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Methane Emission from Palsa Mires in Northeastern European Russia

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Abstract

Measurement data on methane fluxes in the palsa mire ecosystem at the border of tundra and taiga zones in northeastern European Russia are presented. It was found for the first time that an intense methane flux from the surface of the permafrost mound (palsa) is determined by the spring thawing of the seasonally thawed horizon in the layer of 14–25 cm. During this period, the emission was 4–20 times higher than the summer values. In lichen communities of peat mounds, the CH4 sink prevailed during the summer-autumn period. The total methane flux in different parts of the mire in June–September varied from 0.18 to 16.5 kg CH4/ha. In general, the palsa mire emitted 81 kg CH4/ha per year to the atmosphere. The methane emission from the surface of peat mounds and hollows made up 20% and 80% of the annual flux, respectively.

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Funding

The present study is performed within the research theme of the Institute of Biology of Komi Scientific Center (Ural Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS)) АААА-А17-117122090014-8 “Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Structure and Productivity of Phytocenoses of Forest and Wetland Ecosystems in Northeastern European Russia” and the complex program for basic research of the Ural Branch of RAS (project number 18-4-4-17 “Vertical Fluxes of Carbonaceous Greenhouse Gases in Boreal Forest and Wetland Ecosystems in Modern Climate”).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Biology, Komi Scientific Center, Ural Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, 167982, Syktyvkar, Russia

    М. N. Miglovets, S. V. Zagirova, N. N. Goncharova & О. А. Mikhailov

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  1. М. N. Miglovets
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  2. S. V. Zagirova
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  3. N. N. Goncharova
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  4. О. А. Mikhailov
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Correspondence to М. N. Miglovets.

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Russian Text ©The Author(s), 2021, published in Meteorologiya i Gidrologiya, 2021, No. 1, pp. 93-102.

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Miglovets, М.N., Zagirova, S.V., Goncharova, N.N. et al. Methane Emission from Palsa Mires in Northeastern European Russia. Russ. Meteorol. Hydrol. 46, 52–59 (2021). https://doi.org/10.3103/S1068373921010076

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.3103/S1068373921010076

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