Revealing the hidden carbon in forested wetland soils

Stewart, Anthony J.; Halabisky, Meghan; Babcock, Chad; Butman, David E.; D’Amore, David V.; Moskal, L. Monika

doi:10.1038/s41467-024-44888-x

Cited by 6 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 63 publications

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“…Wetland regions comprise about 4-6% of the Earth's total land surface, and have carbon stores ranging from 4.55 × 10 10 to 7.00 × 10 10 metric tons. These reserves account for 30% of the total carbon stored in the soil [1][2][3][4]. The carbon density of forest soil is over three times lower than that of carbon.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Comparison of Greenhouse Gas Emission Patterns in Different Water Levels in Peatlands

Peng,

Li,

Yang

et al. 2024

Water

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Peatlands store large amounts of carbon in wetland ecosystems. The hydrological conditions within peatlands are important factors that affect the biochemical cycle and patterns of greenhouse gas emissions in these peatlands. This study was carried out in Changbai Mountain Jinchuan peatland to investigate variations in carbon dioxide and methane emissions in peat swamps that have undergone distinct saturation conditions. Three peatland types (high water levels (S1); medium water levels (S2); low water levels (S3)) at different flood depths were selected as specific sampling points. The static box and gas chromatography methods were used at different time periods (6:00; 12:00; and 18:00) from July to September. The discharge flux of CO2 and CH4 slowly increased with the increase in the water level. The results indicate similarity in the fluctuation trends between the fluxes of CO2 and CH4 in S1 and S2 to the fluctuations of water levels. During the entire growth season, the flux range of CO2 and CH4 was −695.329~859.907 mg m2h−1 and 259.981~147.155 mg m2h−1, respectively. Furthermore, there was variation in mutation characteristics between two gases, the CO2 exhibited larger mutation range (−7.08~3.40)than CH4 (−1.79~1.26). In terms of daily flux changes, CO2 showed an upward trend, while CH4 had a downward trend. These results indicate variations in saturation conditions tend to affect discharge of greenhouse gases, with subsequent effects on climate change. This study highlights potential theoretical support to reduce anthropogenic activities on peatlands. This can be achieved by undertaking measures to conserve peatlands and explore mitigation measures to minimize greenhouse gas emissions and hence impacts of climate change.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Comparison of Greenhouse Gas Emission Patterns in Different Water Levels in Peatlands

Peng,

Li,

Yang

et al. 2024

Water

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“…The landscape-scale importance of northern swamps as "cryptic wetlands" has long been recognized for aquatic C exports (Creed et al, 2003), but the unmapped "cryptic carbon" these swamps hold is only now being properly considered. Emerging research in the United States suggests that forested wetlands contain vast stores of previously unaccounted C (Stewart et al, 2024). Similarly, although many forested wetlands are small (such as Heaven Swamp), their potentially abundant natures means that their cumulative CH 4 emissions can influence landscape-scale budgets .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Carbon Stocks and Fluxes From a Boreal Conifer Swamp: Filling a Knowledge Gap for Understanding the Boreal C Cycle

Davidson,

Davies,

Wegener

et al. 2024

JGR Biogeosciences

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The carbon (C) dynamics of boreal coniferous swamps are a largely understudied component of wetland carbon cycling. We investigated the above‐ and below‐ground carbon stocks and growing season carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) fluxes from a representative boreal coniferous swamp in northern Alberta, Canada in 2022. Tree inventories, understory vegetation biomass and peat cores were collected across three sub‐sites within the broader swamp, with gas flux collars placed in the dominant plant communities present. Alongside the C flux measurements, environmental variables such as water table depth, soil temperature and growing season understory green leaf phenology were measured. Our results show that these boreal coniferous swamps store large volumes of organic C in their biomass and soil (134 kg C m−2), comparable with other wetland and forest types, although 95% of the total C stock at our site was within the soil organic carbon. We also found that understory CO2 and CH4 fluxes indicated that the ground layer of the site is a source of greenhouse gases (GHGs) to the atmosphere across the growing season. However, we did not measure litterfall input, tree GHG fluxes or net primary productivity of the overstory, therefore we are not able to say whether the site is an overall source of C to the atmosphere. This study provides a much‐needed insight into the C dynamics of these under‐valued wetland ecosystems, and we highlight the need for a coordinated effort across boreal regions to try to improve inventories of C stocks and fluxes.

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“…Freshwater wetlands are one of the valuable carbon storage sites, covering about 6% of the land area, and contain more than 30% of the soil carbon pool ( Stewart et al, 2024 ). Plants play an important role in wetland carbon storage ( Sheng et al, 2021 ).…”

Section: Impact Of Plant Diversity On Functional Stability Of Freshwa...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of biodiversity on functional stability of freshwater wetlands: a systematic review

Song,

Liang,

et al. 2024

Front. Microbiol.

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Freshwater wetlands are the wetland ecosystems surrounded by freshwater, which are at the interface of terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems, and are rich in ecological composition and function. Biodiversity in freshwater wetlands plays a key role in maintaining the stability of their habitat functions. Due to anthropogenic interference and global change, the biodiversity of freshwater wetlands decreases, which in turn destroys the habitat function of freshwater wetlands and leads to serious degradation of wetlands. An in-depth understanding of the effects of biodiversity on the stability of habitat function and its regulation in freshwater wetlands is crucial for wetland conservation. Therefore, this paper reviews the environmental drivers of habitat function stability in freshwater wetlands, explores the effects of plant diversity and microbial diversity on habitat function stability, reveals the impacts and mechanisms of habitat changes on biodiversity, and further proposes an outlook for freshwater wetland research. This paper provides an important reference for freshwater wetland conservation and its habitat function enhancement.

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Revealing the hidden carbon in forested wetland soils

Cited by 6 publications

References 63 publications

A Comparison of Greenhouse Gas Emission Patterns in Different Water Levels in Peatlands

A Comparison of Greenhouse Gas Emission Patterns in Different Water Levels in Peatlands

Carbon Stocks and Fluxes From a Boreal Conifer Swamp: Filling a Knowledge Gap for Understanding the Boreal C Cycle

Effects of biodiversity on functional stability of freshwater wetlands: a systematic review

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