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Shrubs help warming unlock ancient peat carbon
Vascular plants raised peatland respiration 145% vs bare peat; warming increased fluxes 111% on bare and 63% with dwarf-shrubs and shifted 14C toward older carbon where shrubs were present.
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How much did vascular plants raise ecosystem respiration vs bare peat?
145% (dwarf-shrubs) and 144% (graminoids) relative to bare and bryophyte-only plots.
Source: Vascular plants promote ancient peatland carbon loss with climate warming · DOI · quote verified
Where did warming increase respiration flux?
Bare plots (+111%) and dwarf-shrub-only plots (+63%), not bryophyte, graminoid, or fully vegetated plots.
Source: Vascular plants promote ancient peatland carbon loss with climate warming · DOI · quote verified
What 14C change occurred with warming in shrub plots?
Respiration 14C fell 2 %Modern (older carbon) in dwarf-shrub-only plots; rose 1 %Modern when fully vegetated.
Source: Vascular plants promote ancient peatland carbon loss with climate warming · DOI · quote verified
Did air temperature alone explain 14C?
No—14C was uncorrelated with air T, soil T, and water-table height; warming acted via vegetation.
Source: Vascular plants promote ancient peatland carbon loss with climate warming · DOI · quote verified
What mean age appeared in ambient bryophyte ‘plant’ respiration?
412 years BP (94.8 %Modern), indicating peat carbon mixed into the plant-like flux.
Source: Vascular plants promote ancient peatland carbon loss with climate warming · DOI · quote verified
What is plant-induced peat respiration?
Two-component partitioning showed vegetation facilitated peat CO2 except in warmed bryophyte-only plots.
Source: Vascular plants promote ancient peatland carbon loss with climate warming · DOI · quote verified
Did bare vs bryophyte-only fluxes differ?
No significant difference between bare and bryophyte-only respiration.
Source: Vascular plants promote ancient peatland carbon loss with climate warming · DOI · quote verified
What headline conclusion do the authors draw?
Warming promotes ancient carbon release via respiration, facilitated by vascular plants.
Source: Vascular plants promote ancient peatland carbon loss with climate warming · DOI · quote verified
Why is ancient peat C important?
It signals loss of previously locked-up, relatively stable organic matter regardless of net ecosystem exchange.
Source: Vascular plants promote ancient peatland carbon loss with climate warming · DOI · quote verified
Which vegetation types were experimentally compared?
Bare, bryophyte-only, graminoid-only, dwarf-shrub-only, and fully vegetated plots, with/without warming.
Source: Vascular plants promote ancient peatland carbon loss with climate warming · DOI · quote verified