Articles | Volume 16, issue 13
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-2651-2019
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-2651-2019
Research article
 | 
09 Jul 2019
Research article |  | 09 Jul 2019

Wildfire overrides hydrological controls on boreal peatland methane emissions

Scott J. Davidson, Christine Van Beest, Richard Petrone, and Maria Strack

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Cited articles

Belyea, L. R. and Clymo, R. S.: Do hollows control the rateof peat bog growth?, in: Patterned mires and mire pools, edited by: Standen, V., Tallis, J. H., and Meade, R., 55–65, British Ecological Society, London, 1998. 
Benscoter, B. W. and Vitt, D. H.: Spatial patterns and temporal trajectories of the bog ground layer along a post-fire chronosequence, Ecosystems, 11, 1054–1064, 2008. 
Benscoter, B. W., Vitt, D. H., and Wieder, R. K.: Association of postfire peat accumulation and microtopography in boreal bogs, Can. J. Forest Res., 35, 2188–2193, 2005. 
Benscoter, B. W., Thompson, D. K., Waddington, J. M., Flannigan, M. D., Wotton, B. M., De Groot, W. J., and Turetsky, M. R.: Interactive effects of vegetation, soil moisture and bulk density on depth of burning of thick organic soils, Int. J. Wildland Fire, 20, 418–429, 2011. 
Benscoter, B. W., Greenacre, D., and Turetsky, M. R.: Wildfire as a key determinant of peatland microtopography, Can. J. Forest Res., 45, 1132–1136, 2015. 
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Short summary
Boreal peatlands represent an important store of carbon and wildfire can have a significant impact on carbon exchange. We assessed the impact of fire on methane (CH4) emissions using both a field and laboratory study. We found that fire switched the typical understanding of peatland CH4 emissions, burned sites having significantly reduced emissions (likely due to reduction in organic matter for CH4 production) and no relationship with water table, unlike at the unburned site.
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