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  • Atmospheric nitrogen deposition promotes carbon loss from peat bogs

    Author(s)
    Bragazza, Luca
    Freeman, Chris
    Jones, Timothy
    Rydin, Håkan
    Limpens, Juul
    Fenner, Nathalie
    Ellis, Tim
    Gerdol, Renato
    Hájek, Michal
    Hájek, Tomáš
    Iacumin, Paola
    Kutnar, Lado
    Tahvanainen, Teemu
    Toberman, Hannah
    Griffith University Author(s)
    Toberman, Hannah
    Year published
    2006
    Metadata
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    Abstract
    Peat bogs have historically represented exceptional carbon (C) sinks because of their extremely low decomposition rates and consequent accumulation of plant remnants as peat. Among the factors favoring that peat accumulation, a major role is played by the chemical quality of plant litter itself, which is poor in nutrients and characterized by polyphenols with a strong inhibitory effect on microbial breakdown. Because bogs receive their nutrient supply solely from atmospheric deposition, the global increase of atmospheric nitrogen (N) inputs as a consequence of human activities could potentially alter the litter chemistry ...
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    Peat bogs have historically represented exceptional carbon (C) sinks because of their extremely low decomposition rates and consequent accumulation of plant remnants as peat. Among the factors favoring that peat accumulation, a major role is played by the chemical quality of plant litter itself, which is poor in nutrients and characterized by polyphenols with a strong inhibitory effect on microbial breakdown. Because bogs receive their nutrient supply solely from atmospheric deposition, the global increase of atmospheric nitrogen (N) inputs as a consequence of human activities could potentially alter the litter chemistry with important, but still unknown, effects on their C balance. Here we present data showing the decomposition rates of recently formed litter peat samples collected in nine European countries under a natural gradient of atmospheric N deposition from 0.2 to 2 gm-2yr-1. We found that enhanced decomposition rates for material accumulated under higher atmospheric N supplies resulted in higher carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and dissolved organic carbon release. The increased N availability favored microbial decomposition (i) by removing N constraints on microbial metabolism and (ii) through a chemical amelioration of litter peat quality with a positive feedback on microbial enzymatic activity. Although some uncertainty remains about whether decay-resistant Sphagnum will continue to dominate litter peat, our data indicate that, even without such changes, increased N deposition poses a serious risk to our valuable peatland C sinks.
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    Journal Title
    Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
    Volume
    103
    Issue
    51
    DOI
    https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0606629104
    Subject
    Soil Biology
    Publication URI
    http://hdl.handle.net/10072/59065
    Collection
    • Journal articles

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