Peatlands: our greatest source of carbon credits?

Dunn, Christian; Freeman, Christopher

doi:10.4155/cmt.11.23

Cited by 57 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“…With climate change, studies of northern peatlands are now more important than ever due to the vast quantities of carbon stored within these regions and their future role as net carbon sinks (Roulet 2000;Waddington et al 2009;Dunn and Freeman 2011). Therefore, attention needs to be directed towards an improved understanding of past peatland successional changes and responses to climate, to more accurately forecast future changes within these sensitive environments.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

The influence of water-table depth and pH on the spatial distribution of diatom species in peatlands of the Boreal Shield and Hudson Plains, Canada

Hargan

RühlandKathleen

PatersonAndrew

et al. 2015

Botany

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Diatoms collected from 113 surface peat samples from the Boreal Shield and HudsonPlains show taxonomic distributions that are associated with macro-vegetation type, pH and position relative to the water table, the main environmental variables measured in this study. The overall goal of our research was to determine the ecological distribution and response of diatoms to microhabitat conditions, and to assess the potential for diatoms to be applied as indicators of long-term environmental change in northern peatlands. Our results indicate that diatom assemblage composition was determined by both the broader peatland type (i.e., bog, rich and poor fens) and microhabitats within peatland formations (e.g., hummock, hollows). The diatom assemblages were primarily influenced by pH with the sites divided at a critical pH of 5.5, and secondarily by the depth of the water table. Acidic bog hollow and hummock microhabitats were species poor and dominated almost exclusively by Eunotia paludosa and/or Eunotia mucophila.These acidophilic and aerophilic diatom species were associated with the narrow pH optima of the dominant Sphagnum species (e.g., S. fuscum, S. angustifolium) found in these bog habitats.Rich and poor fen samples, which were less acidic, supported a more diverse diatom assemblage (>30 species) with greater variability in both diatom and bryophyte pH tolerances. The diatom assemblages recorded in bogs and fens of our study are similar to those found in peatlands around the world, demonstrating that diatom species are very specialized to exist in these often harsh semi-aquatic environments. Diatoms from peatlands have great potential as biomonitors of environmental change in these important ecosystems.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

The influence of water-table depth and pH on the spatial distribution of diatom species in peatlands of the Boreal Shield and Hudson Plains, Canada

Hargan

RühlandKathleen

PatersonAndrew

et al. 2015

Botany

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“…Many moorlands are underlain by blanket peat soils, of which the UK holds 10-15% of the global resource (Dunn and Freeman, 2011;Lindsay et al, 1988;Milne and Brown, 1997), storing 3.2 billion tonnes of carbon (Bain et al, 2011) -the largest terrestrial carbon reserve in the UK . There is particular concern about the effects of burning over deep peat (usually defined as ≥ 0.5 m depth; Bain et al, 2011) on peat hydrology, chemistry and physical properties.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Vegetation burning for game management in the UK uplands is increasing and overlaps spatially with soil carbon and protected areas

Douglas

Buchanan

Thompson

et al. 2015

Biological Conservation

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“…While the rewards of capturing carbon in terms of climate change mitigation and the 'commodification' or 'monetization' of the sequestered carbon are readily appreciated [80], it should be borne in mind that any such development must inevitably be associated with risks. Taking this to the extremes, perhaps the most disturbing of these is the prospect that we may be so successful at sequestering carbon that we might conceivably induce runaway carbon capture.…”

Section: Risks and Rewardsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Peatland geoengineering: an alternative approach to terrestrial carbon sequestration

Freeman

Fenner

Shirsat

2012

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A.

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Terrestrial and oceanic ecosystems contribute almost equally to the sequestration of ca 50 per cent of anthropogenic CO 2 emissions, and already play a role in minimizing our impact on Earth's climate. On land, the majority of the sequestered carbon enters soil carbon stores. Almost one-third of that soil carbon can be found in peatlands, an area covering just 2-3% of the Earth's landmass. Peatlands are thus well established as powerful agents of carbon capture and storage; the preservation of archaeological artefacts, such as ancient bog bodies, further attest to their exceptional preservative properties. Peatlands have higher carbon storage densities per unit ecosystem area than either the oceans or dry terrestrial systems. However, despite attempts over a number of years at enhancing carbon capture in the oceans or in land-based afforestation schemes, no attempt has yet been made to optimize peatland carbon storage capacity or even to harness peatlands to store externally captured carbon. Recent studies suggest that peatland carbon sequestration is due to the inhibitory effects of phenolic compounds that create an 'enzymic latch' on decomposition. Here, we propose to harness that mechanism in a series of peatland geoengineering strategies whereby molecular, biogeochemical, agronomical and afforestation approaches increase carbon capture and long-term sequestration in peat-forming terrestrial ecosystems.

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Peatlands: our greatest source of carbon credits?

Cited by 57 publications

References 51 publications

The influence of water-table depth and pH on the spatial distribution of diatom species in peatlands of the Boreal Shield and Hudson Plains, Canada

The influence of water-table depth and pH on the spatial distribution of diatom species in peatlands of the Boreal Shield and Hudson Plains, Canada

Vegetation burning for game management in the UK uplands is increasing and overlaps spatially with soil carbon and protected areas

Peatland geoengineering: an alternative approach to terrestrial carbon sequestration

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