Carbon accumulation in peatlands, southwestern Northwest Territories, Canada

Abstract

Northern peatlands have stored significant quantities of carbon (C) since the early Holocene at rates that vary among peatland types. Pollen concentration dating was used to provide estimates o f true C accumulation and sequestration efficiency in different peatland systems in the discontinuous permafrost zone near Fort Simpson, Northwest Territories, Canada. The catotelm portions of bog, permafrost-affected peat plateau, and Sphagnum-dominated cores were interpreted to conform to Clymo’s (1984) model of C accumulation, while peat deposited under conditions with high water tables (rich fen and collapse fen) did not. The model assumes a consistent surface production, yet production in fens is thought to be highly sensitive to water table changes and may have contributed to poor model fits. Decay rates measured over the past 1200 yr range from 0.0015 to 0.0004 yr-1. True C accumulation rates (range 7.0 in peat plateau to 18.6 g C m-2 yr-1 in bog) and sequestration efficiencies (range 0.24 in peat plateau to 0.67 in poor fen) by 1200 yr BP were low in comparison with other North American sites. Decay rates measured over 1200 yr were significantly greater than that measured over the entire life span of the peatland (0.00033 yr-1), suggesting that a catotelm true C accumulation model incorporating a decreasing rate of decay would be more applicable. Key words: Carbon accumulation, peatlands, permafrost, northern Canada