Assessing greenhouse gas emissions from peatlands using vegetation as a proxy

Couwenberg, John; Thiele, Annett; Tanneberger, Franziska; Augustin, Jürgen; Bärisch, Susanne; Dubovik, Dimitry; Liashchynskaya, Nadzeya; Michaelis, Dierk; Minke, Merten; Skuratovich, Arkadi; Joosten, Hans

doi:10.1007/s10750-011-0729-x

Cited by 229 publications

(229 citation statements)

References 65 publications

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“…The strong increase in CH 4 emissions with palm removal contrasts dramatically with the substantial decline in emissions reported when land use change is associated to peat drainage and lower water tables , highlighting the critical role of the water table for the CH 4 emissions in this context. The increase in N 2 O emissions following land use change supports findings from peatlands in Southeast Asia, although the magnitude of the increase is highly variable, possibly due to different levels of fertilizer application and drainage (Couwenberg et al 2011;Dommain et al 2010;Jauhiainen et al 2011). The higher CH 4 and N 2 O fluxes following land use change supported our second hypothesis, predicting that the clearance of R. taedigera would increase the CH 4 and N 2 O fluxes.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 67%

Root oxygen loss from Raphia taedigera palms mediates greenhouse gas emissions in lowland neotropical peatlands

et al. 2016

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Aims Little is known about the influence of vegetation on the timing and quantities of greenhouse gas fluxes from lowland Neotropical peatlands to the atmosphere. To address this knowledge gap, we investigated if palm forests moderate greenhouse gas fluxes from tropical peatlands due to radial oxygen loss from roots into the peat matrix. Methods We compared the diurnal pattern of greenhouse gas fluxes from peat monoliths with and without seedlings of Raphia taedigera palm, and monitored the effect of land use change on greenhouse gas fluxes from R. taedigera palm swamps in Bocas del Toro, Panama. Results CH 4 fluxes from peat monoliths with R. taedigera seedlings varied diurnally, with the greatest emissions during daytime. Radial oxygen loss from the roots of R. taedigera seedlings partially supressed CH 4 emissions at midday; this suppression increased as seedlings grew. On a larger scale, removal of R. taedigera palms for agriculture increased CH 4 and N 2 O fluxes, but decreased CO 2 fluxes when compared to nearby intact palm forest. The net impact of forest clearance was a doubling of the radiative forcing. Conclusions R. taedigera palm forest influences the emission of greenhouse gases from lowland tropical peatlands through radial oxygen loss into the rhizosphere.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 67%

Root oxygen loss from Raphia taedigera palms mediates greenhouse gas emissions in lowland neotropical peatlands

et al. 2016

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Key factors include redox/water table depth (Couwenberg et al, 2010(Couwenberg et al, , 2011Silver et al, 1999;Teh et al, 2005;von Fischer and Hedin, 2007), plant productivity (von Fischer and Hedin, 2007;Whiting and Chanton, 1993), soil organic matter lability (Wright et al, 2011), competition for C substrates among anaerobes (Teh et al, 2008;von Fischer and Hedin, 2007), and presence of plants capable of facilitating atmospheric egress (Pangala et al, 2013). Of all these factors, fluctuation in soil redox conditions, as mediated by variations in water table depth, is perhaps most critical in regulating CH 4 dynamics (Couwenberg et al, 2010(Couwenberg et al, , 2011 because of the underlying physiology of the microbes that produce and consume CH 4 . Methanogenic archaea are obligate anaerobes that only produce CH 4 under anoxic conditions (Conrad, 1996); as a consequence, they are only active in stably anoxic soil microsites or soil layers, where they are protected from the effects of strong oxidants such as oxygen or where competition for reducing equivalents (e.g., acetate, H 2 ) from other anaerobic microorganisms is eliminated (Teh et al, 2005(Teh et al, , 2008von Fischer andHedin, 2002, 2007).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seasonal variability in methane and nitrous oxide fluxes from tropical peatlands in the western Amazon basin

