The importance of sub‐peat carbon storage as shown by data from Dartmoor,UK

Peatlands are highly valued for their range of ecosystem services, including distinctive biodiversity, agricultural uses, recreational amenities, water provision, river flow regulation and their capacity to store carbon. There have been a range of estimates of carbon stored in peatlands in the United Kingdom, but uncertainties remain, in particular with regard to depth and bulk density of peat. In addition, very few studies consider the full profile with depth in carbon auditing. The importance of sub‐peat soils within peatland carbon stores has been recognized, but remains poorly understood and is included rarely within peatland carbon audits. This study examines the importance of the carbon store based on a study of blanket peat on Dartmoor, UK, by estimating peat depths in a 4 × 1 km survey area using ground penetrating radar (GPR), extraction of 43 cores across a range of peat depth, and estimation of carbon densities based on measures of loss‐on‐ignition and bulk density. Comparison of GPR estimates of peat depth with core depths shows excellent agreement, to provide the basis for a detailed understanding of the distribution of peat depths within the survey area. Carbon densities of the sub‐peat soils are on average 78 and 53 kg C/m³ for the overlying blanket peat. There is considerable spatial variability in the estimates of total carbon from each core across the survey area, with values ranging between 56.5 kg C/m² (1.01 m total depth of peat and soil) and 524 kg C/m² (6.63 m total depth). Sub‐peat soil carbon represents between 4 and 28 per cent (mean 13.5) of the total carbon stored, with greater values for shallower peat. The results indicate a significant and previously unaccounted store of carbon within blanket peat regions which should be included in future calculations of overall carbon storage. It is argued that this store needs to be considered in carbon audits.     

The 1949 Atlas of French peat deposits,a starting point for a national inventory of peatlands

Fifty per cent of European peatlands are in a damaged state. While intact peatlands are natural carbon sinks, degraded sites release important amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, contributing to global warming. Restoration of the hydrological functionality of peatlands has proved to be an efficient tool to avoid these emissions. In France, Tuffnell & Bignon's ministerial report (2019) emphasized the need for peatlands ‘integration into the National Low Carbon Strategy, targeting carbon neutrality by 2050. However, current knowledge regarding French peatlands’ distribution and carbon stocks is insufficient and does not allow decision makers and managers to prioritize areas for restoration. The most complete database to date is the 1949 Atlas, an inventory of exploitable peat deposits that was conducted during WWII for peat exploitation as fuel. Until its digitalization, the latter database was archived and never used in a scientific study. It provides detailed information about peatland surfaces, peat thicknesses and carbon contents at that time. We estimated peat carbon stocks from French peatlands to be 111 Mt C in 1949 for 63,290 ha identified as peaty sites, the equivalent of 3% of the organic carbon contained in the upper 30 centimetres of French soils. 34% of this stock was held in Lower Normandy (37.7 Mt C) and 12% in the Picardy's region (13.0 Mt C), in large lowland peatlands. However, not all peatlands were prospected in the 1949 inventory and the characteristics of the prospected peatlands may have changed with anthropic disturbances of the last decades, such as draining or climate change. These first results highlight the need for a recent inventory of French peatlands and carbon stocks based on local data aggregation. Data from the 1949 Atlas could help constituting this new inventory but should be validated before being used to describe the present.     

Carbon stocks in Scottish peatlands

Various estimates have suggested that the peatlands of Scotland are a significant deposit of fixed carbon. However, these have been based upon rather imprecise estimates of peat depth. Using previously unused archived data, we have mapped peat depth across the country and then used these values to obtain an improved value of the total carbon stock within peatlands, as well as indicating their spatial distribution. We included peat deposits that occur in combination with other soils in soil map units other than 'blanket' or 'basin' peat. We obtained an area-weighted mean peat depth of 2.0 m, which is slightly shallower than previous estimates. Using values of bulk density and % carbon from the Scottish soils database, the total peatland carbon stock came to 1620 Mt, which represents 56% of the total carbon in all Scottish soils.     

