Authors:
Alona Armstrong, Susan Waldron, Nick Ostle, Jeanette Whitaker
Book:
Proceedings of the 14th International Peat Congress
Venue:
Stockholm
Keywords:
carbon-dioxide, dissolve-organic-carbon, methane, plant-functional-type, wind-turbines
Documentfile:
Armstrong et al 2012: The Effect of Wind Turbine-Induced Microclimates on a Carbon Budget of a Blanket Bog
Summary:
Theme X. Peatland carbon budgets and greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes
SUMMARY
In this paper we present data from Black Law Wind Farm, Scotland, to examine the effect of wind turbines on (1) peatland surface and subsurface temperatures, soil moisture and water table depth and (2) greenhouse gas fluxes and pore water dissolved organic carbon concentrations. Moreover, within our experimental framework we examine the impact of the three main plant functional types (shrubs, mosses and sedges) and their interaction with wind turbine affect to allow both upscaling and the implications of changes in plant composition, over the long-term, on carbon fluxes to be elucidated. The results indicate that there are relationships between wind turbines, plant functional type and their interactions and carbon fluxes. Consequently, the long-term effects of wind farms on carbon cycling needs to be taken into account when considering their life cycle carbon budget.