Effects of Short Term Warming and Long-Term Water Table Alterations on Vegetation and Carbon Cycling in a Great Lakes Peatland

Authors:
Chimner, Rodney A, John A Hribljan, Tom Pypker, and Evan Kane

Book:
Proceedings of the 14th International Peat Congress

Venue:
Stockholm

Keywords:
carbon, dewatering, flooding, poor-fen, warming

Documentfile:
Chimner et al 2012: Effects of Short Term Warming and Long-Term Water Table Alterations on Vegetation and Carbon Cycling in a Gr

Summary:

Theme X. Peatland carbon budgets and greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes

SUMMARY

We began a research project in 2007 in a large poor fen peatland complex in Seney National Wildlife Refuge (SNWR) to assess long-term (~70 years) drainage and flooding affects on ecosystem processes. At each of the six sites we installed open top chambers (OTC’s) to warm the soil. We found that increasing the water table over a 70 year period increased bulk density, NEE, CH₄ emissions, and DOC. Conversely, lowering the water table decreased bulk density, NEE and CH₄ emissions, but also increased DOC. In ambient sites, warming decreased NEE, but NEE did not change with warming in either the higher or lower water table manipulated sites. Warming also had no discernable influence on CH₄ emissions.