Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Mountain Peatlands Range from CO2 Sinks at High Elevations to Sources at Low Elevations: Implications for a Changing Climate

  • Published:
Ecosystems Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Mountain fens found in western North America have sequestered atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) for millennia, provide important habitat for wildlife, and serve as refugia for regionally-rare plant species typically found in boreal regions. It is unclear how Rocky Mountain fens are responding to a changing climate. It is possible that fens found at lower elevations may be particularly susceptible to changes because hydrological cycles that control water tables are likely to vary the most. In this study, we fit models of growing season ecosystem-atmosphere CO2 exchange to field-measured data among eight fen plant communities at four mountain fens along a climatic gradient in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado and Wyoming. Differences in growing season net ecosystem production (NEP) among study sites were not well correlated with monsoon precipitation, despite a twofold increase in summer rainfall between two study regions. Our results show that NEP was higher for fens located at high elevations compared to those found at lower elevations, with growing season estimates ranging from −342 to 256 g CO2-C m−2. This was reflected in the negative correlation of growing season NEP with air temperature, and positive correlation with water table position, as the high elevation sites had the lowest air temperatures and highest water tables due to greater snowpack and later onset of melt. Our results suggest that sustainability of mountain fens occurring at the lower end of the known elevation range may be particularly susceptible to a changing climate, as these peatlands already experience lower snowpack, earlier snow melt, and warmer growing season air temperatures, which are all likely to be exacerbated under a future climate.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Adkinson AC, Syed KH, Flanagan LB. 2011. Contrasting responses of growing season ecosystem CO2 exchange to variation in temperature and water table depth in two peatlands in northern Alberta, Canada. J Geophys Res 116:1–17.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ashfaq M, Ghosh S, Kao SC, Bowling LC, Mote P, Touma D, Rauscher SA, Diffenbaugh NS. 2013. Near-term acceleration of hydroclimatic change in the western US. J Geophys Res Atmos 118:10,676–93.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Aurela M. 2002. Annual CO2 balance of a subarctic fen in northern Europe: importance of the wintertime efflux. J Geophys Res 107:4607.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Belyea LR. 2009. Nonlinear dynamics of peatlands and potential feedbacks on the climate system. In: Baird AJ, Belyea LR, Comas X, Reeve AS, Slater LD, Eds. Carbon Cycling in Northern Peatlands, Geophysical Monograph Series, vol. 184. Washington, D.C.: AGU. p 5–18.

