Can boreal peatlands with pools be net sinks for CO2?

Abstract

Peatland open-water pools, a common feature on temperate to subarctic peatlands, are sources of carbon (C) to the atmosphere but their contribution to the net ecosystem carbon dioxide exchange (NEE-CO2) is poorly known; there is a question as to whether peatlands with pools are smaller sinks of atmospheric C, or even C-neutral, compared to other peatlands. We present growing season NEE-CO2 measurements using the eddy covariance technique in a peatland with pools. We found the maximum photosynthetic uptake and ecosystem respiration rates at 10 °C to be in the lower range of the published data. The lower total vegetation biomass, due to the presence of pools, reduced CO2 uptake during day and the autotrophic component of ecosystem respiration. The low CO2 uptake combined with reduced CO2 loss resulted in the site being a net sink for CO2 of a similar magnitude as other northern peatlands despite the inclusion of pools.