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Northern peatland carbon dynamics driven by plant growth form — the role of graminoids

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Abstract

Aims

Plant growth forms can influence carbon cycling, particularly in carbon-rich ecosystems like northern peatlands; however, mechanistic evidence of this relationship is limited. Our aim was to determine if northern peatland plant growth forms alter belowground dissolved carbon chemistry and enhance carbon release through stimulated microbial metabolism.

Methods

We used replicated, peat monoliths populated exclusively by Sphagnum mosses, graminoids, or bare peat and quantified changes in belowground dissolved organic carbon chemistry, microbial metabolism, as well as respired CO2.

Results

The graminoid growth form was significantly distinct in belowground dissolved organic carbon chemistry with carbon compound lability 20 % and 11 % greater than bare peat and Sphagnum moss respectively. The labile dissolved organic carbon stimulated the microbial community, as indicated by greater microbial metabolic activity and richness values in conjunction with 50 % higher respired CO2 fluxes under the graminoid treatment.

Conclusions

Our results provide mechanistic evidence that peatland plant growth forms can drive carbon cycling processes by altering dissolved organic carbon chemistry to prompt cascading effects on the microbial community and carbon release — trends suggestive of microbial priming effects. Should climate change increase graminoid prevalence at the expense of Sphagnum moss northern peatland carbon store stability may be threatened by this mechanism.

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Abbreviations

AWCD:

Average well colour development

BIX:

Freshness index

CO2 :

Carbon dioxide

DOC:

Dissolved organic carbon

FI:

Fluorescence index

HIXEM :

Humification index

SOM:

Soil organic material

SUVA254 :

Specific ultraviolet absorbance at 254 nm

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to Dr. C. Dean, Dean of the Western Faculty of Science, for supporting our use of the Biotron, funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Discovery Grant program (ZL, BB), Canada Research Chairs program (BB), NSERC Strategic Network support to the Canada Network for Aquatic Ecosystem Services (BB) and the Ontario Graduate Scholarship program (CD). We thank Dr. J. McLaughlin (Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry) for access to the White River, ON field site and his continued support with our research program. We also thank Dr. C. Oswald (Ryerson University) for advice and aid on EEMs techniques and Dr. S. Carey (McMaster University) for access to laboratory instruments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada, N6A 5B7

    Catherine M. Dieleman, Brian A. Branfireun & Zoë Lindo

  2. Centre for Environment and Sustainability, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada, N6A 5B7

    Catherine M. Dieleman, Brian A. Branfireun & Zoë Lindo

  3. Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada

    Catherine M. Dieleman

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  1. Catherine M. Dieleman
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  2. Brian A. Branfireun
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Correspondence to Catherine M. Dieleman.

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Responsible Editor: Zucong Cai.

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Dieleman, C.M., Branfireun, B.A. & Lindo, Z. Northern peatland carbon dynamics driven by plant growth form — the role of graminoids. Plant Soil 415, 25–35 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-016-3099-3

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