泥炭湿地碳储量核算与其影响因素分析

泥炭湿地占全球陆地表面积的2%~3%和全球湿地面积的40%~70%,却存储3.0×1017~6.0×1017g碳。以前有关泥炭湿地碳储量的研究主要偏重于土壤,尤其在北方,缺乏对植被和枯枝落叶层的综合报道。本文综述了近些年来全球泥炭地碳储量(土壤碳储量、植被碳储量和枯枝落叶层碳储量)核算的研究进展。目前,全球泥炭地碳储量的核算仍存在较大的不确定性,其主要原因是全球泥炭地碳储量核算方法的数据信息不足,缺乏植被生物量、地表凋落物、碳质量分数、深度、容重和面积等全面数据,尤其是关于全球泥炭地面积较大的地区或国家;其次,人为干扰活动也进一步增加了全球泥炭地碳储量估算的不确定性,使得碳储量估算变得更困难。我国湿地面积居亚洲第一,世界第四,然而泥炭地/湿地有机碳储量估算与其他国家比较,相差较大,数据信息不足且存在较大波动。因此,为了提高泥炭湿地碳储量的估计精度和预测陆地生态系统应对气候变化响应机制的准确性,进一步加大泥炭地碳储量研究是非常必要的。     

A method for modelling peat depth in blanket peatlands

Inventories of peat volume and carbon storage often include general values for peat depth, but more spatially explicit and accurate estimates are required if carbon management strategies are to be developed at scales appropriate for the management. This article presents a methodology for estimating peat depth for large blanket peat areas using field sampling and GIS modelling to map peat depth on Dartmoor in south‐west England. The study area was divided into carbon unit areas (CUAs) based on soil and vegetation. Approximately 1000 peat depth measurements were taken, each consisting of a mean (n = 5) from depths within a 32 m² area. Sampling points were stratified according to CUA area and proportional extent of slope and elevation classes. Regression analyses were used to determine the relationships between slope, elevation and peat depth within each CUA. The strongest relationship was for blanket peat (r² = 0.53), with weaker ones for areas where peat was shallow and depth was less variable. A digital elevation model was used in a GIS to model peat depths for the whole of Dartmoor. Results were tested against a data set of 200 peat depths on a 250 m grid covering 1325 ha. We conclude that peat depth can be modelled using easily available topographic data combined with well‐designed field sampling over larger spatial scales. The approach can result in accurate mapping of peat depth and carbon storage for blanket peatlands in the United Kingdom and perhaps also elsewhere.     

Degradation and development of peatlands in Peninsular Malaysia and in the islands of Sumatra and Borneo since 1990

In this study, we investigated the extent of peatland degradation and development in Peninsular Malaysia and in the islands of Sumatra and Borneo, in the western part of insular Southeast Asia, since 1990. Furthermore, carbon emissions caused by these land cover changes were estimated in order to evaluate their contribution to global climate change. High resolution Landsat (30 m spatial resolution) and Satellite Pour l'Observation de la Terre (SPOT; 10–20 m) satellite images were used to derive information on land cover in 1990 and 2008. Analysis of land cover changes since 1990 revealed remarkable reduction and degradation of peatswamp forest ecosystems. In less than 20 years, 5·1 Mha of the total 15·5 Mha of peatland had been deforested (11·6 Mha → 6·5 Mha; 75 per cent → 42 per cent) and the great majority of the remaining forests had been selectively logged. Simultaneously, area covered by unmanaged secondary growth ecosystems had doubled to nearly a quarter of all peatlands and industrial plantations had expanded dramatically (0·3 Mha → 2·3 Mha; 2 per cent → 15 per cent). It was conservatively estimated that these changes have caused minimum of 1·5 Gt carbon emissions into the atmosphere since 1990. Currently, peatlands of the study area emit at least 81 Mt of carbon (equivalent to 300 Mt of carbon dioxide) on annual basis due to mere peat decomposition. Thereby, it was concluded that peatland degradation and development in insular Southeast Asia during the past two decades have not only put the existence of Southeast Asian peatswamp forest ecosystems in danger but it has also caused globally significant carbon emissions and created a constant source of carbon dioxide. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effects of sulfate deposition on pore water dissolved organic carbon,nutrients, and microbial enzyme activities in a northern peatland

