Abstract
Assessment of how carbon storage in peat and gas fluxes across the peatland/atmosphere interface may be affected by predicted climate changes requires an understanding of the controls on C mineralization in peat. Toward this end, our goal was to develop the INT[2-(p-iodophenyl)-3-(p-nitrophenyl)-5-phenyl tetrazolium chloride] reduction procedure for use in the field as a rapid and reliable approach to estimating C mineralization (CO2 and CH4 production) in peat under near-natural conditions with considerable spatial and temporal replication.Sphagnum peat samples collected from three sites were divided and analyzed for INT reduction activity, as well as for production of CO2 and CH4, under both oxic and anoxic conditions. For peat from each site, we found no significant relationships between INT reduction and oxic or anoxic CO2 or CH4 production. Although INT is reduced in acidicSphagnum peat, INT reduction rates do not provide a usable index of C mineralization.
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Wieder, R.K., Yavitt, J.B., Gasda, C.E. et al. Tetrazolium reduction in acidicSphagnum-derived peat. Wetlands 18, 79–83 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03161445
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03161445