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Land use-driven historical soil carbon losses in Swiss peatlands

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Abstract

Context

Globally, the intensive use of peatlands contributes substantially to greenhouse gas emissions. The intensification of peatland use has led to increasing carbon (C) losses over the last centuries, but without historical emissions data, these increases and cumulative emissions are difficult to quantify.

Objectives

To understand the magnitude and development of soil C losses through peatland drainage in Switzerland through time, and to relate the situation of peatlands today to this historical development.

Methods

Historical records and a published estimate of the peatland extent are used to estimate peatlands’ original extent and C stocks, and to understand trends in the historical use of peatlands. Land use-specific emission factors are applied to estimate the C emission through drainage over the last 300 years.

Results

Ca. 15 to 55 Mt C have been lost through peatland drainage in Switzerland. Despite a decrease in the area of organic soils, annual C emissions have increased considerably especially since the mid-twentieth century due to intensification of their use, particularly for agriculture. This C loss is a magnitude greater than that lost through extracted peat. Remaining C stocks approximate those lost over the last 300 years.

Conclusions

The rate of peatland surface loss in Switzerland is typical of European wetlands. Uncertainties in emission factors remain high and should be refined to justify any mitigation strategies. Although peat is no longer mined in Switzerland, future C emissions from peatlands will remain high as long as the effects of drainage networks and their current intensity of use persist.

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Notes

  1. Federal order on the initiative ‘zum Schutz der Moore - Rothenthurm-Initiative ‘, Art. 24sexies Abs. 5 and UeBest. BV; or Grünig (1994, pp 367–378) for English translation.

  2. https://www.idiotikon.ch/ Accessed 7 February 2017.

  3. This value differs to that reported in the Methods, as modern sites where peat extraction has taken place were excluded from this calculation. This allowed the rate of peat thickness change due to drainage only to be calculated.

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Acknowledgements

This work was part-funded by the Swiss Federal Office for the Environment.

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  1. Climate and Agriculture Group, Agroscope, Reckenholzstrasse 191, 8046, Zurich-Affoltern, Switzerland

    Chloé Wüst-Galley & Jens Leifeld

  2. Obere Kehlstrasse 4, 5400, Baden, Switzerland

    Andreas Grünig

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  1. Chloé Wüst-Galley
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Wüst-Galley, C., Grünig, A. & Leifeld, J. Land use-driven historical soil carbon losses in Swiss peatlands. Landscape Ecol 35, 173–187 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-019-00941-5

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