Plant-Induced Changes Mediate Belowground Carbon Cycling in an Experimentally Warmed Peatland

R. M. Wilson; C. C. Petro; M. M. Tfaily; V. G. Salmon; R. J. Norby; K. Duchesneau; J. Birkebak; K. N. Smith; G. Makke; K. E. Briley; S. H. Bosman; S. B. Hodgkins; T. Song; N. A. Griffiths; S. D. Sebestyen; P. J. Hanson; C. W. Schadt; J. E. Kostka; J. P. Chanton

doi:10.1029/2024JG008573

Plant-Induced Changes Mediate Belowground Carbon Cycling in an Experimentally Warmed Peatland

R. M. Wilson
, C. C. Petro
, M. M. Tfaily
, V. G. Salmon
, R. J. Norby
, K. Duchesneau
, J. Birkebak
, K. N. Smith
, G. Makke
, K. E. Briley
, S. H. Bosman
, S. B. Hodgkins
, T. Song
, N. A. Griffiths
, S. D. Sebestyen
, P. J. Hanson
, C. W. Schadt
, J. E. Kostka
, J. P. Chanton

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Warming and elevated atmospheric CO₂ profoundly impact peatland ecosystems, particularly through changes in plant species composition. Plants regulate the initial input of organic compounds to peatland belowground systems, controlling the availability of electron donors and electron acceptors that fuel microbially mediated organic matter decomposition to CO₂ and CH₄. However, explicit links between porewater CO₂ and CH₄ dynamics and plant-derived chemical compounds remain relatively undefined. In a whole ecosystem warming experiment, we investigated how warming affects plant leaf chemical composition and species assemblages, and how the alteration of leaf-derived organic compounds supplied to the subsurface impacts belowground CO₂ and CH₄ production. While earlier studies at our site found no temperature-dependent changes in CH₄ production pathways, our extended timeseries has revealed increased acetoclastic methanogenesis at higher temperatures in certain peat depths, correlated with elevated porewater phenolics. These changes appear driven by the observed increased plant productivity and altered vegetation inputs, which accelerate decomposition and fuel CH₄ production through enhanced substrate availability. We observed warming-induced changes in molecular composition both between and within plant species, suggesting that plant-mediated controls on belowground carbon processing are more complex than previously recognized.

Original language	English
Article number	e2024JG008573
Journal	Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences
Volume	131
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1029/2024JG008573
State	Published - Jan 2026

Funding

This study was funded by the US Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Biological and Environmental Research, Terrestrial Ecosystem Science Program, under US DOE Contracts DE-SC0023297, DE-SC0007144 and DE SC0012088. The Oak Ridge National Laboratory is managed by UT-Battelle, LLC, for the US DOE under Contract DE-AC05-00OR22725. A portion of this research was performed using Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL) (grid.436923.9) (proposal: Wilson ID 49279), a DOE Office of Science User Facility sponsored by the Office of Biological and Environmental Research and located at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). The PNNL is a multiprogram national laboratory operated by Battelle for the DOE under Contract DE-AC05-76RLO 1,830. The participation of R.K.K. and S.D.S. was funded by the Northern Research Station of the USDA Forest Service. The United States Government and the publisher, by accepting the article for publication, acknowledge that the United States Government retains a nonexclusive, paid-up, irrevocable, worldwide license to publish or reproduce the published form of this manuscript, or allow others to do so, for United States Government purposes. The DOE will provide public access to these results of federally sponsored research in accordance with the DOE Public Access Plan (http://energy.gov/downloads/doepublic-access-plan). This study was funded by the US Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Biological and Environmental Research, Terrestrial Ecosystem Science Program, under US DOE Contracts DE‐SC0023297, DE‐SC0007144 and DE SC0012088. The Oak Ridge National Laboratory is managed by UT‐Battelle, LLC, for the US DOE under Contract DE‐AC05‐00OR22725. A portion of this research was performed using Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL) (grid.436923.9) (proposal: Wilson ID 49279), a DOE Office of Science User Facility sponsored by the Office of Biological and Environmental Research and located at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). The PNNL is a multiprogram national laboratory operated by Battelle for the DOE under Contract DE‐AC05‐76RLO 1,830. The participation of R.K.K. and S.D.S. was funded by the Northern Research Station of the USDA Forest Service. The United States Government and the publisher, by accepting the article for publication, acknowledge that the United States Government retains a nonexclusive, paid‐up, irrevocable, worldwide license to publish or reproduce the published form of this manuscript, or allow others to do so, for United States Government purposes. The DOE will provide public access to these results of federally sponsored research in accordance with the DOE Public Access Plan ( http://energy.gov/downloads/doepublic‐access‐plan ).

