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Drought-induced carbon loss in peatlands

Nature Geoscience volume 4, pages 895–900 (2011)Cite this article

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Abstract

Peatlands store vast amounts of organic carbon, amounting to approximately 455 Pg. Carbon builds up in these water-saturated environments owing to the presence of phenolic compounds—which inhibit microbial activity and therefore prevent the breakdown of organic matter. Anoxic conditions limit the activity of phenol oxidase, the enzyme responsible for the breakdown of phenolic compounds. Droughts introduce oxygen into these systems, and the frequency of these events is rising. Here, we combine in vitro manipulations, mesocosm experiments and field observations to examine the impact of drought on peatland carbon loss. We show that drought stimulates bacterial growth and phenol oxidase activity, resulting in a reduction in the concentration of phenolic compounds in peat. This further stimulates microbial growth, causing the breakdown of organic matter and the release of carbon dioxide in a biogeochemical cascade. We further show that re-wetting the peat accelerates carbon losses to the atmosphere and receiving waters, owing to drought-induced increases in nutrient and labile carbon levels, which raise pH and stimulate anaerobic decomposition. We suggest that severe drought, and subsequent re-wetting, could destabilize peatland carbon stocks; understanding this process could aid understanding of interactions between peatlands and other environmental trends, and lead to the development of strategies for increasing carbon stocks.

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Figure 1: Effect of carbon and nutrient addition on oligotrophic peat CO2 flux (gross) in the absence of phenolic inhibitors in vitro.
Figure 2: The biogeochemical ‘cascade’, whereby constraints on decomposition are removed by severe drought in oligotrophic peatlands.
Figure 3: Effects of the 2006 severe natural drought (water table 30 cm below surface) on oligotrophic peatland net CO2 flux.

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Acknowledgements

N.F. and C.F. acknowledge funding from the Natural Environment Research Council, the Royal Society, the Leverhulme Trust, EU-FP7-ERA-ENVHEALTH and the Bioscience Environment and Agricultural Alliance (Wales, UK).

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  1. Wolfson Peatland Carbon Capture Laboratory, School of Biological Sciences, Bangor University, LL57 2UW, Wales, UK

    Nathalie Fenner & Chris Freeman

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  1. Nathalie Fenner
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  2. Chris Freeman
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N.F. wrote the paper and carried out the experiments. C.F. co-wrote the paper and conceived the experiments.

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Correspondence to Nathalie Fenner.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Fenner, N., Freeman, C. Drought-induced carbon loss in peatlands. Nature Geosci 4, 895–900 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo1323

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