  • Blanken PD. 2014. The effect of winter drought on evaporation from a high-elevation wetland. J Geophys Res Biogeosciences 119:1354–69.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bubier JL, Bhatia G, Moore TR, Roulet NT, Lafleur PM. 2003. Spatial and temporal variability in growing-season net ecosystem carbon dioxide exchange at a large peatland in Ontario, Canada. Ecosystems 6:353–67.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cable JM, Ogle K, Barron-Gafford GA, Bentley LP, Cable WL, Scott RL, Williams DG, Huxman TE. 2013. Antecedent conditions influence soil respiration differences in shrub and grass patches. Ecosystems 16:1230–47.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chapin AFS, Woodwell GM, Randerson JT, Rastetter EB, Lovett GM, Baldocchi D, Clark DA, Harmon ME, Schimel DS, Valentini R, Wirth C, Aber JD, Cole J, Goulden ML, Harden JW, Heimann M, Howarth RW, Matson PA, Melillo JM, Mooney HA, Neff JC, Houghton RA, Pace ML, Ryan MG, Running W, Sala OE, Schlesinger WH, Schulze E, Chapin FS, Baldocchi DD, Harmon E, Cole JJ, Mcguire AD. 2006. Reconciling carbon-cycle concepts, terminology, and methods. Ecosystems 9:1041–50.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chimner RA, Lemly JM, Cooper DJ. 2010. Mountain fen distribution, types and restoration priorities, San Juan Mountains, Colorado, USA. Wetlands 30:763–71.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chimner RA, Cooper DJ, Parton WJ. 2002. Modeling carbon accumulation in Rocky Mountain fens. Wetlands 22:100–10.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chimner RA, Cooper DJ. 2003a. Influence of water table levels on CO2 emissions in a Colorado subalpine fen: an in situ microcosm study. Soil Biol Biochem 35:345–51.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chimner RA, Cooper DJ. 2003b. Carbon dynamics of pristine and hydrologically modified fens in the southern Rocky Mountains. Can J Bot 81:477–91.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Christensen NS, Lettenmaier DP. 2007. A multimodel ensemble approach to assessment of climate change impacts on the hydrology and water resources of the Colorado River Basin. Hydrol Earth Syst Sci 11:1417–34.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Christensen NS, Wood AW, Voisin N, Lettenmaier DP, Palmer RN. 2004. The effects of climate change on the hydrology and water resources of the Colorado River Basin. Clim Change 62:337–63.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cooper DJ, Andrus RE. 1994. Patterns of vegetation and water chemistry in peatlands of the west-central Wind River Range, Wyoming, USA. Can J Bot 72:1586–97.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cooper DJ. 1996. Water and soil chemistry, floristics, and phytosociology of the extreme rich High Creek fen, in South Park, Colorado, USA. Can J Bot 74:1801–11.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cooper DJ, Wolf EC, Ronayne MJ, Roche JW. 2015. Effects of groundwater pumping on the sustainability of a mountain wetland complex, Yosemite National Park, California. J Hydrol Reg Stud 3:87–105.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Costigan KR, Bossert JE, Langley DL. 2000. Atmospheric/hydrologic models for the Rio Grande Basin: simulations of precipitation variability. Glob Planet Change 25:83–110.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davidson EA, Belk E, Boone RD. 1998. Soil water content and temperature as independent or confounded factors controlling soil respiration in a temperate mixed hardwood forest. Glob Change Biol 4:217–27.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davidson EA, Janssens IA, Luo Y. 2006. On the variability of respiration in terrestrial ecosystems: moving beyond Q10. Glob Change Biol 12:154–64.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Frolking S, Roulet NT. 2007. Holocene radiative forcing impact of northern peatland carbon accumulation and methane emissions. Glob Change Biol 13:1079–88.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gelman A, Rubin DB. 1992. Inference from iterative simulation using multiple sequences. Statistical Sci 7:457–511.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heidel B, Jones G. 2006. Botanical and Ecological Characteristics of Fens in the Medicine Bow 676 Mountains, Medicine Bow National Forest Albany and Carbon Counties, Wyoming. Report 677 Prepared for: Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest. FS Agreement No. 02-CS-11020600-678 033 M8.

  • Johnson CP, Pypker TG, Hribljan JA, Chimner RA. 2013. Open top chambers and infrared lamps: A comparison of heating efficacy and CO2/CH4 dynamics in a northern Michigan peatland. Ecosystems 16:736–48.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Krajick K. 2004. All downhill from here ? Science 303:1600–2.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kruschke JK. 2013. Bayesian estimation supersedes the t test. J Exp Psychol Gen 142:573–603.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Letts MG, Roulet NT, Comer NT, Skarupa MR, Verseghy DL. 2000. Parametrization of peatland hydraulic properties for the Canadian land surface scheme. Atmos Ocean 38:141–60.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maanavilja L, Riutta T, Aurela M, Pulkkinen M, Laurila T, Tuittila E-S. 2011. Spatial variation in CO2 exchange at a northern aapa mire. Biogeochemistry 104:325–45.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mast MA, Wickland KP, Striegl RT, Clow DW. 1998. Winter fluxes of CO2 and CH4 from subalpine soils in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado ecosystems. Glob Biogeochem Cycles 12:607–20.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Melillo JM, Butler S, Johnson J, Mohan J, Steudler P, Lux H, Burrows E, Bowles F, Smith R, Scott L, Vario C, Hill T, Burton A, Zhou YM, Tang J. 2011. Soil warming, carbon-nitrogen interactions, and forest carbon budgets. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 108:9508–12.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Millar, D. 2015. Climate controls on ecosystem-atmosphere carbon exchange and hydrological dynamics in Rocky Mountain fens. PhD dissertation. Graduate Degree Program in Ecology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO. 107 pp.

