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Carbon stocks and carbon fluxes from a 10‐year prescribed burning chronosequence on a UK blanket peat
Author(s) -
Clay G. D.,
Worrall F.,
Aebischer N. J.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
soil use and management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.709
H-Index - 81
eISSN - 1475-2743
pISSN - 0266-0032
DOI - 10.1111/sum.12164
Subject(s) - chronosequence , peat , carbon sink , environmental science , carbon fibers , soil carbon , ecosystem respiration , ecosystem , greenhouse gas , carbon cycle , prescribed burn , soil water , hydrology (agriculture) , ecology , primary production , soil science , geology , biology , materials science , geotechnical engineering , composite number , composite material
Prescribed burning is a common land management technique in many areas of the UK uplands. However, concern has been expressed at the impact of this management practice on carbon stocks and fluxes found in the carbon‐rich peat soils that underlie many of these areas. This study measured both carbon stocks and carbon fluxes from a chronosequence of prescribed burn sites in northern England. A range of carbon parameters were measured including above ground biomass and carbon stocks; net ecosystem exchange ( NEE ), net ecosystem respiration (R eco ) and photosynthesis (P g ) from closed chamber methods; and particulate organic carbon ( POC ). Analysis of the CO 2 data showed that burning was a significant factor in measured CO 2 readings but that other factors such as month of sampling explained a greater proportion of the variation in the data. Carbon budget results showed that whereas all the plots were net sources of carbon, the most recent burn scars were smaller sources of carbon compared with the older burn scars, suggesting that burning of Calluna ‐dominated landscapes leads to an ‘avoided loss’ of carbon. However, this management intervention did not lead to a transition to a carbon sink and that for carbon purposes, active peat‐forming conditions are desirable.