The Relationship Between Net Primary Production and Accumulation for a Peatland in Southeastern Manitoba

Abstract

Two functional attributes of an ecosystem, net primary production and subsequent dry matter accumulation, were examined in four peatland types (lagg, bog, muskeg and bog forest) located in southeastern Manitoba. A preliminary peat accumulation budget was constructed by relating the amount of litter present after a single year of decomposition to the initial litter income and annual net primary production. Annual litter “income” in the four vegetation zones ranged from 489 gm/m2, which represented 69% to 90% of the calculated net primary production. Decomposition losses in the following year amounted to approximately one quarter of the original income. An average annual accumulation rate of 26 gm/m2/yr to 51 gm/m2/yr was calculated from radiocarbon—dated peat cores, thus suggesting that less than 10% of the annual net primary production will remain as peat.