High emissions of greenhouse gases from grasslands on peat and other organic soils

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleResearchpeer review

Authors

  • Bärbel Tiemeyer
  • Elisa Albiac Borraz
  • Jürgen Augustin
  • Michel Bechtold
  • Sascha Beetz
  • Colja Beyer
  • Matthias Drösler
  • Martin Ebli
  • Tim Eickenscheidt
  • Sabine Fiedler
  • Christoph Förster
  • Annette Freibauer
  • Michael Giebels
  • Stephan Glatzel
  • Jan Heinichen
  • Mathias Hoffmann
  • Heinrich Höper
  • Gerald Jurasinski
  • Katharina Leiber-Sauheitl
  • Mandy Peichl-Brak
  • Niko Roßkopf
  • Michael Sommer
  • Jutta Zeitz

External Research Organisations

  • Johann Heinrich von Thünen Institute, Federal Research Institute for Rural Areas, Forestry and Fisheries
  • Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF)
  • University of Rostock
  • State Authority for Mining, Energy and Geology (LBEG)
  • University of Applied Sciences Weihenstephan-Triesdorf
  • Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz
  • Technical University of Munich (TUM)
  • University of Hohenheim
  • Meo Carbon Solutions GmbH
  • University of Vienna
  • Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (HU Berlin)
  • Landesamt für Bergbau, Geologie und Rohstoffe Brandenburg (LBGR)
View graph of relations

Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)4134-4149
Number of pages16
JournalGlobal change biology
Volume22
Issue number12
Early online date14 Nov 2016
Publication statusPublished - Dec 2016
Externally publishedYes

Abstract

Drainage has turned peatlands from a carbon sink into one of the world's largest greenhouse gas (GHG) sources from cultivated soils. We analyzed a unique data set (12 peatlands, 48 sites and 122 annual budgets) of mainly unpublished GHG emissions from grasslands on bog and fen peat as well as other soils rich in soil organic carbon (SOC) in Germany. Emissions and environmental variables were measured with identical methods. Site-averaged GHG budgets were surprisingly variable (29.2 ± 17.4 t CO2-eq. ha−1 yr−1) and partially higher than all published data and the IPCC default emission factors for GHG inventories. Generally, CO2 (27.7 ± 17.3 t CO2 ha−1 yr−1) dominated the GHG budget. Nitrous oxide (2.3 ± 2.4 kg N2O-N ha−1 yr−1) and methane emissions (30.8 ± 69.8 kg CH4-C ha−1 yr−1) were lower than expected except for CH4 emissions from nutrient-poor acidic sites. At single peatlands, CO2 emissions clearly increased with deeper mean water table depth (WTD), but there was no general dependency of CO2 on WTD for the complete data set. Thus, regionalization of CO2 emissions by WTD only will remain uncertain. WTD dynamics explained some of the differences between peatlands as sites which became very dry during summer showed lower emissions. We introduced the aerated nitrogen stock (Nair) as a variable combining soil nitrogen stocks with WTD. CO2 increased with Nair across peatlands. Soils with comparatively low SOC concentrations showed as high CO2 emissions as true peat soils because Nair was similar. N2O emissions were controlled by the WTD dynamics and the nitrogen content of the topsoil. CH4 emissions can be well described by WTD and ponding duration during summer. Our results can help both to improve GHG emission reporting and to prioritize and plan emission reduction measures for peat and similar soils at different scales.

Keywords

    carbon dioxide, grassland management, Kyoto Protocol, methane, nitrous oxide, water table depth

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Sustainable Development Goals

Cite this

High emissions of greenhouse gases from grasslands on peat and other organic soils. / Tiemeyer, Bärbel; Albiac Borraz, Elisa; Augustin, Jürgen et al.
In: Global change biology, Vol. 22, No. 12, 12.2016, p. 4134-4149.

