Annual carbon balance of a peatland 10 yr following restoration

Abstract

Undisturbed peatlands represent long-term net sinks of carbon; however, peat extraction converts these systems into large and persistent sources of greenhouse gases. Although rewetting and restoration following peat extraction have taken place over the last several decades, very few studies have investigated the longer term impact of this restoration on peatland carbon balance. We determined the annual carbon balance of a former horticulturally-extracted peatland restored 10 yr prior to the study and compared these values to the carbon balance measured at neighboring unrestored and natural sites. Carbon dioxide (CO₂) and methane (CH₄) fluxes were measured using the chamber technique biweekly during the growing season from May to October 2010 and three times over the winter period. Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) export was measured from remnant ditches in the unrestored and restored sites. During the growing season the restored site had greater uptake of CO₂ than the natural site when photon flux density was greater than 1000 μmol m⁻² s⁻¹, while the unrestored site remained a source of CO₂. Ecosystem respiration was similar between natural and restored sites, which were both significantly lower than the unrestored site. Methane flux remained low at the restored site except from open water pools, created as part of restoration, and remnant ditches. Export of DOC during the growing season was 5.0 and 28.8 g m⁻² from the restored and unrestored sites, respectively. Due to dry conditions during the study year all sites acted as net carbon sources with annual balance of the natural, restored and unrestored sites of 250.7, 148.0 and 546.6 g C m⁻², respectively. Although hydrological conditions and vegetation community at the restored site remained intermediate between natural and unrestored conditions, peatland restoration resulted in a large reduction in annual carbon loss from the system resulting in a carbon balance more similar to a natural peatland

Derivation of greenhouse gas emission factors for peatlands managed for extraction in the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom

“…However, Salm et al (2012) reported higher emissions from abandoned areas in comparison to active areas, although colonisation by vegetation in the former may have accentuated respiration losses. High annual CO 2 -C emissions following abandonment and recolonisation have also been reported by Strack and Zuback (2013) and are in close agreement with the R eco values reported here for the DP sites (Fig. 5).…”

The role of waterborne carbon in the greenhouse gas balance of drained and re-wetted peatlands

“…This approach assumes negligible CH4 emissions during the dormant period, which may be realistic if ditches are frozen, but could lead to an under-estimation of annual emissions (e.g. Minkinnen and Laine, 2006;Strack and Zuback, 2013).…”

Žemapelkės (Terric Histosol) dirvožemio cheminė sudėtis ir ją lemiantys veiksniai

“…Dėl intensyvios apytakos tarp atmosfe ros ir dirvožemių C pokyčiai sausumos sistemų fonduose yra apibrėžti tarptautinėmis sutartimis (Marcinkonis, 2007). Kadangi aišku, jog žmogaus veikla turi neigiamos įtakos aplinkai, pastaraisiais metais įvairiose pasaulio šalyse atliekama vis dau giau tyrimų nustatant globalinių C srautų kiekius (Strack, Zuback, 2013).…”

“…Dėl intensyvios apytakos tarp atmosfe ros ir dirvožemių C pokyčiai sausumos sistemų fonduose yra apibrėžti tarptautinėmis sutartimis (Marcinkonis, 2007). Kadangi aišku, jog žmogaus veikla turi neigiamos įtakos aplinkai, pastaraisiais metais įvairiose pasaulio šalyse atliekama vis dau giau tyrimų nustatant globalinių C srautų kiekius (Strack, Zuback, 2013).Nusausintų ir nenusausintų pelkių durpžemiai yra viena iš anglies fiksavimo priemonių suda rant buferines zonas nuo teritorijų, kur pažeisti biocheminiai ciklai, išsaugant gamtinę įvairovę (Žekonienė, 2002;AbensbergTraun et al, 2004). Jau XX a.…”