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Carbon and climate implications of rewetting a raised bog in Ireland

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Download Global Change Biology - 2022 - Wilson - Carbon and climate implications of rewetting a raised bog in Ireland.pdf10.53 MB
Author(s)
Wilson, David 
Mackin, Francis 
Tuovinen, Juha-Pekka 
Moser, Gerald 
Farrell, Catherine A. 
Renou-Wilson, Florence 
Uri
http://hdl.handle.net/10197/13210
Date Issued
November 2022
Date Available
20T15:01:12Z October 2022
Abstract
Peatland rewetting has been proposed as a vital climate change mitigation tool to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to generate suitable conditions for the return of carbon (C) sequestration. In this study, we present annual C balances for a 5-year period at a rewetted peatland in Ireland (rewetted at the start of the study) and compare the results with an adjacent drained area (represents business-as-usual). Hydrological modelling of the 230-hectare site was carried out to determine the likely ecotopes (vegetation communities) that will develop post-rewetting and was used to inform a radiative forcing modelling exercise to determine the climate impacts of rewetting this peatland under five high-priority scenarios (SSP1-1.9, SS1-2.6, SSP2-4.5, SSP3-7.0 and SSP5-8.5). The drained area (marginal ecotope) was a net C source throughout the study and emitted 157 ± 25.5 g C m−2 year−1. In contrast, the rewetted area (sub-central ecotope) was a net C sink of 78.0 ± 37.6 g C m−2 year−1, despite relatively large annual methane emissions post-rewetting (average 19.3 ± 5.2 g C m−2 year−1). Hydrological modelling predicted the development of three key ecotopes at the site, with the sub-central ecotope predicted to cover 24% of the site, the sub-marginal predicted to cover 59% and the marginal predicted to cover 16%. Using these areal estimates, our radiative forcing modelling projects that under the SSP1-1.9 scenario, the site will have a warming effect on the climate until 2085 but will then have a strong cooling impact. In contrast, our modelling exercise shows that the site will never have a cooling impact under the SSP5-8.5 scenario. Our results confirm the importance of rapid rewetting of drained peatland sites to (a) achieve strong C emissions reductions, (b) establish optimal conditions for C sequestration and (c) set the site on a climate cooling trajectory.
Sponsorship
Environmental Protection Agency
Other Sponsorship
Bord na Móna
Academy of Finland
Open access funding provided by IReL
Type of Material
Journal Article
Publisher
Wiley
Journal
Global Change Biology
Volume
28
Issue
21
Start Page
6349
End Page
6365
Copyright (Published Version)
2022 The Authors
Keywords
  • Carbon dioxide

  • Climate mitigation

  • Methane

  • Peat

  • Radiative forcing

  • Rewetting

DOI
10.1111/gcb.16359
Language
English
Status of Item
Peer reviewed
ISSN
1354-1013
This item is made available under a Creative Commons License
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/ie/
Owning collection
Biology & Environmental Science Research Collection
Scopus© citations
1
Acquisition Date
Mar 29, 2023
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Views
125
Acquisition Date
Mar 30, 2023
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Downloads
102
Last Week
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Acquisition Date
Mar 30, 2023
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