Kimmo Tolonen , Harri Vasander, Antoni H. Damman, R. S. Clymo

Preliminary estimate of long-term carbon accumulation and loss in 25 boreal peatlands

Tolonen K., Vasander H., Damman A. H., Clymo R. S. Preliminary estimate of long-term carbon accumulation and loss in 25 boreal peatlands.

Abstract

The rate of carbon accumulation (RCA) was studied stratigraphically in individual vertical cores representing 25 mires in Finland, Estonia and Maine, USA. Carbon 14-datings (325 in total) were used for dating long cores encompassing all or most of the Holocene. The apparent long-term RCA (g m-2 a-1) in Finnish raised bogs and fens ranged from 13 to 41 and from 8 to 25, respectively, and in Maine bogs from 20 to 26 and in a single fen 27. Between and within core variations were great. In Finnish mires the true RCA, as derived from Clymo's peat accumulation model for long cores, was usually about 2/3 of the apparent long-term RCA. A change from intensive decay in the surface layers to very slow decay in deeper peat layers was dated to between some 300-500 years ago. Key words: Climatic change, organic matter, stratigraphy

Keywords
Climatic change; organic matter; stratigraphy

Received 31 October 2017 Published 1 January 1992

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