Peat Properties and Holocene Carbon and Nitrogen Accumulation Rates in a Peatland in the Xinjiang Altai Mountains, Northwestern China

• Published in: Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences
• Main Authors: Zhang, Yan, Yang, Ping, Gao, Chuanyu, Tong, Chuan, Zhang, Xinyan, Liu, Xingtu, Zhang, Shaoqing, Meyers, Philip A.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: Foundation for Statistical Computing 2020
• Subjects: peat properties; carbon and nitrogen accumulation rates; Altai Mountains of northwestern China; stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes; Geological Sciences; Science; Arctic
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/2027.42/163931; https://doi.org/10.1029/2019JG005615

A high‐resolution study of bulk properties in a peat sequence from the Xinjiang Altai Mountains of northwestern China has allowed reconstruction of local variations in peat properties and peat C and N accumulation rates (CAR and NAR) during the Holocene. Analyses of peat bulk density, loss on ignition, and concentrations of total organic carbon (TOC) and total nitrogen (TN) and their elemental ratios and stable isotopic values suggest that changes in peat‐forming vegetation types during different parts of this epoch are the major factors responsible for the variations of peat properties in this sequence. The long‐term peat CAR has been 25.4 ± 7.7 (SD) g C/m2/yr, with lower values during the early Holocene and higher accumulations during the late Holocene, which is opposite to the Holocene variations in CAR in other northern peatlands. In contrast, the long‐term peat NAR is 1.5 ± 0.5 (SD) g N/m2/yr and is higher during the early and middle Holocene and lower during the late Holocene as in other northern peatlands. However, unlike other northern peatlands, long‐term peat NAR does not vary with the CAR, which is influenced by the peat density and accumulation rate. Variations in long‐term peat C and N accumulations in the Altai Mountains can be attributed to changes in primary productivity, in the dominant plant types and in peat decomposition caused by changes in both regional Holocene climate and local conditions.Plain Language SummaryVariations in Holocene carbon and nitrogen accumulations in a peat sequence in the Altai Mountains of northwestern China can be attributed to changes in plant productivity, in the dominant plant types and in peat decomposition caused by changes in both regional climate and site‐specific environmental conditions.Key PointsA high‐resolution study was conducted of bulk properties in a peat sequence from the Xinjiang Altai Mountains of northwest ChinaReconstructions of Holocene peat C and N accumulations in the Altai Mountains of northwest China were doneRegional comparisons imply that ...