Degradation changes stable carbon isotope depth profiles in palsa peatlands
Palsa peatlands are a significant carbon pool in the global carbon cycle and are projected to change by global warming due to accelerated permafrost thaw. Our aim was to use stable carbon isotopes as indicators of palsa degradation. Depth profiles of stable carbon isotopes generally reflect organic...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:a4013e3bafb24c19824690d1e5ea4cb7 2023-05-15T17:44:49+02:00 Degradation changes stable carbon isotope depth profiles in palsa peatlands J. P. Krüger J. Leifeld C. Alewell 2014-06-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-11-3369-2014 https://doaj.org/article/a4013e3bafb24c19824690d1e5ea4cb7 EN eng Copernicus Publications http://www.biogeosciences.net/11/3369/2014/bg-11-3369-2014.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1726-4170 https://doaj.org/toc/1726-4189 1726-4170 1726-4189 doi:10.5194/bg-11-3369-2014 https://doaj.org/article/a4013e3bafb24c19824690d1e5ea4cb7 Biogeosciences, Vol 11, Iss 12, Pp 3369-3380 (2014) Ecology QH540-549.5 Life QH501-531 Geology QE1-996.5 article 2014 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-11-3369-2014 2022-12-31T01:32:49Z Palsa peatlands are a significant carbon pool in the global carbon cycle and are projected to change by global warming due to accelerated permafrost thaw. Our aim was to use stable carbon isotopes as indicators of palsa degradation. Depth profiles of stable carbon isotopes generally reflect organic matter dynamics in soils with an increase of δ 13 C values during aerobic decomposition and stable or decreasing δ 13 C values with depth during anaerobic decomposition. Stable carbon isotope depth profiles of undisturbed and degraded sites of hummocks as well as hollows at three palsa peatlands in northern Sweden were used to investigate the degradation processes. The depth patterns of stable isotopes clearly differ between intact and degraded hummocks at all sites. Erosion and cryoturbation at the degraded sites significantly changes the stable carbon isotope depth profiles. At the intact hummocks the uplifting of peat material by permafrost is indicated by a turning in the δ 13 C depth trend, and this assessment is supported by a change in the C / N ratios. For hollows isotope patterns were less clear, but some hollows and degraded hollows in the palsa peatlands show differences in their stable carbon isotope depth profiles indicating enhanced degradation rates. We conclude that the degradation of palsa peatlands by accelerated permafrost thawing can be identified with stable carbon isotope depth profiles. At intact hummocks δ 13 C depth patterns display the uplifting of peat material by a change in peat decomposition processes. Article in Journal/Newspaper Northern Sweden palsa permafrost Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Biogeosciences 11 12 3369 3380 |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
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English |
topic |
Ecology QH540-549.5 Life QH501-531 Geology QE1-996.5 |
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Ecology QH540-549.5 Life QH501-531 Geology QE1-996.5 J. P. Krüger J. Leifeld C. Alewell Degradation changes stable carbon isotope depth profiles in palsa peatlands |
topic_facet |
Ecology QH540-549.5 Life QH501-531 Geology QE1-996.5 |
description |
Palsa peatlands are a significant carbon pool in the global carbon cycle and are projected to change by global warming due to accelerated permafrost thaw. Our aim was to use stable carbon isotopes as indicators of palsa degradation. Depth profiles of stable carbon isotopes generally reflect organic matter dynamics in soils with an increase of δ 13 C values during aerobic decomposition and stable or decreasing δ 13 C values with depth during anaerobic decomposition. Stable carbon isotope depth profiles of undisturbed and degraded sites of hummocks as well as hollows at three palsa peatlands in northern Sweden were used to investigate the degradation processes. The depth patterns of stable isotopes clearly differ between intact and degraded hummocks at all sites. Erosion and cryoturbation at the degraded sites significantly changes the stable carbon isotope depth profiles. At the intact hummocks the uplifting of peat material by permafrost is indicated by a turning in the δ 13 C depth trend, and this assessment is supported by a change in the C / N ratios. For hollows isotope patterns were less clear, but some hollows and degraded hollows in the palsa peatlands show differences in their stable carbon isotope depth profiles indicating enhanced degradation rates. We conclude that the degradation of palsa peatlands by accelerated permafrost thawing can be identified with stable carbon isotope depth profiles. At intact hummocks δ 13 C depth patterns display the uplifting of peat material by a change in peat decomposition processes. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
J. P. Krüger J. Leifeld C. Alewell |
author_facet |
J. P. Krüger J. Leifeld C. Alewell |
author_sort |
J. P. Krüger |
title |
Degradation changes stable carbon isotope depth profiles in palsa peatlands |
title_short |
Degradation changes stable carbon isotope depth profiles in palsa peatlands |
title_full |
Degradation changes stable carbon isotope depth profiles in palsa peatlands |
title_fullStr |
Degradation changes stable carbon isotope depth profiles in palsa peatlands |
title_full_unstemmed |
Degradation changes stable carbon isotope depth profiles in palsa peatlands |
title_sort |
degradation changes stable carbon isotope depth profiles in palsa peatlands |
publisher |
Copernicus Publications |
publishDate |
2014 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-11-3369-2014 https://doaj.org/article/a4013e3bafb24c19824690d1e5ea4cb7 |
genre |
Northern Sweden palsa permafrost |
genre_facet |
Northern Sweden palsa permafrost |
op_source |
Biogeosciences, Vol 11, Iss 12, Pp 3369-3380 (2014) |
op_relation |
http://www.biogeosciences.net/11/3369/2014/bg-11-3369-2014.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1726-4170 https://doaj.org/toc/1726-4189 1726-4170 1726-4189 doi:10.5194/bg-11-3369-2014 https://doaj.org/article/a4013e3bafb24c19824690d1e5ea4cb7 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-11-3369-2014 |
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Biogeosciences |
container_volume |
11 |
container_issue |
12 |
container_start_page |
3369 |
op_container_end_page |
3380 |
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1766147099243577344 |