The role of Eriophorum vaginatum in CH₄ flux from an ombrotrophic peatland

• Published in: Plant and soil Vol. 227; no. 1/2; pp. 265 - 272
• Main Authors: Greenup, A.L., Bradford, M.A., McNamara, N.P., Ineson, P., Lee, J.A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Kluwer Academic Publishers 01.01.2000; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Animal and plant ecology; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Biological and medical sciences; Emissions; Eriophorum; Eriophorum vaginatum; Fluctuations; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Methane; Peat; Peat soils; Peatlands; Plants; Pollutant emissions; Soil air; Sphagnum; Synecology; Terrestrial ecosystems; Vegetation; Water table; Water tables; Wetland soils; Methane; Organic carbon; Conduction; Monocotyledones; Gas emission; Marsh soil; Material flow; Carbon dioxide; Eriophorum vaginatum; Aerenchyma; Magnitude; Sphagnobrya; Peat bog; Sphagnum; Ecosystem; Angiospermae; Plant marsh community; Wetland; Plant tissue; Floristic composition; Bryophyta; Vegetation effect; Experimental study; Biological activity; Carbon cycle; Substrate; Biogeochemistry; Spatial distribution; Mass flow rate; Cyperaceae; Peat soil; Spermatophyta; Gas exchange; Soil plant relation; Field study
• ISSN: 0032-079X; 1573-5036
• DOI: 10.1023/A:1026573727311

Vegetation composition was found to be an important factor controlling CH₄ emission from an ombrotrophic peatland in the UK, with significantly greater (P < 0.01) CH₄ released from areas containing both Eriophorum vaginatum L. and Sphagnum, than from similar areas without E. vaginatum. Positive correlations were observed between the amount of E. vaginatum and CH₄ emission, with the best predictor of flux being the amount of below-ground biomass of this species (r² = 0.93). A cutting experiment revealed that there was no significant difference (P > 0.05) in CH₄ flux between plots with E. vaginatum stems cut above the water table and plots with intact vegetation, yet there was a 56% mean reduction in CH₄ efflux where stems were cut below the water table (P < 0.05). The effect of E. vaginatum on CH₄ release was mimicked by the presence of inert glass tubes. These findings suggest that the main short-term role of E. vaginatum in the ecosystem is simply as a conduit for CH₄ release. The longer-term importance of E. vaginatum in controlling CH₄ fluxes through C substrate input was suggested by the positive correlation between the night-time CO₂ and CH₄ fluxes (r² = 0.70), which only occurred when the vegetation was not senescent.