Articles | Volume 19, issue 2
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-313-2022
© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-313-2022
© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
19 Jan 2022
Research article |
| 19 Jan 2022
| 19 Jan 2022
Net soil carbon balance in afforested peatlands and separating autotrophic and heterotrophic soil CO2 effluxes
Renée Hermans
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of
Stirling, Stirling, UK
IUCN UK Peatland Programme, Edinburgh, UK
Rebecca McKenzie
Environmental Research Institute, University of the Highlands and
Islands, Thurso, UK
Geography Department, Loughborough University, Loughborough, UK
Roxane Andersen
Environmental Research Institute, University of the Highlands and
Islands, Thurso, UK
Yit Arn Teh
School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University,
Newcastle, UK
Neil Cowie
Centre for Conservation Science, Royal Society for the Protection of
Birds Scotland, Edinburgh, UK
Jens-Arne Subke
Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of
Stirling, Stirling, UK
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Cited
18 citations as recorded by crossref.
- Root exclusion methods for partitioning of soil respiration: Review and methodological considerations M. CHIN et al. 10.1016/j.pedsph.2023.01.015
- Organic soil greenhouse gas flux rates in hemiboreal old-growth Scots pine forests at different groundwater levels V. Samariks et al. 10.1007/s10342-024-01690-0
- Evaluation of long-term carbon dynamics in a drained forested peatland using the ForSAFE-Peat model D. Escobar et al. 10.5194/bg-22-2023-2025
- IMPACT OF LULUCF ACCOUNTING RULES FOR CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION GOALS: WINNING OR LOSING? V. Kazanavičiūtė & R. Dagiliūtė 10.3846/jeelm.2023.19466
- Addressing critiques refines global estimates of reforestation potential for climate change mitigation K. Fesenmyer et al. 10.1038/s41467-025-59799-8
- Spatial Heterogeneity of Soil Respiration and Its Relationship with the Spatial Distribution of the Forest Ecosystem at the Fine Scale Z. Chen et al. 10.3390/f16040678
- Temporal Variation and Hysteresis of Soil Respiration and Sap Flow of Pinus densiflora in a Cool Temperate Forest, Japan M. Adachi et al. 10.3390/f13111833
- GHG Emissions from Drainage Ditches in Peat Extraction Sites and Peatland Forests in Hemiboreal Latvia M. Vanags-Duka et al. 10.3390/land11122233
- Reviews and syntheses: Greenhouse gas emissions from drained organic forest soils – synthesizing data for site-specific emission factors for boreal and cool temperate regions J. Jauhiainen et al. 10.5194/bg-20-4819-2023
- Soil trenching – are microbial communities alike in experimental peatland plots measuring total and heterotrophic respiration? H. Fritze et al. 10.1016/j.soilbio.2025.109747
- Active afforestation of drained peatlands is not a viable option under the EU Nature Restoration Law G. Jurasinski et al. 10.1007/s13280-024-02016-5
- Peat loss collocates with a threshold in plant–mycorrhizal associations in drained peatlands encroached by trees C. Defrenne et al. 10.1111/nph.18954
- Dynamics of fine-root decomposition and its response to site nutrient regimes in boreal drained-peatland and mineral-soil forests W. He et al. 10.1016/j.foreco.2025.122564
- Potential for large losses of carbon from non-native conifer plantations on deep peat over decadal timescales T. Sloan et al. 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.175964
- Unveiling water table tipping points in peatland ecosystems: Implications for ecological restoration M. Albert-Saiz et al. 10.1016/j.catena.2025.109149
- Pyrogenic organic matter decreases while fresh organic matter increases soil heterotrophic respiration through modifying microbial activity in a subtropical forest J. Zhou et al. 10.1007/s00374-024-01815-y
- Assessing the Potential of using Sentinel-1 and 2 or high-resolution aerial imagery data with Machine Learning and Data Science Techniques to Model Peatland Restoration Progress – a Northern Scotland case study J. Ball et al. 10.1080/01431161.2023.2209916
- The impact of fast-growing eucalypt plantations on C emissions in tropical soil: effect of belowground and aboveground C inputs R. da Silva Teixeira et al. 10.1007/s10661-023-12253-y
18 citations as recorded by crossref.
