Articles | Volume 21, issue 21
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-4723-2024
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-4723-2024
Research article
 | 
01 Nov 2024
Research article |  | 01 Nov 2024

Carbon degradation and mobilisation potentials of thawing permafrost peatlands in northern Norway inferred from laboratory incubations

Sigrid Trier Kjær, Sebastian Westermann, Nora Nedkvitne, and Peter Dörsch

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Cited articles

Åkerman, H. J. and Johansson, M.: Thawing permafrost and thicker active layers in sub-arctic Sweden, Permafrost Periglac., 19, 279–292, https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp.626, 2008. 
Alewell, C., Giesler, R., Klaminder, J., Leifeld, J., and Rollog, M.: Stable carbon isotopes as indicators for environmental change in palsa peats, Biogeosciences, 8, 1769–1778, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-8-1769-2011, 2011. 
Appelo C. A. J. and Postma, D.: Geochemistry, groundwater and pollution, A. A. Balkema/Rotterdam, 536 pp., ISBN 90 5410 105 9, 1993. 
Borge, A. F., Westermann, S., Solheim, I., and Etzelmüller, B.: Strong degradation of palsas and peat plateaus in northern Norway during the last 60 years, The Cryosphere, 11, 1–16, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-1-2017, 2017. 
Chen, Y., Liu, F., Kang, L., Zhang, D., Kou, D., Mao, C., Qin, S., Zhang, Q., and Yang, Y.: Large-scale evidence for microbial response and associated carbon release after permafrost thaw, Glob. Change Biol., 27, 3218–3229, https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.15487, 2020. 
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Short summary
Permafrost peatlands are thawing due to climate change, releasing large quantities of carbon that degrades upon thawing and is released as CO2, CH4 or dissolved organic carbon (DOC). We incubated thawed Norwegian permafrost peat plateaus and thermokarst pond sediment found next to permafrost for up to 350 d to measure carbon loss. CO2 production was initially the highest, whereas CH4 production increased over time. The largest carbon loss was measured at the top of the peat plateau core as DOC.
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