Warming effects on greenhouse gas fluxes in peatlands are modulated by vegetation composition

• Published in: Ecology letters Vol. 16; no. 10; pp. 1285 - 1293
• Main Authors: Ward, Susan E, Ostle, Nicholas J, Oakley, Simon, Quirk, Helen, Henrys, Peter A, Bardgett, Richard D, Putten, Wim
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.10.2013; Blackwell
• Subjects: Animal and plant ecology; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Biodiversity; Biological and medical sciences; botanical composition; Carbon cycle; carbon dioxide; Carbon Dioxide - metabolism; Carbon Sequestration; carbon sinks; CH 4; CH4; Climate change; CO 2; CO2; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; General aspects; Global Warming; greenhouse gas; greenhouse gas emissions; Greenhouse gases; Methane - metabolism; N2O; peatland; Peatlands; plant communities; plant community composition; plant functional group; Plants - metabolism; Poaceae; Soil; Vegetation; warming; Warming; Floristic composition; Plant community; CH; plant community composition; Carbon dioxide; peatland; CO; Peat bog; N; O; Carbon cycle; Greenhouse gas; plant functional group; Nitrogen protoxide; Functional group; CO 2; CH 4; warming; N2O; greenhouse gas
• ISSN: 1461-023X; 1461-0248
• DOI: 10.1111/ele.12167

Understanding the effects of warming on greenhouse gas feedbacks to climate change represents a major global challenge. Most research has focused on direct effects of warming, without considering how concurrent changes in plant communities may alter such effects. Here, we combined vegetation manipulations with warming to investigate their interactive effects on greenhouse gas emissions from peatland. We found that although warming consistently increased respiration, the effect on net ecosystem CO₂ exchange depended on vegetation composition. The greatest increase in CO₂ sink strength after warming was when shrubs were present, and the greatest decrease when graminoids were present. CH₄ was more strongly controlled by vegetation composition than by warming, with largest emissions from graminoid communities. Our results show that plant community composition is a significant modulator of greenhouse gas emissions and their response to warming, and suggest that vegetation change could alter peatland carbon sink strength under future climate change.