Articles | Volume 23, issue 2
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-23-793-2026
© Author(s) 2026. 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-23-793-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
26 Jan 2026
Research article |
| 26 Jan 2026
| 26 Jan 2026
Ecosystem-scale greenhouse gas fluxes from actively extracted peatlands: water table depth drives interannual variability
Department of Geography and Environmental Management, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, N2L 3G1, Canada
Ian B. Strachan
Department of Geography and Planning, Queen's University, Kington, K7L 3N6, Canada
Paul Moore
School of Earth, Environment, and Society, McMaster University, Hamilton, L8S 4K1, Canada
Sara Knox
Department of Geography, McGill University, Montreal, H3A 0G4, Canada
Maria Strack
Department of Geography and Environmental Management, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, N2L 3G1, Canada
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Sarah Schwieger, Jan Dietrich, Mats P. Björkman, Judith M. Sarneel, Bowen Li, Joel White, Inge H. J. Althuizen, Christina Biasi, Robert G. Björk, Hanna Böhner, Brage Bremset Hansen, Michele Carbognani, Giorgio Chiari, Casper T. Christiansen, Elisabeth J. Cooper, Hans Cornelissen, Ludovica D'Imperio, Ellen Dorrepaal, Bo Elberling, Patrick Faubert, Ned Fetcher, T'ai G. W. Forte, Joseph Gaudard, Konstantin Gavazov, Zhen-Huan Guan, Jón Guðmundsson, Siri V. Haugum, Jin-Sheng He, Caitlin Hicks Pries, Mark Hovenden, Simone I. Lang, Gus Jespersen, Ingibjörg S. Jónsdóttir, Ji Young Jung, Olga Khitun, Birgitte Kortegaard Danielsen, Richard Lamprecht, Mathilde Le Moullec, Hanna Lee, Maija E. Marushchak, Anders Michelsen, Tariq Munir, Eero Myrsky, Kevin K. Newsham, Marion Nyberg, Steven F. Oberbauer, Paulo Olivas, Johan Olofsson, Hlynur Óskarsson, Thomas C. Parker, Matteo Petit Bon, Alessandro Petraglia, Emily Pickering Pedersen, Katrine Raundrup, Nynne R. Ravn, Riikka Rinnan, Heidi Rodenhizer, Ingvild Ryde, Alejandro Salazar, Niels M. Schmidt, Ted Schuur, Sofie Sjögersten, Cecilie Skov Nielsen, Sari Stark, Maria Strack, Jianwu Tang, Sylvia Toet, Anne Tolvanen, Maria Väisänen, Richard Van Logtestijn, Vigdis Vandvik, Carolina Voigt, Josefine Walz, Jeffrey M. Welker, Yuanhe Yang, Henni Ylänne, and Sybryn L. Maes
Earth Syst. Sci. Data Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2025-837, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2025-837, 2026
Preprint under review for ESSD
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Arctic and alpine tundra ecosystems are warming rapidly, yet measurements of how they release carbon dioxide to the atmosphere remain scarce. We compiled field measurements of ecosystem respiration from warming experiments across tundra regions worldwide. By combining respiration data with information on climate, vegetation, and soils, this database improves our ability to understand and predict how tundra carbon cycling responds to climate warming and feeds back to the global climate system.
Oluwabamise Lanre Afolabi, Hongxing He, and Maria Strack
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1368, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1368, 2025
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Geoscientific Model Development (GMD).
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Our study completed an uncertainty analysis of a modelling experiment for multi-decade biophysical conditions (e.g., plant processes and hydrology) and carbon (C) flux simulations at a temperate swamp in Southern Ontario, Canada. The adopted uncertainty analysis technique (GLUE) improved the modelling outcomes of our study. Consequently, the findings of this research will help inform decision making on future C flux modelling experiments and peatland C management in temperate swamps.
Tiia Määttä, Ankur Desai, Masahito Ueyama, Rodrigo Vargas, Eric J. Ward, Zhen Zhang, Gil Bohrer, Kyle Delwiche, Etienne Fluet-Chouinard, Järvi Järveoja, Sara Knox, Lulie Melling, Mats B. Nilsson, Matthias Peichl, Angela Che Ing Tang, Eeva-Stiina Tuittila, Jinsong Wang, Sheel Bansal, Sarah Feron, Manuel Helbig, Aino Korrensalo, Ken W. Krauss, Gavin McNicol, Shuli Niu, Zutao Ouyang, Kathleen Savage, Oliver Sonnentag, Robert Jackson, and Avni Malhotra
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-5023, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-5023, 2025
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We compared ecosystem and plot-scale methane fluxes across wetland and upland sites. Ecosystem-scale fluxes were higher than at plot scale, but differences were small. Vapor pressure deficit, atmospheric pressure, turbulence, and wind direction affected the differences. Both scales could be combined for improved methane flux estimates at coarser temporal scales.
