Peat deposits store more carbon than trees in forested peatlands of the boreal biome

Abstract Peatlands are significant carbon (C) stores, playing a key role in nature-based climate change mitigation. While the effectiveness of non-forested peatlands as C reservoirs is increasingly recognized, the C sequestration function of forested peatlands remains poorly documented, despite thei...

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Autores principales:	Joannie Beaulne, Michelle Garneau, Gabriel Magnan, Étienne Boucher
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Nature Portfolio 2021
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/087b2d890f584d4cb45b1deb0593d34a
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:087b2d890f584d4cb45b1deb0593d34a2021-12-02T13:57:25ZPeat deposits store more carbon than trees in forested peatlands of the boreal biome10.1038/s41598-021-82004-x2045-2322https://doaj.org/article/087b2d890f584d4cb45b1deb0593d34a2021-01-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-82004-xhttps://doaj.org/toc/2045-2322Abstract Peatlands are significant carbon (C) stores, playing a key role in nature-based climate change mitigation. While the effectiveness of non-forested peatlands as C reservoirs is increasingly recognized, the C sequestration function of forested peatlands remains poorly documented, despite their widespread distribution. Here, we evaluate the C sequestration potential of pristine boreal forested peatlands over both recent and millennial timescales. C stock estimates reveal that most of the carbon stored in these ecosystems is found in organic horizons (22.6–66.0 kg m−2), whereas tree C mass (2.8–5.7 kg m−2) decreases with thickening peat. For the first time, we compare the boreal C storage capacities of peat layers and tree biomass on the same timescale, showing that organic horizons (11.0–12.6 kg m−2) can store more carbon than tree aboveground and belowground biomass (2.8–5.7 kg m−2) even over a short time period (last 200 years). We also show that forested peatlands have similar recent rates of C accumulation to boreal non-forested peatlands but lower long-term rates, suggesting higher decay and more important peat layer combustion during fire events. Our findings highlight the significance of forested peatlands for C sequestration and suggest that greater consideration should be given to peat C stores in national greenhouse gas inventories and conservation policies.Joannie BeaulneMichelle GarneauGabriel MagnanÉtienne BoucherNature PortfolioarticleMedicineRScienceQENScientific Reports, Vol 11, Iss 1, Pp 1-11 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q Joannie Beaulne Michelle Garneau Gabriel Magnan Étienne Boucher Peat deposits store more carbon than trees in forested peatlands of the boreal biome
description	Abstract Peatlands are significant carbon (C) stores, playing a key role in nature-based climate change mitigation. While the effectiveness of non-forested peatlands as C reservoirs is increasingly recognized, the C sequestration function of forested peatlands remains poorly documented, despite their widespread distribution. Here, we evaluate the C sequestration potential of pristine boreal forested peatlands over both recent and millennial timescales. C stock estimates reveal that most of the carbon stored in these ecosystems is found in organic horizons (22.6–66.0 kg m−2), whereas tree C mass (2.8–5.7 kg m−2) decreases with thickening peat. For the first time, we compare the boreal C storage capacities of peat layers and tree biomass on the same timescale, showing that organic horizons (11.0–12.6 kg m−2) can store more carbon than tree aboveground and belowground biomass (2.8–5.7 kg m−2) even over a short time period (last 200 years). We also show that forested peatlands have similar recent rates of C accumulation to boreal non-forested peatlands but lower long-term rates, suggesting higher decay and more important peat layer combustion during fire events. Our findings highlight the significance of forested peatlands for C sequestration and suggest that greater consideration should be given to peat C stores in national greenhouse gas inventories and conservation policies.
format	article
author	Joannie Beaulne Michelle Garneau Gabriel Magnan Étienne Boucher
author_facet	Joannie Beaulne Michelle Garneau Gabriel Magnan Étienne Boucher
author_sort	Joannie Beaulne
title	Peat deposits store more carbon than trees in forested peatlands of the boreal biome
title_short	Peat deposits store more carbon than trees in forested peatlands of the boreal biome
title_full	Peat deposits store more carbon than trees in forested peatlands of the boreal biome
title_fullStr	Peat deposits store more carbon than trees in forested peatlands of the boreal biome
title_full_unstemmed	Peat deposits store more carbon than trees in forested peatlands of the boreal biome
title_sort	peat deposits store more carbon than trees in forested peatlands of the boreal biome
publisher	Nature Portfolio
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/087b2d890f584d4cb45b1deb0593d34a
work_keys_str_mv	AT joanniebeaulne peatdepositsstoremorecarbonthantreesinforestedpeatlandsoftheborealbiome AT michellegarneau peatdepositsstoremorecarbonthantreesinforestedpeatlandsoftheborealbiome AT gabrielmagnan peatdepositsstoremorecarbonthantreesinforestedpeatlandsoftheborealbiome AT etienneboucher peatdepositsstoremorecarbonthantreesinforestedpeatlandsoftheborealbiome
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Peat deposits store more carbon than trees in forested peatlands of the boreal biome

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