Premium
The effective oxidation state of a peatland
Author(s) -
Worrall Fred,
Clay Gareth D.,
Moody Catherine S.,
Burt Tim P.,
Rose Rob
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
journal of geophysical research: biogeosciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2169-8961
pISSN - 2169-8953
DOI - 10.1002/2015jg003182
Subject(s) - peat , ecosystem , environmental chemistry , organic matter , environmental science , biosphere , total organic carbon , particulates , dissolved organic carbon , carbon fibers , soil organic matter , sink (geography) , soil carbon , carbon sink , terrestrial ecosystem , carbon cycle , flux (metallurgy) , ecology , chemistry , soil science , soil water , biology , geography , materials science , cartography , composite number , composite material , organic chemistry
The oxidative ratio (OR) of the organic matter of the terrestrial biosphere is a key parameter in the understanding of the magnitude of the carbon sink represented both by the terrestrial biosphere and by the global oceans. However, no study has considered the oxidation state of all the organic pools and fluxes within one environment. In this study all organic matter pathways (dissolved organic matter, particulate organic matter, CO 2 , and CH 4 ) were measured within an upland peat ecosystem in northern England. The study showed the following: (1) The peat soil of ecosystem was accumulating oxygen at a rate of between −16 and −73 t O km −2 yr −1 ; (2) Although there was no significant variation in oxidation state in the peat profile, there was a significant increase in degree of unsaturation with depth; (3) The dissolved organic matter leaving the ecosystem was significantly more oxidized than the other carbon pools analyzed while the particulate organic matter was not significantly different from the peat soil profile; and (4) Assuming that all carbon flux from the site was as CO 2 , the OR of the ecosystem was 1.07; when the nature and speciation of the release pathways were considered, the ecosystem OR was 1.04. At the global scale, correcting for the speciation of carbon fluxes means that the annual global fluxes of carbon to land = 1.49 ± 0.003 Gt C/yr and to the oceans = 2.01 ± 0.004 Gt C/yr.