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 (CH4) 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 detai...
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2021
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ftunivhelsihelda:oai:helda.helsinki.fi:10138/324021 2024-01-07T09:41:57+01:00 Water flow controls the spatial variability of methane emissions in a northern valley fen ecosystem Zhang, Hui Tuittila, Eeva-Stiina Korrensalo, Aino Rasänen, Aleksi Virtanen, Tarmo Aurela, Mika Penttilä, Timo Laurila, Tuomas Gerin, Stephanie Lindholm, Viivi Lohila, Annalea INAR Physics Helsinki Institute of Sustainability Science (HELSUS) Environmental Change Research Unit (ECRU) Helsinki Institute of Urban and Regional Studies (Urbaria) Urban Environmental Policy Tarmo Virtanen / Principal Investigator Ecosystems and Environment Research Programme Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Programme Institute for Atmospheric and Earth System Research (INAR) 2021-01-05T05:05:04Z 24 application/pdf http://hdl.handle.net/10138/324021 eng eng COPERNICUS GESELLSCHAFT MBH 10.5194/bg-17-6247-2020 This research has been supported by the Ministry of Transport and Communication through ICOS-Finland and the Academy of Finland (grant nos. 287039 and 308511). Zhang , H , Tuittila , E-S , Korrensalo , A , Rasänen , A , Virtanen , T , Aurela , M , Penttilä , T , Laurila , T , Gerin , S , Lindholm , V & Lohila , A 2020 , ' Water flow controls the spatial variability of methane emissions in a northern valley fen ecosystem ' , Biogeosciences , vol. 17 , no. 23 , pp. 6247-6270 . https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-6247-2020 ORCID: /0000-0002-3629-1837/work/86484826 ORCID: /0000-0001-8660-2464/work/105284716 e59b85a4-91f9-434a-81b9-a84d28d9565b http://hdl.handle.net/10138/324021 000599510500001 cc_by openAccess info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess TABLE DRAWDOWN BOREAL FEN CARBON DYNAMICS VASCULAR PLANTS CLIMATE-CHANGE VEGETATION MIRE RESPONSES TEMPERATE PEATLANDS 1172 Environmental sciences 1171 Geosciences 1181 Ecology evolutionary biology Article publishedVersion 2021 ftunivhelsihelda 2023-12-14T00:07:12Z Northern peatlands are projected to be crucial in future atmospheric methane (CH4) 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 CH4 fluxes in fens, large uncertainties remain with respect to predicting CH4 emissions from these sites under climate changes. We measured CH4 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 CH4 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 CH4 emissions. CH4 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 CH4 emissions. Our results emphasize the key role of ecohydrology in CH4 dynamics in fens and, for the first time, show how a stream controls CH4 emissions in a flow-through fen. As valley fens are common peatland ecosystems from the Arctic to the temperate zones, future projections of global CH4 budgets need to take flowing water features into account. Peer reviewed Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Climate change Global warming HELDA – University of Helsinki Open Repository Arctic Biogeosciences 17 23 6247 6270 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
HELDA – University of Helsinki Open Repository |
op_collection_id |
ftunivhelsihelda |
language |
English |
topic |
TABLE DRAWDOWN BOREAL FEN CARBON DYNAMICS VASCULAR PLANTS CLIMATE-CHANGE VEGETATION MIRE RESPONSES TEMPERATE PEATLANDS 1172 Environmental sciences 1171 Geosciences 1181 Ecology evolutionary biology |
spellingShingle |
TABLE DRAWDOWN BOREAL FEN CARBON DYNAMICS VASCULAR PLANTS CLIMATE-CHANGE VEGETATION MIRE RESPONSES TEMPERATE PEATLANDS 1172 Environmental sciences 1171 Geosciences 1181 Ecology evolutionary biology Zhang, Hui Tuittila, Eeva-Stiina Korrensalo, Aino Rasänen, Aleksi Virtanen, Tarmo Aurela, Mika Penttilä, Timo Laurila, Tuomas Gerin, Stephanie Lindholm, Viivi Lohila, Annalea Water flow controls the spatial variability of methane emissions in a northern valley fen ecosystem |
topic_facet |
TABLE DRAWDOWN BOREAL FEN CARBON DYNAMICS VASCULAR PLANTS CLIMATE-CHANGE VEGETATION MIRE RESPONSES TEMPERATE PEATLANDS 1172 Environmental sciences 1171 Geosciences 1181 Ecology evolutionary biology |
description |
Northern peatlands are projected to be crucial in future atmospheric methane (CH4) 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 CH4 fluxes in fens, large uncertainties remain with respect to predicting CH4 emissions from these sites under climate changes. We measured CH4 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 CH4 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 CH4 emissions. CH4 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 CH4 emissions. Our results emphasize the key role of ecohydrology in CH4 dynamics in fens and, for the first time, show how a stream controls CH4 emissions in a flow-through fen. As valley fens are common peatland ecosystems from the Arctic to the temperate zones, future projections of global CH4 budgets need to take flowing water features into account. Peer reviewed |
author2 |
INAR Physics Helsinki Institute of Sustainability Science (HELSUS) Environmental Change Research Unit (ECRU) Helsinki Institute of Urban and Regional Studies (Urbaria) Urban Environmental Policy Tarmo Virtanen / Principal Investigator Ecosystems and Environment Research Programme Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Programme Institute for Atmospheric and Earth System Research (INAR) |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Zhang, Hui Tuittila, Eeva-Stiina Korrensalo, Aino Rasänen, Aleksi Virtanen, Tarmo Aurela, Mika Penttilä, Timo Laurila, Tuomas Gerin, Stephanie Lindholm, Viivi Lohila, Annalea |
author_facet |
Zhang, Hui Tuittila, Eeva-Stiina Korrensalo, Aino Rasänen, Aleksi Virtanen, Tarmo Aurela, Mika Penttilä, Timo Laurila, Tuomas Gerin, Stephanie Lindholm, Viivi Lohila, Annalea |
author_sort |
Zhang, Hui |
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 GESELLSCHAFT MBH |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/10138/324021 |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic Climate change Global warming |
genre_facet |
Arctic Climate change Global warming |
op_relation |
10.5194/bg-17-6247-2020 This research has been supported by the Ministry of Transport and Communication through ICOS-Finland and the Academy of Finland (grant nos. 287039 and 308511). Zhang , H , Tuittila , E-S , Korrensalo , A , Rasänen , A , Virtanen , T , Aurela , M , Penttilä , T , Laurila , T , Gerin , S , Lindholm , V & Lohila , A 2020 , ' Water flow controls the spatial variability of methane emissions in a northern valley fen ecosystem ' , Biogeosciences , vol. 17 , no. 23 , pp. 6247-6270 . https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-6247-2020 ORCID: /0000-0002-3629-1837/work/86484826 ORCID: /0000-0001-8660-2464/work/105284716 e59b85a4-91f9-434a-81b9-a84d28d9565b http://hdl.handle.net/10138/324021 000599510500001 |
op_rights |
cc_by openAccess info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
container_title |
Biogeosciences |
container_volume |
17 |
container_issue |
23 |
container_start_page |
6247 |
op_container_end_page |
6270 |
_version_ |
1787422779997421568 |