Export of dissolved organic carbon from lakes and streams has increased throughout Europe and North America over the past several decades. One possible cause is altered deposition chemistry; specifically, decreasing sulfate inputs leading to changes in ionic strength and dissolved organic carbon solubility. To further investigate the relationship between deposition chemistry and dissolved organic carbon export in peatlands, a field experiment was conducted to compare the pore water chemistry and peat microbial enzyme activity of mesocosms receiving sulfate amendments to mesocosms receiving no additions. To consider how peatlands respond during recovery from increased inputs of sulfate, samples were also analyzed from an area of the same peatland that was previously amended with sulfate. Current additions of sulfate decreased dissolved organic carbon concentration and increased dissolved organic carbon aromaticity. Total dissolved phosphorus decreased in response to current sulfate amendments but was elevated in the area of the peatland recovering from sulfate amendment. The total dissolved phosphorus increase, which was reflected in microbial enzyme activity, may have shifted the system from P limitation to N limitation. This shift could have important consequences for ecosystem processes related to plant and microbial communities. It also suggests that the recovery from previous sulfate amendments may take longer than may be expected.     

Examining soil organic carbon in the mountainous peat swamps of the Zoigê Plateau in China's Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

Mountainous peatlands are one of the most important terrestrial ecosystems for carbon storage and play an important role in the global carbon cycle. An insight into the carbon cycle of peat swamps located in mountainous regions can be obtained by studying the distribution of soil organic carbon (SOC) and its relationships with environmental factors. This study focused on the development conditions of peat swamps in the Gahai wetlands, located on the Zoigê Plateau, China, with four different altitudinal gradients as experimental sample sites. The distribution of SOC and its relationship with environmental factors were analysed through vegetation surveys and a generalized additive model (GAM). The results show that with increasing altitude, soil temperature decreased while the soil pH and bulk density initially decreased then increased. On the contrary, the topographic wetness index (TWI), SOC content, above-ground biomass and litter count initially increased then decreased. The SOC content of the 0–30 cm soil layer was in the range 226–330 g·kg⁻¹ (coefficient of variation (CV) = 21.4%), and the 30–60 cm layer was 178–257 g·kg⁻¹ (CV = 17.5%) and was significantly correlated (p < .05) with above-ground biomass and litter count. Meanwhile, the SOC content in the 60–90 cm soil layer was in the range 132–167 g·kg⁻¹ (CV = 9.2%) with a significant correlation (p < .05) with soil temperature, pH, bulk density and topographic moisture index. The study showed that the SOC content exhibited more pronounced spatial patterns with increasing altitude, with the peak value in the shallow soil layer appearing in lower elevation areas compared with the deep soil layer. The level of variation changed from medium to low, reflecting the stable mechanism for maintaining SOC within the heterogeneous peat swamp environment.     

Carbon budget of drained peat bogs in Ukrainian Polesie

Methodological aspects of studying the organic carbon budget of drained peat bogs used in agriculture are discussed. Difficulties in the assessment of carbon budget on the basis of measured carbon inflows and outflows are shown. The “soil pool” model of the carbon budget is suggested. It is based on the results of long-term experimental studies of a drained peatland in Ukrainian Polesie. An algorithm for calculating the carbon budget in the aerated part of the peatland—the peat soil proper—is developed with due account for a gradual involvement of the deep peat layers into the zone of soil processes. Data on the loss of dry peat mass and organic carbon per in the course of peat mineralization and surface subsidence are given with due account for the nature of the peatland and the duration of its agricultural use.     

