Water flow controls the spatial variability of methane emissions in a northern valley fen ecosystem
Northern peatlands are projected to be crucial in future atmospheric methane (CH 4 ) budgets and have a positive feedback on global warming. Fens receive nutrients from catchments via inflowing water and are more sensitive than bogs to variations in their ecohydrology. Yet, due to a lack of data det...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:fe1b4427733b407680cae8da8a2b80bf 2023-05-15T15:15:06+02:00 Water flow controls the spatial variability of methane emissions in a northern valley fen ecosystem H. Zhang E.-S. Tuittila A. Korrensalo A. Räsänen T. Virtanen M. Aurela T. Penttilä T. Laurila S. Gerin V. Lindholm A. Lohila 2020-12-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-6247-2020 https://doaj.org/article/fe1b4427733b407680cae8da8a2b80bf EN eng Copernicus Publications https://bg.copernicus.org/articles/17/6247/2020/bg-17-6247-2020.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1726-4170 https://doaj.org/toc/1726-4189 doi:10.5194/bg-17-6247-2020 1726-4170 1726-4189 https://doaj.org/article/fe1b4427733b407680cae8da8a2b80bf Biogeosciences, Vol 17, Pp 6247-6270 (2020) Ecology QH540-549.5 Life QH501-531 Geology QE1-996.5 article 2020 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-6247-2020 2022-12-31T15:18:28Z Northern peatlands are projected to be crucial in future atmospheric methane (CH 4 ) budgets and have a positive feedback on global warming. Fens receive nutrients from catchments via inflowing water and are more sensitive than bogs to variations in their ecohydrology. Yet, due to a lack of data detailing the impacts of moving water on microhabitats and CH 4 fluxes in fens, large uncertainties remain with respect to predicting CH 4 emissions from these sites under climate changes. We measured CH 4 fluxes with manual chambers over three growing seasons (2017–2019) at a northern boreal fen. To address the spatial variation at the site where a stream flows through the long and narrow valley fen, we established sample plots at varying distances from the stream. To link the variations in CH 4 emissions to environmental controls, we quantified water levels, peat temperature, dissolved oxygen concentration, vegetation composition, and leaf area index in combination with flux measurements during the growing season in 2019. We found that due to the flowing water, there was a higher water level, cooler peat temperatures, and more oxygen in the peat close to the stream, which also had the highest total leaf area and gross primary production (GPP) values but the lowest CH 4 emissions. CH 4 emissions were highest at an intermediate distance from the stream where the oxygen concentration in the surface peat was low but GPP was still high. Further from the stream, the conditions were drier and produced low CH 4 emissions. Our results emphasize the key role of ecohydrology in CH 4 dynamics in fens and, for the first time, show how a stream controls CH 4 emissions in a flow-through fen. As valley fens are common peatland ecosystems from the Arctic to the temperate zones, future projections of global CH 4 budgets need to take flowing water features into account. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Global warming Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic Biogeosciences 17 23 6247 6270 |
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 H. Zhang E.-S. Tuittila A. Korrensalo A. Räsänen T. Virtanen M. Aurela T. Penttilä T. Laurila S. Gerin V. Lindholm A. Lohila Water flow controls the spatial variability of methane emissions in a northern valley fen ecosystem |
topic_facet |
Ecology QH540-549.5 Life QH501-531 Geology QE1-996.5 |
description |
Northern peatlands are projected to be crucial in future atmospheric methane (CH 4 ) budgets and have a positive feedback on global warming. Fens receive nutrients from catchments via inflowing water and are more sensitive than bogs to variations in their ecohydrology. Yet, due to a lack of data detailing the impacts of moving water on microhabitats and CH 4 fluxes in fens, large uncertainties remain with respect to predicting CH 4 emissions from these sites under climate changes. We measured CH 4 fluxes with manual chambers over three growing seasons (2017–2019) at a northern boreal fen. To address the spatial variation at the site where a stream flows through the long and narrow valley fen, we established sample plots at varying distances from the stream. To link the variations in CH 4 emissions to environmental controls, we quantified water levels, peat temperature, dissolved oxygen concentration, vegetation composition, and leaf area index in combination with flux measurements during the growing season in 2019. We found that due to the flowing water, there was a higher water level, cooler peat temperatures, and more oxygen in the peat close to the stream, which also had the highest total leaf area and gross primary production (GPP) values but the lowest CH 4 emissions. CH 4 emissions were highest at an intermediate distance from the stream where the oxygen concentration in the surface peat was low but GPP was still high. Further from the stream, the conditions were drier and produced low CH 4 emissions. Our results emphasize the key role of ecohydrology in CH 4 dynamics in fens and, for the first time, show how a stream controls CH 4 emissions in a flow-through fen. As valley fens are common peatland ecosystems from the Arctic to the temperate zones, future projections of global CH 4 budgets need to take flowing water features into account. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
H. Zhang E.-S. Tuittila A. Korrensalo A. Räsänen T. Virtanen M. Aurela T. Penttilä T. Laurila S. Gerin V. Lindholm A. Lohila |
author_facet |
H. Zhang E.-S. Tuittila A. Korrensalo A. Räsänen T. Virtanen M. Aurela T. Penttilä T. Laurila S. Gerin V. Lindholm A. Lohila |
author_sort |
H. Zhang |
title |
Water flow controls the spatial variability of methane emissions in a northern valley fen ecosystem |
title_short |
Water flow controls the spatial variability of methane emissions in a northern valley fen ecosystem |
title_full |
Water flow controls the spatial variability of methane emissions in a northern valley fen ecosystem |
title_fullStr |
Water flow controls the spatial variability of methane emissions in a northern valley fen ecosystem |
title_full_unstemmed |
Water flow controls the spatial variability of methane emissions in a northern valley fen ecosystem |
title_sort |
water flow controls the spatial variability of methane emissions in a northern valley fen ecosystem |
publisher |
Copernicus Publications |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-6247-2020 https://doaj.org/article/fe1b4427733b407680cae8da8a2b80bf |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic Global warming |
genre_facet |
Arctic Global warming |
op_source |
Biogeosciences, Vol 17, Pp 6247-6270 (2020) |
op_relation |
https://bg.copernicus.org/articles/17/6247/2020/bg-17-6247-2020.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1726-4170 https://doaj.org/toc/1726-4189 doi:10.5194/bg-17-6247-2020 1726-4170 1726-4189 https://doaj.org/article/fe1b4427733b407680cae8da8a2b80bf |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-6247-2020 |
container_title |
Biogeosciences |
container_volume |
17 |
container_issue |
23 |
container_start_page |
6247 |
op_container_end_page |
6270 |
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1766345476809949184 |