Aquatic export of young dissolved and gaseous carbon from a pristine boreal fen: Implications for peat carbon stock stability

Abstract

The stability of northern peatland's carbon (C) store under changing climate is of major concern for the global C cycle. The aquatic export of C from boreal peatlands is recognized as both a critical pathway for the remobilization of peat C stocks as well as a major component of the net ecosystem C balance (NECB). Here, we present a full year characterization of radiocarbon content (C-14) of dissolved organic carbon (DOC), carbon dioxide (CO2), and methane (CH4) exported from a boreal peatland catchment coupled with C-14 characterization of the catchment's peat profile of the same C species. The age of aquatic C in runoff varied little throughout the year and appeared to be sustained by recently fixed C from the atmosphere (

Keywords

aquatic C export; carbon dioxide; dissolved organic carbon; methane; northern peatlands; radiocarbon dating

Published in

Global Change Biology
2017, volume: 23, number: 12, pages: 5523-5536
Publisher: WILEY

SLU Authors

• Bishop, Kevin

  • Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

• Laudon, Hjalmar

  • Department of Forest Ecology and Management, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

• Leach, Jason

  • Simon Fraser University

• Nilsson, Mats

  • Department of Forest Ecology and Management, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

• Öquist, Mats

  • Department of Forest Ecology and Management, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

• Wallin, Marcus

  • Uppsala University

Global goals (SDG)

SDG13 Climate action
SDG14 Life below water

UKÄ Subject classification

Environmental Sciences

Publication identifier

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.13815

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/93158