Articles | Volume 22, issue 11
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-2667-2025
© Author(s) 2025. 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-22-2667-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
13 Jun 2025
Research article |
| 13 Jun 2025
| 13 Jun 2025
From the top: surface-derived carbon fuels greenhouse gas production at depth in a peatland
Alexandra Hedgpeth
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Geography Department, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 94143, USA
Center for Accelerator Mass Spectrometry, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA 94550, USA
Alison M. Hoyt
Department of Earth System Science, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
Kyle C. Cavanaugh
Geography Department, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 94143, USA
Karis J. McFarlane
Center for Accelerator Mass Spectrometry, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA 94550, USA
Daniela F. Cusack
Geography Department, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 94143, USA
Department of Ecosystem Science & Sustainability, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, 0843-03092, Ancon, Panama, Republic of Panama
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Short summary
Tropical peatlands store ancient carbon and have been identified as both being vulnerable to future climate change and taking a long time to recover after a disturbance. It is unknown if these gases are produced from decomposition of 1000-year-old peat. Radiocarbon dating shows emitted gases are young, indicating that surface carbon (rather than old peat) drives emissions. Preserving these ecosystems can trap old carbon, mitigating climate change.
Tropical peatlands store ancient carbon and have been identified as both being vulnerable to...
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