  • Moore C, Kampf S, Stone B, Richer E. 2014. A GIS-based method for defining snow zones: application to the western United States. Geocarto Int 30:62–81.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nijp JJ, Limpens J, Metselaar K, Peichl M, Nilsson MB, van der Zee SEATM, Berendse F. 2015. Rain events decrease boreal peatland net CO2 uptake through reduced light availability. Glob Change Biol 21:2309–20.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nilsson M, Sagerfors J, Buffam I, Laudon H, Eriksson T, Grelle A, Klemedtsson L, Weslien P, Lindroth A. 2008. Contemporary carbon accumulation in a boreal oligotrophic minerogenic mire––a significant sink after accounting for all C-fluxes. Glob Change Biol 14:2317–32.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Parmesan C. 2006. Ecological and evolutionary responses to recent climate change. Annu Rev Ecol Evol Syst 37:637–69.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Patterson L, Cooper DJ. 2007. The use of hydrological and ecological indicators for the restoration of drainage ditches and water diversions in a mountain fen, Cascade Range, California. Wetlands 27:290–304.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peichl M, Öquist M, Ottosson Löfvenius M, Ilstedt U, Sagerfors J, Grelle A, Lindroth A, Nilsson MB. 2014. A 12-year record reveals pre-growing season temperature and water table level threshold effects on the net carbon dioxide exchange in a boreal fen. Environ Res Lett 9:055006.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Plummer M. 2011. Rjags: Bayesian graphical models using MCMC. http://CRAN.R-project.org/package=rjags.

  • Ray AJ, Barsugli JJ, Averyt KB, Wolter K, Hoerling M, Doesken N, Udall B, Webb RS. 2008. Climate change in Colorado: A synthesis to support water resources management and adaptation. Colorado Water Conservation Board Rep., 52 pp.

  • Regonda SK, Rajagopalan B, Clark M, Pitlick J. 2004. Seasonal cycle shifts in hydroclimatology over the western United States. J Clim 18:372–84.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ricker MC, Stolt MH, Zavada MS. 2014. Comparison of soil organic carbon dynamics in forested riparian wetlands and adjacent uplands. Soil Sci Soc Am J 78:1817.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Riutta T, Laine J, Tuittila E-S. 2007. Sensitivity of CO2 exchange of fen ecosystem components to water level variation. Ecosystems 10:718–33.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rood SB, Pan J, Gill KM, Franks CG, Samuelson GM, Shepherd A. 2008. Declining summer flows of Rocky Mountain rivers: Changing seasonal hydrology and probable impacts on floodplain forests. J Hydrol 349:397–410.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rydin H, Jeglum J. 2006. The biology of peatlands. Oxford University Press. p 239.

  • Sagerfors J, Lindroth A, Grelle A, Klemedtsson L, Weslien P, Nilsson MB. 2008. Annual CO2 exchange between a nutrient-poor, minerotrophic, boreal mire and the atmosphere. J Geophys Res Biogeosciences 113:1–15.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sanchez A, Hughes NM, Smith WK. 2015. Importance of natural cloud regimes to ecophysiology in the alpine species, Caltha leptosepala and Arnica parryi, Snowy Range Mountains, southeast Wyoming, USA. Funct Plant Biol 42:186–97.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schimelpfenig DW, Cooper DJ, Chimner RA. 2014. Effectiveness of ditch blockage for restoring hydrologic and soil processes in mountain peatlands. Restor Ecol. 2:257–65.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schneider J, Kutzbach L, Wilmking M. 2012. Carbon dioxide exchange fluxes of a boreal peatland over a complete growing season, Komi Republic, NW Russia. Biogeochemistry 111:485–513.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sullivan PF, Arens SJT, Chimner RA, Welker JM. 2007. Temperature and microtopography interact to control carbon cycling in a high arctic fen. Ecosystems 11:61–76.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tesoriero AJ, Terziotti S, Abrams DB. 2015. Predicting redox conditions in groundwater at a regional scale. Environ Sci Technol 49:9657–64.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Tufford DL. 2011. Shallow water table response to seasonal and interannual climate variability. Trans ASABE 54:2079–86.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van Meter KJ, Basu NB. 2015. Catchment legacies and time lags: a parsimonious watershed model to predict the effects of legacy storage on nitrogen export. PLoS One 10:e0125971.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Vidon P. 2012. Towards a better understanding of riparian zone water table response to precipitation: surface water infiltration, hillslope contribution or pressure wave processes? Hydrol Process 26:3207–15.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Walker TN, Garnett MH, Ward SE, Oakley S, Bardgett RD, Ostle NJ. 2016. Vascular plants promote ancient peatland carbon loss with climate warming. Glob Change Biol:n/a–n/a.