et al. 2017

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Abstract. The Amazon plays a critical role in global atmospheric budgets of methane (CH 4 ) and nitrous oxide (N 2 O). However, while we have a relatively good understanding of the continental-scale flux of these greenhouse gases (GHGs), one of the key gaps in knowledge is the specific contribution of peatland ecosystems to the regional budgets of these GHGs. Here we report CH 4 and N 2 O fluxes from lowland tropical peatlands in the Pastaza-Marañón foreland basin (PMFB) in Peru, one of the largest peatland complexes in the Amazon basin. The goal of this research was to quantify the range and magnitude of CH 4 and N 2 O fluxes from this region, assess seasonal trends in trace gas exchange, and determine the role of different environmental variables in driving GHG flux. Trace gas fluxes were determined from the most numerically dominant peatland vegetation types in the region: forested vegetation, forested (short pole) vegetation, Mauritia flexuosadominated palm swamp, and mixed palm swamp. Data were collected in both wet and dry seasons over the course of four field campaigns from 2012 to 2014. Diffusive CH 4 emissions averaged 36.05 ± 3.09 mg CH 4 -C m −2 day −1 across the entire dataset, with diffusive CH 4 flux varying significantly among vegetation types and between seasons. Net ebullition of CH 4 averaged 973.3 ± 161.4 mg CH 4 -C m −2 day −1 and did not vary significantly among vegetation types or between seasons. Diffusive CH 4 flux was greatest for mixed palm swamp (52.0 ± 16.0 mg CH 4 -C m −2 day −1 ), followed by M. flexuosa palm swamp (36.7 ± 3.9 mg CH 4 -C m −2 day −1 ), forested (short pole) vegetation (31.6 ± 6.6 mg CH 4 -C m −2 day −1 ), and forested vegetation (29.8 ± 10.0 mg CH 4 -C m −2 day −1 ). Diffusive CH 4 flux also showed marked seasonality, with divergent seasonal patterns among ecosystems. Forested vegetation and mixed palm swamp showed significantly higher dry season (47.2 ± 5.4 mg CH 4 -C m −2 day −1 and 85.5 ± 26.4 mg CH 4 -C m −2 day −1 , respectively) compared to wet season emissions (6.8 ± 1.0 mg CH 4 -C m −2 day −1 and 5.2 ± 2.7 mg CH 4 -C m −2 day −1 , respectively). In contrast, forested (short pole) vegetation and M. flexuosa palm swamp showed the opposite trend, with dry season flux of 9.6 ± 2.6 and 25.5 ± 2.9 mg CH 4 -C m −2 day −1 , respectively, versus wet season flux of 103.4 ± 13.6 and 53.4 ± 9.8 mg CH 4 -C m −2 day −1 , respectively. These divergent seasonal trends may be linked to very high water tables (> 1 m) in forested vegetation and mixed palm swamp during the wet season, which may have constrained CH 4 transport across the soil-atmosphere interface. Diffusive N 2 O flux was very low (0.70 ± 0.34 µg N 2 O-N m −2 day −1 ) and did not vary significantly among ecosystems or between seasons. We conclude that peatlands in the PMFB are large and regionally significant sources of atmospheric CH 4 that need to be better accounted for in regional emissions inventories. In contrast, N 2 O flux was negligible, suggesting that this region does not make a significant contribut...

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“…The role of waterborne carbon in the peatland greenhouse gas balance Direct (gaseous) fluxes of GHGs from the surface of undrained and drained peatlands have now been fairly well quantified, particularly for northern temperate and boreal systems (e.g. Alm et al, 2008;Couwenberg et al, 2011;Yu, 2012;IPCC, 2014a), and increasingly for tropical peatlands (e.g. .…”

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confidence: 99%

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

2015

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Article (refereed) -postprintEvans, Chris D.; Renou-Wilson, Flo; Strack, Maria. 2016. The role of waterborne carbon in the greenhouse gas balance of drained and rewetted peatlands [in special issue: Carbon cycling in aquatic ecosystems] Aquatic Sciences, 78 (3). 573-590. 10.1007/s00027-015-0447-y Contact CEH NORA team at noraceh@ceh.ac.ukThe NERC and CEH trademarks and logos ('the Trademarks') are registered trademarks of NERC in the UK and other countries, and may not be used without the prior written consent of the Trademark owner.The role of waterborne carbon in the greenhouse gas balance of drained and re-wetted peatlands AbstractAccounting for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and removals in managed ecosystems has generally focused on direct land-atmosphere fluxes, but in peatlands a significant proportion of total carbon loss occurs via fluvial transport. This study considers the composition of this 'waterborne carbon' flux, its potential contribution to GHG emissions, and the extent to which it may change in response to land-management. The work describes, and builds on, a methodology to account for major components of these emissions developed for the 2013 Wetland Supplement of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. We identify two major components of GHG emissions from waterbodies draining organic soil: i) 'on site' emissions of methane (and to a lesser extent CO2) from drainage ditches located within the peatland; and ii) 'off site' emissions of CO2 resulting from downstream oxidation of dissolved and particulate organic carbon (DOC and POC) within the aquatic system. Methane emissions from ditches were found to be large in many cases (mean 60 g CH4 m -2 yr -1 based on all reported values), countering the view that methane emissions cease following wetland drainage. Emissions were greatest from ditches in intensive agricultural peatlands, but data were sparse and showed high variability. For DOC, the magnitude of the natural flux varied strongly with latitude, from 5 g C m -2 yr -1 in northern boreal peatlands to 60 g C m -2 yr -1 in tropical peatlands. Available data suggest that DOC fluxes increase by around 60% following drainage, and that this increase may be reversed in the longer-term through re-wetting, although variability between studies was high, especially in relation to re-wetting response. Evidence regarding the fate of DOC is complex and inconclusive, but overall suggests that the majority of DOC exported from peatlands is converted to CO2 through photo-and/or bio-degradation in rivers, standing waters and oceans. The contribution of POC export to GHG emissions is even more uncertain, but we estimate that over half of exported POC may eventually be converted to CO2. Although POC fluxes are normally small, they can become very large when bare peat surfaces are exposed to fluvial erosion. Overall, we estimate that waterborne carbon emissions may contribute about 1 to 4 t CO2-eq ha -1 yr -1 of additional GHG emissions from drained peatlands. For a number of worked examples this repres...

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Assessing greenhouse gas emissions from peatlands using vegetation as a proxy

Cited by 229 publications

References 65 publications

Root oxygen loss from Raphia taedigera palms mediates greenhouse gas emissions in lowland neotropical peatlands

Root oxygen loss from Raphia taedigera palms mediates greenhouse gas emissions in lowland neotropical peatlands

Seasonal variability in methane and nitrous oxide fluxes from tropical peatlands in the western Amazon basin

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

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