Loss of soil carbon in a world heritage peatland following a bushfire

Abstract

Background Climatic events can have rapid and widespread environmental impacts on peatlands. This is concerning because peatlands are restricted environments in Australia and are vulnerable to degradation. Aims This study aimed to investigate the loss of carbon from a burnt and eroded peatland. The cumulative effects of drought, bushfire and erosion events in south-eastern Australia was documented in a peatland in the Kings Tableland region within the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area in New South Wales, Australia. Methods Following a fire and subsequent rain event, soil classification and the total export of soil materials and nutrients were quantified. Key results The fire and erosional events caused an estimated loss of 28.80 t of organic material and 3.46 t of carbon from this site in a single 3-month period. Conclusions Peatlands are slow-forming accretionary systems and this study highlights the potential for considerable loss of organic material and carbon from peatland systems due to rapid, climatic-driven changes. Implications Peatland degradation in world heritage areas can have implications for carbon accounting and soil erosional loss, which may impact downstream environments and the functioning of these sensitive systems.