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Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Biotic and abiotic factors interact to regulate Northern peatland carbon cycling
AU - Armstrong, Alona
AU - Waldron, Susan
AU - Ostle, Nicholas J.
AU - Richardson, Harriett
AU - Whitaker, Jeanette
PY - 2015/12
Y1 - 2015/12
N2 - Understanding the spatio-temporal variability of controls on peatland carbon (C) cycling is essential to project the effects of future environmental change. While there is understanding of individual drivers of C cycling, the effect of multiple drivers, including interactions, remains poorly understood. Using a spatially and temporally explicit sampling framework, we examined the effects of biotic and abiotic controls on key indicators of peatland functioning: ecosystem respiration (R (eco)), photosynthesis (P (cal)), net ecosystem exchange (NEE), methane (CH4) fluxes, and pore water dissolved organic carbon concentration ([DOC]). Measurements were made over 12 months in a blanket peatland hosting a wind farm in Scotland, UK. Overall, we found that (i) season and plant functional type (PFT) explained most variation in R (eco) and P (cal), (ii) PFT and spatial location within the wind farm, which integrates several peat properties, were dominant predictors of CH4 fluxes, and (iii) season and location within the wind farm correlated with pore water [DOC]. Examination of predictors indicated that interactions, between and within biotic and abiotic factors, explained a significant amount of variation in greenhouse gas fluxes and [DOC]. These findings indicate that combinations of biotic and abiotic factors could mediate or exacerbate the effects of future environmental change on peatland C cycling. Given this, studies of C cycling need to capture the spatial and temporal variance of biotic and abiotic factors and their interactions to project the likely impacts of environmental change.
AB - Understanding the spatio-temporal variability of controls on peatland carbon (C) cycling is essential to project the effects of future environmental change. While there is understanding of individual drivers of C cycling, the effect of multiple drivers, including interactions, remains poorly understood. Using a spatially and temporally explicit sampling framework, we examined the effects of biotic and abiotic controls on key indicators of peatland functioning: ecosystem respiration (R (eco)), photosynthesis (P (cal)), net ecosystem exchange (NEE), methane (CH4) fluxes, and pore water dissolved organic carbon concentration ([DOC]). Measurements were made over 12 months in a blanket peatland hosting a wind farm in Scotland, UK. Overall, we found that (i) season and plant functional type (PFT) explained most variation in R (eco) and P (cal), (ii) PFT and spatial location within the wind farm, which integrates several peat properties, were dominant predictors of CH4 fluxes, and (iii) season and location within the wind farm correlated with pore water [DOC]. Examination of predictors indicated that interactions, between and within biotic and abiotic factors, explained a significant amount of variation in greenhouse gas fluxes and [DOC]. These findings indicate that combinations of biotic and abiotic factors could mediate or exacerbate the effects of future environmental change on peatland C cycling. Given this, studies of C cycling need to capture the spatial and temporal variance of biotic and abiotic factors and their interactions to project the likely impacts of environmental change.
KW - spatial variation
KW - temporal variation
KW - interactions
KW - peatland
KW - greenhouse gas flux
KW - dissolved organic carbon
KW - DISSOLVED ORGANIC-CARBON
KW - TABLE DRAW-DOWN
KW - WATER-TABLE
KW - CLIMATE-CHANGE
KW - TEMPERATURE SENSITIVITY
KW - OMBROTROPHIC BOG
KW - DECOMPOSITION
KW - SOIL
KW - METHANE
KW - VEGETATION
U2 - 10.1007/s10021-015-9907-4
DO - 10.1007/s10021-015-9907-4
M3 - Journal article
VL - 18
SP - 1395
EP - 1409
JO - Ecosystems
JF - Ecosystems
SN - 1432-9840
IS - 8
ER -