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Carbon fluxes of alpine peatlands were jointly affected by water table level changes and the duration

  • Soils, Sec 1 • Soil Organic Matter Dynamics and Nutrient Cycling • Research Article
  • Published:
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Abstract

Purpose

Alpine peatlands are vital carbon pools and highly sensitive region. Water table level (WTL) changes caused by climate change and human activities may influence carbon fluxes. However, the impacts of WTL changes and the duration (DR) on carbon fluxes are still unclear.

Methods

In this study, we conducted a six water table level mesocosm controlled experiment and observed carbon fluxes, including net ecosystem productivity (NEP), ecosystem respiration (ER), gross ecosystem productivity (GEP), and CH4 fluxes for two consecutive years. Mixed effect model was performed to analyze the impacts of WTL changes and DR on carbon fluxes in alpine peatlands. Correlation analysis was used to analyze the relationship between carbon fluxes and environmental factors.

Results

Both WTL and DR significantly affected CO2 fluxes. WTL had significant negative effects on ER (P < 0.01), NEP (P < 0.001), and GEP (P < 0.01). On the other hand, DR had significant positive effects on ER (P < 0.001), NEP (P < 0.05), and GEP (P < 0.001). In addition, WTL had a greater effect on CO2 fluxes than DR. CH4 fluxes significantly increased with increasing WTL (P < 0.001). Furthermore, the relationship between environmental factors and carbon fluxes varied with WTL.

Conclusion

WTL and DR jointly influenced carbon fluxes of alpine peatlands in Zoige Plateau. Therefore, both factors should be taken into account when carrying out peatlands protection and restoration efforts.

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Data availability

All datasets generated for this study are included in the article/supplementary material.

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Funding

This research was funded by National Nonprofit Institute Research Grant (CAFYBB2019QB009, CAFYBB2022QA003, CAFYBB2022SZ002) and National Natural Science Foundation of China (41701113, 32171597, 32171598).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Wetland Research Center, Institute of Ecological Conservation and Restoration, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Haidian District, No. 2 Dong Xiaofu, Beijing, 100091, China

    Liang Yan, Yong Li, Xiaodong Zhang, Zhongqing Yan, Kerou Zhang, Meng Li, Ao Yang, Xiaodong Wang, Xiaoshun Yu & Xiaoming Kang

  2. Sichuan Zoige Wetland Ecosystem Research Station, Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Aba, Sichuan, China

    Liang Yan, Yong Li, Xiaodong Zhang, Zhongqing Yan, Kerou Zhang, Meng Li, Ao Yang, Xiaodong Wang, Xiaoshun Yu & Xiaoming Kang

  3. Beijing Key Laboratory of Wetland Services and Restoration, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Haidian District, No. 2 Dong Xiaofu, Beijing, 100091, China

    Liang Yan, Yong Li, Xiaodong Zhang, Zhongqing Yan, Kerou Zhang, Meng Li, Ao Yang, Xiaodong Wang, Xiaoshun Yu & Xiaoming Kang

  4. Information Center, Ministry of Ecology and Environment of the People’s Republic of China, Beijing, China

    Haidong Wu

  5. Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China

    Enze Kang

  6. University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China

    Enze Kang

  7. College of Life Sciences, University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China

    Yuechuan Niu

Authors
  1. Liang Yan
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Liang Yan, Yong Li, and Xiaoming Kang conceived and designed the experiments; Xiaodong Zhang and Haidong Wu performed the experiments; Enze Kang, Yuechuan Niu, and Ao Yang analyzed the data; Liang Yan and Xiaoming Kang wrote the paper; Zhongqing Yan, Kerou Zhang, Meng Li, Xiaodong Wang, and Xiaoshun Yu revised the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Xiaoming Kang.

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Yan, L., Li, Y., Zhang, X. et al. Carbon fluxes of alpine peatlands were jointly affected by water table level changes and the duration. J Soils Sediments 23, 3776–3786 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-023-03579-8

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