  • Warshall P. 1994. The Madrean Sky Island Archipelago: A Planetary Overview. In: Biodiversity and Management of the Madrean Archipelago: The Sky Islands of Southwestern United States and Northwestern Mexico (ed De Bano LF, Folliott PF O-RA), pp. 6–18. US Department of Agriculture, Fort Collins, Colorado.

  • Wickland KP, Striegl G, Mast MA, Clow DW. 2001. Carbon gas exchange at a southern Rocky Mountain wetland, 1996–1998. Glob Biogeochem Cycles 15:321–35.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wohlfahrt G, Cremonese E, Hammerle A, Hörtnagl L, Galvagno M, Gianelle D, Marcolla B, di Cella UM. 2013. Tradeoffs between global warming and day length on the start of the carbon uptake period in seasonally cold ecosystems. Geophys Res Lett 40:6136–42.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Wu J, Roulet NT, Sagerfors J, Nilsson MB. 2013. Simulation of six years of carbon fluxes for a sedge-dominated oligotrophic minerogenic peatland in Northern Sweden using the McGill Wetland Model (MWM). J Geophys Res Biogeosciences 118:795–807.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yurova A, Wolf A, Sagerfors J, Nilsson M. 2007. Variations in net ecosystem exchange of carbon dioxide in a boreal mire: Modeling mechanisms linked to water table position. J Geophys Res Biogeosciences 112:1–13.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We thank Drs. N.T. Hobbs and Phillip Chapman of Colorado State University for valuable assistance feedback on statistical analyses and model development. In addition, we thank the many students and field technicians whose contributions made this work possible. Funding for this study came from the United States Department of Agriculture––US Forest Service through the Rocky Mountain Research Station, in Fort Collins, Colorado. Data analyses and presentation were done using open-source R software including the rjags and ggplot2 package.

Author information

Author notes

  1. David J. Millar

    Present address: Now at: Department of Botany, University of Wyoming, 1000 East University Avenue, Laramie, Wyoming, 82071-0333, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Forest and Rangeland Stewardship, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, 80523, USA

    David J. Millar, David J. Cooper, Kathleen A. Dwire & Robert M. Hubbard

  2. Graduate Degree Program in Ecology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, 80523, USA

    David J. Millar, David J. Cooper, Kathleen A. Dwire, Robert M. Hubbard & Joseph von Fischer

  3. USDA Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station, 240 West Prospect Rd, Fort Collins, Colorado, 80526, USA

    Kathleen A. Dwire & Robert M. Hubbard

  4. Department of Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, 80523, USA

    Joseph von Fischer

Authors
  1. David J. Millar
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. David J. Cooper
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Kathleen A. Dwire
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Robert M. Hubbard
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Joseph von Fischer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to David J. Millar.

Additional information

Author contributions

David Millar: Designed study, performed research, analyzed data, and wrote the paper. David Cooper: Designed study, analyzed data, and wrote the paper. Kathleen Dwire: Designed study, and edited the paper. Robert Hubbard: Designed study, provided data interpretation, and edited the paper. Joseph von Fischer: Designed study

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Millar, D.J., Cooper, D.J., Dwire, K.A. et al. Mountain Peatlands Range from CO2 Sinks at High Elevations to Sources at Low Elevations: Implications for a Changing Climate. Ecosystems 20, 416–432 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-016-0034-7

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-016-0034-7

Keywords

Search

Navigation