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleResearchpeer review

Tiemeyer, B, Albiac Borraz, E, Augustin, J, Bechtold, M, Beetz, S, Beyer, C, Drösler, M, Ebli, M, Eickenscheidt, T, Fiedler, S, Förster, C, Freibauer, A, Giebels, M, Glatzel, S, Heinichen, J, Hoffmann, M, Höper, H, Jurasinski, G, Leiber-Sauheitl, K, Peichl-Brak, M, Roßkopf, N, Sommer, M & Zeitz, J 2016, 'High emissions of greenhouse gases from grasslands on peat and other organic soils', Global change biology, vol. 22, no. 12, pp. 4134-4149. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.13303
Tiemeyer, B., Albiac Borraz, E., Augustin, J., Bechtold, M., Beetz, S., Beyer, C., Drösler, M., Ebli, M., Eickenscheidt, T., Fiedler, S., Förster, C., Freibauer, A., Giebels, M., Glatzel, S., Heinichen, J., Hoffmann, M., Höper, H., Jurasinski, G., Leiber-Sauheitl, K., ... Zeitz, J. (2016). High emissions of greenhouse gases from grasslands on peat and other organic soils. Global change biology, 22(12), 4134-4149. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.13303
Tiemeyer B, Albiac Borraz E, Augustin J, Bechtold M, Beetz S, Beyer C et al. High emissions of greenhouse gases from grasslands on peat and other organic soils. Global change biology. 2016 Dec;22(12):4134-4149. Epub 2016 Nov 14. doi: 10.1111/gcb.13303
Tiemeyer, Bärbel ; Albiac Borraz, Elisa ; Augustin, Jürgen et al. / High emissions of greenhouse gases from grasslands on peat and other organic soils. In: Global change biology. 2016 ; Vol. 22, No. 12. pp. 4134-4149.
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title = "High emissions of greenhouse gases from grasslands on peat and other organic soils",
abstract = "Drainage has turned peatlands from a carbon sink into one of the world's largest greenhouse gas (GHG) sources from cultivated soils. We analyzed a unique data set (12 peatlands, 48 sites and 122 annual budgets) of mainly unpublished GHG emissions from grasslands on bog and fen peat as well as other soils rich in soil organic carbon (SOC) in Germany. Emissions and environmental variables were measured with identical methods. Site-averaged GHG budgets were surprisingly variable (29.2 ± 17.4 t CO2-eq. ha−1 yr−1) and partially higher than all published data and the IPCC default emission factors for GHG inventories. Generally, CO2 (27.7 ± 17.3 t CO2 ha−1 yr−1) dominated the GHG budget. Nitrous oxide (2.3 ± 2.4 kg N2O-N ha−1 yr−1) and methane emissions (30.8 ± 69.8 kg CH4-C ha−1 yr−1) were lower than expected except for CH4 emissions from nutrient-poor acidic sites. At single peatlands, CO2 emissions clearly increased with deeper mean water table depth (WTD), but there was no general dependency of CO2 on WTD for the complete data set. Thus, regionalization of CO2 emissions by WTD only will remain uncertain. WTD dynamics explained some of the differences between peatlands as sites which became very dry during summer showed lower emissions. We introduced the aerated nitrogen stock (Nair) as a variable combining soil nitrogen stocks with WTD. CO2 increased with Nair across peatlands. Soils with comparatively low SOC concentrations showed as high CO2 emissions as true peat soils because Nair was similar. N2O emissions were controlled by the WTD dynamics and the nitrogen content of the topsoil. CH4 emissions can be well described by WTD and ponding duration during summer. Our results can help both to improve GHG emission reporting and to prioritize and plan emission reduction measures for peat and similar soils at different scales.",
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TY - JOUR

T1 - High emissions of greenhouse gases from grasslands on peat and other organic soils

AU - Tiemeyer, Bärbel

AU - Albiac Borraz, Elisa

AU - Augustin, Jürgen

AU - Bechtold, Michel

AU - Beetz, Sascha

AU - Beyer, Colja

AU - Drösler, Matthias

AU - Ebli, Martin

AU - Eickenscheidt, Tim

AU - Fiedler, Sabine

AU - Förster, Christoph

AU - Freibauer, Annette

AU - Giebels, Michael

AU - Glatzel, Stephan

AU - Heinichen, Jan

AU - Hoffmann, Mathias

AU - Höper, Heinrich

AU - Jurasinski, Gerald

AU - Leiber-Sauheitl, Katharina

AU - Peichl-Brak, Mandy

AU - Roßkopf, Niko

AU - Sommer, Michael

AU - Zeitz, Jutta

N1 - Funding information: The projects ‘Climate protection by peatland protection’ and ‘Organic soils in the emission reporting’ were funded by the German Ministry of Education (BMBF, Grant No. 01LS05046, 01LS05048, 01LS05051 and 01LS05049) and the Thünen-Institute, respectively. Parts of the measurements in Graben-Neudorf were funded by the Federal State Baden-Württemberg (EmMo, Grant No. BWM11005). Herman Jungkunst provided CH