Soil organic carbon distribution in relation to land use and its storage in a small watershed of the Loess Plateau, China

Soil organic carbon (SOC) is an important component in agricultural soil, and its stock is a major part of global carbon stocks. Estimating the SOC distribution and storage is important for improving soil quality and SOC sequestration. This study evaluated the SOC distribution different land uses and estimated the SOC storage by classifying the study area by land use in a small watershed on the Loess Plateau. The results showed that the SOC content and density were affected by land use. The SOC content for shrubland and natural grassland was significantly higher than for other land uses, and cropland had the lowest SOC content. The effect of land use on the SOC content was more significant in the 0-10 cm soil layer than in other soil layers. For every type of land use, the SOC content decreased with soil depth. The highest SOC density (0-60 cm) in the study area was found in shrublandII (Hippophae rhamnoides), and the other land uses decreased in the SOC density as follows: natural grassland > shrublandI (Caragana korshinskii) > abandoned cropland > orchard > level ground cropland > terrace cropland > artificial grassland. Shrubland and natural grassland were the most efficient types for SOC sequestration, followed by abandoned cropland. The SOC stock (0-60 cm) in this study was 23,584.77 t with a mean SOC density of 4.64 (0-60 cm).     

土地利用方式和地形对半干旱区土壤有机碳含量的影响

以内蒙古赤峰市敖汉旗为研究对象,以实地调查数据为基础,结合土地利用方式与地形的变化,对敖汉旗0～100 cm深度土壤有机碳含量的空间分布特征进行了研究,旨在对地区碳储量的估算和科学利用土地资源起到积极的借鉴作用。结果表明,敖汉旗土壤有机碳含量在0～100 cm深度的土壤剖面内的变化范围为0.23～20.71 g/kg,主要集中在40 cm以上土层,且随着土层深度的增加土壤有机碳平均含量逐渐降低;各土地利用方式下土壤有机碳含量均表现为:林地农地草地。土壤有机碳含量主要富集在高海拔区的平缓地段;受土壤侵蚀的影响,当坡度10°后,不同土地利用类型的有机碳含量均显著降低。     

不同植被类型对滨海盐碱土壤有机碳库的影响

对江苏滨海盐碱地5种不同植被类型土壤（0 ~ 40 cm）有机碳（SOC）含量、密度和表层（0 ~ 20 cm）土壤微生物量碳（SMBC）、可溶性有机碳（DOC）含量及其占总有机碳（TOC）的比例进行了分析。结果显示,随土层深度的增加,SOC含量降低,表层SOC密度占整个剖面的54.6% ~ 75.8%。表层SOC含量和密度分别介于2.02 ~ 9.61 g/kg和5.87 ~ 21.54 t/hm2,平均值分别为4.77 g/kg和12.56 t/hm2。随着原生植被群落的演替（光滩→盐蒿→茅草）,SOC、SMBC和DOC含量均依次增加。茅草荒地围垦后,稻-油轮作地和菊芋地表层SOC密度分别比茅草地的增加了55%（5.77 t/hm2）和107%（11.15 t/hm2）;稻-油轮作地的SMBC含量及SMBC/TOC比值下降,而菊芋地的上升;围垦后土壤DOC含量及DOC/TOC比值都明显下降。结果表明,滨海盐碱地SOC主要分布在表层,原生植被群落的顺行演替使SOC库容增加且活性增强,在盐荒地围垦初期（3年）,SOC库容增加但活性有所减弱。经估算,滨海盐碱非耕地具有较大的固碳潜力,但需要合理的耕作管理措施来保证农业生产的可持续发展并实现增汇减排的目标。     

CLASSIFICATION OF PEATLAND DISTURBANCE

Northern peatlands have accumulated a carbon pool of approximately 455 to 547 GtC, and they can make significant contributions to national carbon fluxes. Ireland is an example of a northern latitude country where peatlands are of significance for carbon management. Peatlands in Ireland cover ~20 per cent of the Country and contain nearly two‐thirds of the national soil organic carbon stock. Peatland disturbance was defined, and a framework for the classification of disturbance was developed. The classification process is subjective. To account for this, a survey was conducted among several peatland experts to determine if their opinions differed from the authors'. There was no significant difference between the authors' and the peatland experts' or among each of the peatland expert's opinions. A preliminary classification survey was carried out at 172 points (photos taken at 115). The results for the preliminary study were compared with those of the survey. The expert's average scores for less disturbed and more disturbed areas favourably compared with the results from the disturbance framework. This is a robust, quick and efficient method for assessing peatland disturbance and may be applied to peatlands throughout the globe. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

