Emission of CO2 from the surface of oligotrophic bogs with due account for their microrelief in the southern taiga of European Russia

Abstract

The results of studying the carbon dioxide fluxes from the soil’s surface during three years taking into account the microrelief are summarized. More precise estimates were obtained for the annual CO2 emission from the oligotrophic peat bogs differing in vegetation and waterlogging in the southern taiga of European Russia. The maximum differences in the rates of the CO2 emission related to the microrelief elements are characteristic of the treeless ridge-pool complex, where the hollows (without vegetation) emitted CO2 twice less than the flat areas and thrice less than the hummocks. In the forest bogs, the differences related to the microrelief were significantly lower. In the areas with the ridge-pool microrelief, the weighted average (for 3 years) CO2 emission was 436 g C/m2 per year; in the better drained natural dwarf shrub-cotton grass-sphagnum pine forest, 930; and in the drained pine forest, 1292 g C/m2 per year. The share of the CO2 amount emitted in the cold period (November–April) amounted to 10% of its annual flux from the peat soils of the ridge-pool complex and 17 and 24%, respectively, in the natural and drained pine forests.