PY - 2016/12

Y1 - 2016/12

N2 - Drainage has turned peatlands from a carbon sink into one of the world's largest greenhouse gas (GHG) sources from cultivated soils. We analyzed a unique data set (12 peatlands, 48 sites and 122 annual budgets) of mainly unpublished GHG emissions from grasslands on bog and fen peat as well as other soils rich in soil organic carbon (SOC) in Germany. Emissions and environmental variables were measured with identical methods. Site-averaged GHG budgets were surprisingly variable (29.2 ± 17.4 t CO2-eq. ha−1 yr−1) and partially higher than all published data and the IPCC default emission factors for GHG inventories. Generally, CO2 (27.7 ± 17.3 t CO2 ha−1 yr−1) dominated the GHG budget. Nitrous oxide (2.3 ± 2.4 kg N2O-N ha−1 yr−1) and methane emissions (30.8 ± 69.8 kg CH4-C ha−1 yr−1) were lower than expected except for CH4 emissions from nutrient-poor acidic sites. At single peatlands, CO2 emissions clearly increased with deeper mean water table depth (WTD), but there was no general dependency of CO2 on WTD for the complete data set. Thus, regionalization of CO2 emissions by WTD only will remain uncertain. WTD dynamics explained some of the differences between peatlands as sites which became very dry during summer showed lower emissions. We introduced the aerated nitrogen stock (Nair) as a variable combining soil nitrogen stocks with WTD. CO2 increased with Nair across peatlands. Soils with comparatively low SOC concentrations showed as high CO2 emissions as true peat soils because Nair was similar. N2O emissions were controlled by the WTD dynamics and the nitrogen content of the topsoil. CH4 emissions can be well described by WTD and ponding duration during summer. Our results can help both to improve GHG emission reporting and to prioritize and plan emission reduction measures for peat and similar soils at different scales.

AB - Drainage has turned peatlands from a carbon sink into one of the world's largest greenhouse gas (GHG) sources from cultivated soils. We analyzed a unique data set (12 peatlands, 48 sites and 122 annual budgets) of mainly unpublished GHG emissions from grasslands on bog and fen peat as well as other soils rich in soil organic carbon (SOC) in Germany. Emissions and environmental variables were measured with identical methods. Site-averaged GHG budgets were surprisingly variable (29.2 ± 17.4 t CO2-eq. ha−1 yr−1) and partially higher than all published data and the IPCC default emission factors for GHG inventories. Generally, CO2 (27.7 ± 17.3 t CO2 ha−1 yr−1) dominated the GHG budget. Nitrous oxide (2.3 ± 2.4 kg N2O-N ha−1 yr−1) and methane emissions (30.8 ± 69.8 kg CH4-C ha−1 yr−1) were lower than expected except for CH4 emissions from nutrient-poor acidic sites. At single peatlands, CO2 emissions clearly increased with deeper mean water table depth (WTD), but there was no general dependency of CO2 on WTD for the complete data set. Thus, regionalization of CO2 emissions by WTD only will remain uncertain. WTD dynamics explained some of the differences between peatlands as sites which became very dry during summer showed lower emissions. We introduced the aerated nitrogen stock (Nair) as a variable combining soil nitrogen stocks with WTD. CO2 increased with Nair across peatlands. Soils with comparatively low SOC concentrations showed as high CO2 emissions as true peat soils because Nair was similar. N2O emissions were controlled by the WTD dynamics and the nitrogen content of the topsoil. CH4 emissions can be well described by WTD and ponding duration during summer. Our results can help both to improve GHG emission reporting and to prioritize and plan emission reduction measures for peat and similar soils at different scales.

KW - carbon dioxide

KW - grassland management

KW - Kyoto Protocol

KW - methane

KW - nitrous oxide

KW - water table depth

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DO - 10.1111/gcb.13303

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VL - 22

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JO - Global change biology

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