Articles | Volume 23, issue 17
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-23-6037-2026
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-23-6037-2026
Research article
 | 
03 Sep 2026
Research article |  | 03 Sep 2026

Ecosystem respiration during snowmelt and soil thaw leads to a rare annual CO2 net loss in a boreal fen

Karoliina Särkelä, Timo Vesala, Torben R. Christensen, Juval Cohen, Angelika Kübert, Xuefei Li, Hannu Marttila, Jouni Pulliainen, Eeva-Stiina Tuittila, and Efrén López-Blanco

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Cited articles

Alekseychik, P., Peltola, O., Li, X., Aurela, M., Hatakka, J., Pihlatie, M., Rinne, J., Haapanala, S., Laakso, H., Taipale, R., Matilainen, T., Salminen, T., Levula, J., Ke, P., and Kolari, P.: SMEAR II Siikaneva 1 wetland eddy covariance (Version 3), University of Helsinki, Institute for Atmospheric and Earth System Research [data set], https://doi.org/10.23729/a3c8d0fe-2a69-4aa9-acbd-5da569fd264e, 2024a. 
Alekseychik, P., Kolari, P., Rinne, J., Haapanala, S., Laakso, H., Taipale, R., Matilainen, T., Salminen, T., Levula, J., and Tuittila, E.: SMEAR II Siikaneva 1 wetland meteorology and soil (Version 4), University of Helsinki, Institute for Atmospheric and Earth System Research [data set], https://doi.org/10.23729/0766621e-99bf-42f2-ad55-889cdb08b66a, 2024b. 
AMAP: Arctic Climate Change Update 2021: Key Trends and Impacts, Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP), Tromsø, Norway, viii, 148 pp., ISBN 978-82-7971-201-5, 2021. 
Arndt, K. A., Lipson, D. A., Hashemi, J., Oechel, W. C., and Zona, D.: Snow melt stimulates ecosystem respiration in Arctic ecosystems, Glob. Change Biol., 26, 5042–5051, https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.15193, 2020. 
Arndt, K. A., Hashemi, J., Natali, S. M., Schiferl, L. D., and Virkkala, A.-M.: Recent Advances and Challenges in Monitoring and Modeling Non-Growing Season Carbon Dioxide Fluxes from the Arctic Boreal Zone, Curr. Clim. Change Rep., 9, 27–40, https://doi.org/10.1007/s40641-023-00190-4, 2023. 
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Short summary
Using a 17-year record of year-round peatland carbon exchange, we found that over half of the carbon sequestrated during summer was released during winter. In one year, CO₂ emissions during snow melt and soil thaw in spring were large enough to shift the peatland from a net carbon sink to a source. These findings demonstrate that winter and early-spring processes have a strong impact over the annual carbon balance of northern peatlands.
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