耕作及水蚀影响下坡耕地土壤有机碳动态模拟

土壤侵蚀和沉积明显影响土壤有机碳(SOC)的积累与损耗,在以往土壤碳平衡模拟中却未得到应有的重视。本文以典型黑土漫岗坡耕地表层土壤为研究对象,利用CENTURY模型模拟特定质地下自然黑土有机碳的积累过程,估算研究区黑土有机碳及各组分的背景值;对比研究侵蚀泥沙对SOC富集的影响,将模型模拟值与实测值进行统计比较来验证模型;进而模拟侵蚀区开垦后SOC以及各组分随时间的变化,定量研究土壤侵蚀对SOC各组分损失的贡献。研究结果表明:黑土有机碳的累积大致可分为初期的快速积累和后期缓慢积累两个阶段,前期慢性有机碳库的累积对SOC库的增加贡献最大,后期SOC累积主要由惰性有机碳缓慢累积来完成。达到平衡状态时,研究区黑土有机碳含量为7 240 g m-2,以慢性和惰性有机碳为主,约占总SOC的97.4%。考虑泥沙对SOC的富集作用,模型模拟值与实测值更加吻合。自然黑土开垦后,微生物分解矿化作用是活性和慢性有机碳损失的主要途径,土壤侵蚀明显降低惰性有机碳含量,其贡献率随侵蚀速率的增加而增大。因研究区侵蚀不严重,土壤侵蚀对开垦以来的SOC库损耗贡献较小。     

Carbon stocks and sequestration potentials of agricultural soils in the federal state of Baden‐Württemberg,SW Germany

Soil organic carbon (SOC) inventories are important tools for studying the effects of land‐use and climate change and evaluating climate‐change policies. A detailed inventory of SOC in the agricultural soils of the federal state of Baden‐Württemberg was therefore prepared based on the highest‐resolution geo‐referenced soil, land‐use, and climate data (BÜK200 inventory). In order to estimate the quality of different approaches, C inventories of the region were also prepared based on data from the National Inventory Report (UBA, 2003) and by applying the IPCC (1997) method to the two data sets. Finally, the BÜK200 inventory was used to estimate potentials of no‐tillage agriculture (NT) and peatland restoration to contribute to C sequestration and greenhouse‐gas (GHG)‐emission mitigation since both measures are discussed in this context. Scenario assumptions were change to NT on 40% of the cropland and restoration of 50% of cultivated peatlands within 20 years. On average, grasslands contained 9.5 kg C m^–2 to 0.3 m depth as compared to only 6.0 kg C m^–2 under cropland, indicating strong land‐use effects. The SOC content depended strongly on waterlogging and elevation, thus reflecting reduced C mineralization under aquic moisture regimes and low temperatures. Comparison of the BÜK200 inventory with the approach used for UBA (2003) showed high inconsistencies due to map resolution and SOC contents, whereas the IPCC method led to fairly good agreements. Results on the simulated effects of NT and peatland restoration suggested that 5%–14% of total agricultural GHG emissions could be abated with NT whereas peat restoration appeared to have a minor mitigation potential (0.2%–2.7%) because the total area of cultivated organic soils was too small to have larger impact.     

