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Potential Carbon Mineralization of Permafrost Peatlands in Great Hing’an Mountains, China

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Abstract

Peatlands play a significant role in global carbon (C) cycles. Through incubation experiments of peat samples selected in the discontinuous permafrost zone of the Great Hing’an Mountains, we studied the effects of temperature and moisture on potential CO2 emission. Rates of C mineralization decreased with soil depth, increased with temperature, and reached the highest rates at 60% WHC (water holding capacity) at the same temperature. Total C mineralization ranged from 10.3 to 95.0 mg under the treatments for 40 d incubation and was significantly affected by soil temperature and moisture (P < 0.001). Calculated Q 10 values ranged from 2.1 to 2.7, and the average values could be used for multiple regression functions. We successfully predicted C mineralization as a function of incubation time, temperature, and moisture (P < 0.001) and estimated the peat C mineralization under future climate scenarios. The results indicated that C mineralization of peatlands would be accelerated under warming temperature. The peatlands in our study area would be a potential CO2 source to the atmosphere with future climatic changes.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Mr. Zhenling Gao for assistance in field work, and Ms. Zhou and Professor Wang for assistance with the incubation experiment at Northeast Normal University. This study was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 40671013 and 40871245).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang, 110016, China

    Xianwei Wang, Xiuzhen Li, Yuanman Hu, Jiujun Lü, Ju Sun, Zongmei Li & Hong Shi He

  2. Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroeclogy, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, 130012, China

    Xianwei Wang

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  1. Xianwei Wang
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  2. Xiuzhen Li
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  3. Yuanman Hu
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  4. Jiujun Lü
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Correspondence to Xiuzhen Li.

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Wang, X., Li, X., Hu, Y. et al. Potential Carbon Mineralization of Permafrost Peatlands in Great Hing’an Mountains, China. Wetlands 30, 747–756 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13157-010-0075-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13157-010-0075-1

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