- Root exclusion methods for partitioning of soil respiration: Review and methodological considerations M. CHIN et al. 10.1016/j.pedsph.2023.01.015
- Organic soil greenhouse gas flux rates in hemiboreal old-growth Scots pine forests at different groundwater levels V. Samariks et al. 10.1007/s10342-024-01690-0
- Evaluation of long-term carbon dynamics in a drained forested peatland using the ForSAFE-Peat model D. Escobar et al. 10.5194/bg-22-2023-2025
- IMPACT OF LULUCF ACCOUNTING RULES FOR CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION GOALS: WINNING OR LOSING? V. Kazanavičiūtė & R. Dagiliūtė 10.3846/jeelm.2023.19466
- Addressing critiques refines global estimates of reforestation potential for climate change mitigation K. Fesenmyer et al. 10.1038/s41467-025-59799-8
- Spatial Heterogeneity of Soil Respiration and Its Relationship with the Spatial Distribution of the Forest Ecosystem at the Fine Scale Z. Chen et al. 10.3390/f16040678
- Temporal Variation and Hysteresis of Soil Respiration and Sap Flow of Pinus densiflora in a Cool Temperate Forest, Japan M. Adachi et al. 10.3390/f13111833
- GHG Emissions from Drainage Ditches in Peat Extraction Sites and Peatland Forests in Hemiboreal Latvia M. Vanags-Duka et al. 10.3390/land11122233
- Reviews and syntheses: Greenhouse gas emissions from drained organic forest soils – synthesizing data for site-specific emission factors for boreal and cool temperate regions J. Jauhiainen et al. 10.5194/bg-20-4819-2023
- Soil trenching – are microbial communities alike in experimental peatland plots measuring total and heterotrophic respiration? H. Fritze et al. 10.1016/j.soilbio.2025.109747
- Active afforestation of drained peatlands is not a viable option under the EU Nature Restoration Law G. Jurasinski et al. 10.1007/s13280-024-02016-5
- Peat loss collocates with a threshold in plant–mycorrhizal associations in drained peatlands encroached by trees C. Defrenne et al. 10.1111/nph.18954
- Dynamics of fine-root decomposition and its response to site nutrient regimes in boreal drained-peatland and mineral-soil forests W. He et al. 10.1016/j.foreco.2025.122564
- Potential for large losses of carbon from non-native conifer plantations on deep peat over decadal timescales T. Sloan et al. 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.175964
- Unveiling water table tipping points in peatland ecosystems: Implications for ecological restoration M. Albert-Saiz et al. 10.1016/j.catena.2025.109149
- Pyrogenic organic matter decreases while fresh organic matter increases soil heterotrophic respiration through modifying microbial activity in a subtropical forest J. Zhou et al. 10.1007/s00374-024-01815-y
- Assessing the Potential of using Sentinel-1 and 2 or high-resolution aerial imagery data with Machine Learning and Data Science Techniques to Model Peatland Restoration Progress – a Northern Scotland case study J. Ball et al. 10.1080/01431161.2023.2209916
- The impact of fast-growing eucalypt plantations on C emissions in tropical soil: effect of belowground and aboveground C inputs R. da Silva Teixeira et al. 10.1007/s10661-023-12253-y
Latest update: 12 Aug 2025
Short summary
Peatlands are a significant global carbon store, which can be compromised by drainage and afforestation. We measured the peat decomposition under a 30-year-old drained forest plantation: 115 ± 16 g C m−2 yr−1, ca. 40 % of total soil respiration. Considering input of litter from trees, our results indicate that the soils in these 30-year-old drained and afforested peatlands are a net sink for C, since substantially more C enters the soil as organic matter than is decomposed heterotrophically.
Peatlands are a significant global carbon store, which can be compromised by drainage and...
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