Hongxing He, Ian B. Strachan, and Nigel T. Roulet
Biogeosciences, 22, 1355–1368, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-1355-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-1355-2025, 2025
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This study applied the CoupModel to simulate carbon dynamics and ecohydrology for a restored peatland and evaluated the responses of the simulated carbon fluxes to varying acrotelm thickness and climate. The results show that the CoupModel can simulate the coupled carbon and ecohydrology dynamics for the restored peatland system, and the restored peatland has less resilience in its C-uptake functions than pristine peatlands under a changing climate.
Oluwabamise Lanre Afolabi, He Hongxing, and Maria Strack
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-4049, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-4049, 2025
Preprint archived
Short summary
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This modelling study elucidated the multi-decade carbon dynamics of a temperate swamp peatland and the important biotic and abiotic interactions and feedbacks that drive the carbon biogeochemical cycle of this ecosystem which is currently lacking. The carbon balance of the swamp reflected the strong relationship between the swamp’s carbon flux and controlling biotic processes, hydrological and thermal conditions that imprinted on carbon assimilation and losses at different time scales.
Jacob A. Nelson, Sophia Walther, Fabian Gans, Basil Kraft, Ulrich Weber, Kimberly Novick, Nina Buchmann, Mirco Migliavacca, Georg Wohlfahrt, Ladislav Šigut, Andreas Ibrom, Dario Papale, Mathias Göckede, Gregory Duveiller, Alexander Knohl, Lukas Hörtnagl, Russell L. Scott, Jiří Dušek, Weijie Zhang, Zayd Mahmoud Hamdi, Markus Reichstein, Sergio Aranda-Barranco, Jonas Ardö, Maarten Op de Beeck, Dave Billesbach, David Bowling, Rosvel Bracho, Christian Brümmer, Gustau Camps-Valls, Shiping Chen, Jamie Rose Cleverly, Ankur Desai, Gang Dong, Tarek S. El-Madany, Eugenie Susanne Euskirchen, Iris Feigenwinter, Marta Galvagno, Giacomo A. Gerosa, Bert Gielen, Ignacio Goded, Sarah Goslee, Christopher Michael Gough, Bernard Heinesch, Kazuhito Ichii, Marcin Antoni Jackowicz-Korczynski, Anne Klosterhalfen, Sara Knox, Hideki Kobayashi, Kukka-Maaria Kohonen, Mika Korkiakoski, Ivan Mammarella, Mana Gharun, Riccardo Marzuoli, Roser Matamala, Stefan Metzger, Leonardo Montagnani, Giacomo Nicolini, Thomas O'Halloran, Jean-Marc Ourcival, Matthias Peichl, Elise Pendall, Borja Ruiz Reverter, Marilyn Roland, Simone Sabbatini, Torsten Sachs, Marius Schmidt, Christopher R. Schwalm, Ankit Shekhar, Richard Silberstein, Maria Lucia Silveira, Donatella Spano, Torbern Tagesson, Gianluca Tramontana, Carlo Trotta, Fabio Turco, Timo Vesala, Caroline Vincke, Domenico Vitale, Enrique R. Vivoni, Yi Wang, William Woodgate, Enrico A. Yepez, Junhui Zhang, Donatella Zona, and Martin Jung
Biogeosciences, 21, 5079–5115, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-5079-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-5079-2024, 2024
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The movement of water, carbon, and energy from the Earth's surface to the atmosphere, or flux, is an important process to understand because it impacts our lives. Here, we outline a method called FLUXCOM-X to estimate global water and CO2 fluxes based on direct measurements from sites around the world. We go on to demonstrate how these new estimates of net CO2 uptake/loss, gross CO2 uptake, total water evaporation, and transpiration from plants compare to previous and independent estimates.
Laura Clark, Ian B. Strachan, Maria Strack, Nigel T. Roulet, Klaus-Holger Knorr, and Henning Teickner
Biogeosciences, 20, 737–751, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-737-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-737-2023, 2023
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We determine the effect that duration of extraction has on CO2 and CH4 emissions from an actively extracted peatland. Peat fields had high net C emissions in the first years after opening, and these then declined to half the initial value for several decades. Findings contribute to knowledge on the atmospheric burden that results from these activities and are of use to industry in their life cycle reporting and government agencies responsible for greenhouse gas accounting and policy.
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Short summary
Peatlands are a globally important land cover due to their role as a carbon sink, though peat extraction for horticultural use converts them to net sources. Through ecosystem scale measurements at peat extraction sites, this study found that carbon dioxide interannual variability is driven by water table position.
Peatlands are a globally important land cover due to their role as a carbon sink, though peat...
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