Abstract
Northern peatlands hold large amounts of organic carbon (C) in their soils and are as such important in a climate change context. Blanket bogs, i.e. nutrient-poor peatlands restricted to maritime climates, may be extra vulnerable to global warming since they require a positive water balance to sustain their moss dominated vegetation and C sink functioning. This study presents a 4.5 year record of land–atmosphere carbon dioxide (CO2) exchange from the Andøya blanket bog in northern Norway. Compared with other peatlands, the Andøya peatland exhibited low flux rates, related to the low productivity of the dominating moss and lichen communities and the maritime settings that attenuated seasonal temperature variations. It was observed that under periods of high vapour pressure deficit, net ecosystem exchange was reduced, which was mainly caused by a decrease in gross primary production. However, no persistent effects of dry conditions on the CO2 exchange dynamics were observed, indicating that under present conditions and within the range of observed meteorological conditions the Andøya blanket bog retained its C uptake function. Continued monitoring of these ecosystem types is essential in order to detect possible effects of a changing climate.
Highlights
Northern peatlands are important ecosystem types in a climate change context, as they hold large amounts of organic carbon (C) in their soils, amounting to about half of the current atmospheric C pool (Gorham 1991)
For peatlands as well as for most other ecosystem types, net ecosystem exchange (NEE) of CO2 is the main component of the C budget
Environmental characteristics Based on the inventory of vegetation and microtopography performed in August 2009 at the Andøya peatland, the ratio of hummock to hollows surrounding the eddy covariance (EC) system was estimated to be approximately 70:30, with an estimated mean height difference of 0.15 m
Summary
Northern peatlands are important ecosystem types in a climate change context, as they hold large amounts of organic carbon (C) in their soils, amounting to about half of the current atmospheric C pool (Gorham 1991). Hydrological conditions exert a strong control on peatland NEE (Limpens et al 2008, Lafleur 2009, Lund et al 2012). Severity and duration of a drought, the effects on NEE, gross primary production (GPP) and ecosystem respiration (Reco) may differ (Lafleur 2009, Lund et al 2012). Hydrological settings, primarily whether the peatland is connected to the groundwater system (fen) or not (bog), as well as vegetation composition, regulate peatland response to drought periods (Sulman et al 2010, Lund et al 2012)
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