ecology QH540-549.5 Life QH501-531 Geology QE1-996.5 |
description |
Peatlands play an important role in the global carbon cycle and represent both an important stock of soil carbon and a substantial natural source of relevant greenhouse gases like CO 2 and CH 4 . While it is known that the quality of organic matter affects microbial degradation and mineralization processes in peatlands, the manner in which the quality of peat organic matter affects the formation of CO 2 and CH 4 remains unclear. In this study we developed a fast and simple peat quality index in order to estimate its potential greenhouse gas formation by linking the thermo-degradability of peat with potential anaerobic CO 2 and CH 4 formation rates. Peat samples were obtained at several depths (0–40 cm) at four sampling locations from an acidic fen (pH 4.7). CO 2 and CH 4 formation rates were highly spatially variable and depended on depth, sampling location, and the composition of pyrolysable organic matter. Peat samples active in CO 2 and CH 4 formation had a quality index above 1.35, and the fraction of thermally labile pyrolyzable organic matter (comparable to easily available carbon substrates for microbial activity) obtained by thermogravimetry was above 35%. Curie-point pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry mainly identified carbohydrates and lignin as pyrolysis products in these samples, indicating that undecomposed organic matter was found in this fraction. In contrast, lipids and unspecific pyrolysis products, which indicate recalcitrant and highly decomposed organic matter, correlated significantly with lower CO 2 formation and reduced methanogenesis. Our results suggest that undecomposed organic matter is a prerequisite for CH 4 and CO 2 development in acidic fens. Furthermore, the new peat quality index should aide the estimation of potential greenhouse gas formation resulting from peatland restoration and permafrost thawing and help yield more robust models of trace gas fluxes from peatlands for climate change research. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
M. Reiche G. Gleixner K. Küsel |
author_facet |
M. Reiche G. Gleixner K. Küsel |
author_sort |
M. Reiche |
title |
Effect of peat quality on microbial greenhouse gas formation in an acidic fen |
title_short |
Effect of peat quality on microbial greenhouse gas formation in an acidic fen |
title_full |
Effect of peat quality on microbial greenhouse gas formation in an acidic fen |
title_fullStr |
Effect of peat quality on microbial greenhouse gas formation in an acidic fen |
title_full_unstemmed |
Effect of peat quality on microbial greenhouse gas formation in an acidic fen |
title_sort |
effect of peat quality on microbial greenhouse gas formation in an acidic fen |
publisher |
Copernicus Publications |
publishDate |
2010 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-7-187-2010 https://doaj.org/article/55acbbb9d68641dc9a6f1e36af4c5030 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-63.483,-63.483,-64.833,-64.833) |
geographic |
Curie Point |
geographic_facet |
Curie Point |
genre |
permafrost |
genre_facet |
permafrost |
op_source |
Biogeosciences, Vol 7, Iss 1, Pp 187-198 (2010) |
op_relation |
http://www.biogeosciences.net/7/187/2010/bg-7-187-2010.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1726-4170 https://doaj.org/toc/1726-4189 1726-4170 1726-4189 doi:10.5194/bg-7-187-2010 https://doaj.org/article/55acbbb9d68641dc9a6f1e36af4c5030 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-7-187-2010 |
container_title |
Biogeosciences |
container_volume |
7 |
container_issue |
1 |
container_start_page |
187 |
op_container_end_page |
198 |
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1766166879183831040 |