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Warming response of peatland CO2 sink is sensitive to seasonality in warming trends

Helbig, M. ; Živković, T. ; Alekseychik, P. ; Aurela, M. ; El-Madany, T. S. ; Euskirchen, E. S. ; Flanagan, L. B. ; Griffis, T. J. ; Hanson, P. J. and Hattakka, J. , et al. (2022) In Nature Climate Change 12(8). p.743-749
Abstract
Peatlands have acted as net CO2 sinks over millennia, exerting a global climate cooling effect. Rapid warming at northern latitudes, where peatlands are abundant, can disturb their CO2 sink function. Here we show that sensitivity of peatland net CO2 exchange to warming changes in sign and magnitude across seasons, resulting in complex net CO2 sink responses. We use multiannual net CO2 exchange observations from 20 northern peatlands to show that warmer early summers are linked to increased net CO2 uptake, while warmer late summers lead to decreased net CO2 uptake. Thus, net CO2 sinks of peatlands in regions experiencing early summer warming, such as... (More)
Peatlands have acted as net CO2 sinks over millennia, exerting a global climate cooling effect. Rapid warming at northern latitudes, where peatlands are abundant, can disturb their CO2 sink function. Here we show that sensitivity of peatland net CO2 exchange to warming changes in sign and magnitude across seasons, resulting in complex net CO2 sink responses. We use multiannual net CO2 exchange observations from 20 northern peatlands to show that warmer early summers are linked to increased net CO2 uptake, while warmer late summers lead to decreased net CO2 uptake. Thus, net CO2 sinks of peatlands in regions experiencing early summer warming, such as central Siberia, are more likely to persist under warmer climate conditions than are those in other regions. Our results will be useful to improve the design of future warming experiments and to better interpret large-scale trends in peatland net CO2 uptake over the coming few decades. (Less)
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organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Climate change, CO2 sink, Peatlands, Eddy covariance, Warming trends
in
Nature Climate Change
volume
12
issue
8
pages
14 pages
publisher
Nature Publishing Group
external identifiers
  • scopus:85135422154
ISSN
1758-6798
DOI
10.1038/s41558-022-01428-z
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
7cbd4e47-b0fa-416b-aa28-d2f620a150de
date added to LUP
2022-07-28 22:58:30
date last changed
2022-10-31 14:58:39
@article{7cbd4e47-b0fa-416b-aa28-d2f620a150de,
  abstract     = {{Peatlands have acted as net CO<sub>2</sub> sinks over millennia, exerting a global climate cooling effect. Rapid warming at northern latitudes, where peatlands are abundant, can disturb their CO<sub>2</sub> sink function. Here we show that sensitivity of peatland net CO<sub>2</sub> exchange to warming changes in sign and magnitude across seasons, resulting in complex net CO<sub>2</sub> sink responses. We use multiannual net CO<sub>2</sub> exchange observations from 20 northern peatlands to show that warmer early summers are linked to increased net CO<sub>2</sub> uptake, while warmer late summers lead to decreased net CO<sub>2</sub> uptake. Thus, net CO<sub>2</sub> sinks of peatlands in regions experiencing early summer warming, such as central Siberia, are more likely to persist under warmer climate conditions than are those in other regions. Our results will be useful to improve the design of future warming experiments and to better interpret large-scale trends in peatland net CO<sub>2</sub> uptake over the coming few decades.}},
  author       = {{Helbig, M. and Živković, T. and Alekseychik, P. and Aurela, M. and El-Madany, T. S. and Euskirchen, E. S. and Flanagan, L. B. and Griffis, T. J. and Hanson, P. J. and Hattakka, J. and Helfter, C. and Hirano, T. and Humphreys, E. R. and Kiely, G. and Kolka, R. K. and Laurila, T. and Leahy, P. G. and Lohila, A. and Mammarella, I. and Nilsson, Mats B. and Panov, A. and Parmentier, F. J. W. and Peichl, M. and Rinne, J. and Roman, D. T. and Sonnentag, O. and Tuittila, E.-S and Ueyama, M. and Vesala, T. and Vestin, P. and Weldon, S. and Weslien, P. and Zaehle, S.}},
  issn         = {{1758-6798}},
  keywords     = {{Climate change; CO2 sink; Peatlands; Eddy covariance; Warming trends}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{07}},
  number       = {{8}},
  pages        = {{743--749}},
  publisher    = {{Nature Publishing Group}},
  series       = {{Nature Climate Change}},
  title        = {{Warming response of peatland CO<sub>2</sub> sink is sensitive to seasonality in warming trends}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41558-022-01428-z}},
  doi          = {{10.1038/s41558-022-01428-z}},
  volume       = {{12}},
  year         = {{2022}},
}