Black carbon in a temperate mixed-grass savanna

Black carbon (BC) or charcoal is thought to represent an important component of the carbon cycle, but has seldom been quantified in soils. We quantified soil BC in a temperate mixed-grass savanna in the southern Great Plains using benzenecarboxylic acids as molecular markers for BC. Soils were collected from four fire treatments (repeated summer fires in 1992 and 1994; repeated winter fires in 1991, 1993 and 1995; alternate-season fires in winter 1991, summer 1992, and winter 1994; and unburned control) at 0-10 and 10-20 cm depth in 1996. Black carbon concentrations ranged from 50 to 130 g BC kg⁻¹ of soil organic carbon (SOC), or from 0.55 to 1.07 g BC kg⁻¹ of whole soil in this mixed grass savanna. The BC contribution to SOC increased significantly with soil depth (P<0.05). Repeated fires increased BC slightly compared to the unburned controls; however, the effects of repeated fires on BC were not statistically significant in this mixed-grass savanna. Results of this study provide estimates of BC concentrations for native, uncultivated mixed-grass savanna, and indicate that 2-3 fires have little effect on the size of the soil BC pool in this region.     

Organic carbon and nitrogen in soil particle-size aggregates under dry tropical forests from Guanacaste,Costa Rica — Implications for within-site soil organic carbon stabilization

In this study we report results on the soil organic carbon (SOC) pool (0–50 cm) from a chrono-sequence of dry tropical forest (dTf) of increasing age and a yearly burned ancient pasture in the “Sector Santa Rosa” at the “Área de Conservación Guanacaste” (ACG) in northwestern Costa Rica, where intense human induced land-use modifications has occurred during the past century. The effects of land conversion on soil organic carbon (SOC) have mainly been conducted in the Atlantic humid forests while overlooking dTfs. We quantified the depth distribution of SOC concentration down to 50-cm and in physically separated mineral soil fractions, as these data are scanty from the dTf. Additional objectives were to identify the relationship with selected soil physical and chemical properties, including stabilized SOC fractions by means of multivariate ordination methods. Statistically significant differences were found for the main fixed factor ecosystem for all soil variables analyzed (ANOVA). SOC and N concentrations were significantly higher in the oldest dTf compared to the other dTfs. Soil physical properties like aggregate size distribution and bulk density changed with depth, and varied significantly among the three dTf stands sampled. The multivariate analysis, i.e. between-within class principal component analysis (PCA), revealed a significant ordination of dTfs (P < 0.0001). The SOC concentration decreased in particle size fractions of < 200 μm aggregates with increasing soil depth. The lowest and highest C concentrations were obtained in the fine sand (105–200 μm) and clay + silt (< 20 μm) fractions, respectively. Mineral-associated and stable SOC pool increased with depth, and poorly crystalline Fe oxides and ferrihydrite were the most important minerals for SOC stabilization at 40–50 cm depth. The highest SOC pool was found in the old-growth and > 80 years-old dTfs, i.e., 228.9 and 150.3 Mg C ha^− 1, respectively, values similar to those obtained in the Atlantic humid forests of Costa Rica. Comparatively to other studies, soils under dTf at Santa Rosa store a considerable amount of SOC with potentially large CO2 emissions if this ecosystem is not preserved.     

中国土壤有机碳分解特征研究初报

通过土壤样品的室内培养,运用三库一级动力学理论,对我国典型区域土壤有机碳分解特征进行了研究,结果表明:土壤有机碳分解均呈现前期分解快速和后期分解缓慢的特点,土壤有机碳分解的平衡点大概为2个月,之后的日均分解量变化非常小。我国东部4种地带性土壤有机碳分解速率随纬度的增加而递增。不同种植方式农田土壤有机碳分解速率:菜园>水田>旱地>果园。6个地区表层土壤有机碳含量范围为2.31~81.93 g/kg;活性碳含量范围为0.09~1.04 g/kg;缓效性碳含量范围为0.90~33.39 g/kg;惰效性碳含量范围0.92~47.85 g/kg。     

缙云山5种植被下土壤活性有机碳及碳库变化特征

为揭示重庆市缙云山不同植被下土壤活性有机碳及碳库分配特征,以该地区5种植被类型:阔叶林、针叶林、混交林、竹林和荒草地为研究对象,分析不同植被类型下各土层土壤有机碳(SOC)、微生物生物量碳(MBC)、可溶性有机碳(DOC)、易氧化有机碳(ROC)含量及其土壤碳库的变化特征.结果表明:SOC和各活性有机碳组分含量及分配比...