Keywords

carbon cycling
peatlands
warming

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10.1029/2024JG008573

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Wilson, R. M., Petro, C. C., Tfaily, M. M., Salmon, V. G., Norby, R. J., Duchesneau, K., Birkebak, J., Smith, K. N., Makke, G., Briley, K. E., Bosman, S. H., Hodgkins, S. B., Song, T., Griffiths, N. A., Sebestyen, S. D., Hanson, P. J., Schadt, C. W., Kostka, J. E., & Chanton, J. P. (2026). Plant-Induced Changes Mediate Belowground Carbon Cycling in an Experimentally Warmed Peatland. Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences, 131(1), Article e2024JG008573. https://doi.org/10.1029/2024JG008573

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title = "Plant-Induced Changes Mediate Belowground Carbon Cycling in an Experimentally Warmed Peatland",

abstract = "Warming and elevated atmospheric CO2 profoundly impact peatland ecosystems, particularly through changes in plant species composition. Plants regulate the initial input of organic compounds to peatland belowground systems, controlling the availability of electron donors and electron acceptors that fuel microbially mediated organic matter decomposition to CO2 and CH4. However, explicit links between porewater CO2 and CH4 dynamics and plant-derived chemical compounds remain relatively undefined. In a whole ecosystem warming experiment, we investigated how warming affects plant leaf chemical composition and species assemblages, and how the alteration of leaf-derived organic compounds supplied to the subsurface impacts belowground CO2 and CH4 production. While earlier studies at our site found no temperature-dependent changes in CH4 production pathways, our extended timeseries has revealed increased acetoclastic methanogenesis at higher temperatures in certain peat depths, correlated with elevated porewater phenolics. These changes appear driven by the observed increased plant productivity and altered vegetation inputs, which accelerate decomposition and fuel CH4 production through enhanced substrate availability. We observed warming-induced changes in molecular composition both between and within plant species, suggesting that plant-mediated controls on belowground carbon processing are more complex than previously recognized.",

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year = "2026",

month = jan,

doi = "10.1029/2024JG008573",

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Wilson, RM, Petro, CC, Tfaily, MM, Salmon, VG, Norby, RJ, Duchesneau, K, Birkebak, J, Smith, KN, Makke, G, Briley, KE, Bosman, SH, Hodgkins, SB, Song, T, Griffiths, NA, Sebestyen, SD, Hanson, PJ, Schadt, CW, Kostka, JE & Chanton, JP 2026, 'Plant-Induced Changes Mediate Belowground Carbon Cycling in an Experimentally Warmed Peatland', Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences, vol. 131, no. 1, e2024JG008573. https://doi.org/10.1029/2024JG008573

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T1 - Plant-Induced Changes Mediate Belowground Carbon Cycling in an Experimentally Warmed Peatland

AU - Wilson, R. M.

AU - Petro, C. C.

AU - Tfaily, M. M.

AU - Salmon, V. G.

AU - Norby, R. J.

AU - Duchesneau, K.

AU - Birkebak, J.

AU - Smith, K. N.

AU - Makke, G.

AU - Briley, K. E.

AU - Bosman, S. H.

AU - Hodgkins, S. B.

AU - Song, T.

AU - Griffiths, N. A.

AU - Sebestyen, S. D.

AU - Hanson, P. J.

AU - Schadt, C. W.

AU - Kostka, J. E.

AU - Chanton, J. P.

PY - 2026/1

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N2 - Warming and elevated atmospheric CO2 profoundly impact peatland ecosystems, particularly through changes in plant species composition. Plants regulate the initial input of organic compounds to peatland belowground systems, controlling the availability of electron donors and electron acceptors that fuel microbially mediated organic matter decomposition to CO2 and CH4. However, explicit links between porewater CO2 and CH4 dynamics and plant-derived chemical compounds remain relatively undefined. In a whole ecosystem warming experiment, we investigated how warming affects plant leaf chemical composition and species assemblages, and how the alteration of leaf-derived organic compounds supplied to the subsurface impacts belowground CO2 and CH4 production. While earlier studies at our site found no temperature-dependent changes in CH4 production pathways, our extended timeseries has revealed increased acetoclastic methanogenesis at higher temperatures in certain peat depths, correlated with elevated porewater phenolics. These changes appear driven by the observed increased plant productivity and altered vegetation inputs, which accelerate decomposition and fuel CH4 production through enhanced substrate availability. We observed warming-induced changes in molecular composition both between and within plant species, suggesting that plant-mediated controls on belowground carbon processing are more complex than previously recognized.

AB - Warming and elevated atmospheric CO2 profoundly impact peatland ecosystems, particularly through changes in plant species composition. Plants regulate the initial input of organic compounds to peatland belowground systems, controlling the availability of electron donors and electron acceptors that fuel microbially mediated organic matter decomposition to CO2 and CH4. However, explicit links between porewater CO2 and CH4 dynamics and plant-derived chemical compounds remain relatively undefined. In a whole ecosystem warming experiment, we investigated how warming affects plant leaf chemical composition and species assemblages, and how the alteration of leaf-derived organic compounds supplied to the subsurface impacts belowground CO2 and CH4 production. While earlier studies at our site found no temperature-dependent changes in CH4 production pathways, our extended timeseries has revealed increased acetoclastic methanogenesis at higher temperatures in certain peat depths, correlated with elevated porewater phenolics. These changes appear driven by the observed increased plant productivity and altered vegetation inputs, which accelerate decomposition and fuel CH4 production through enhanced substrate availability. We observed warming-induced changes in molecular composition both between and within plant species, suggesting that plant-mediated controls on belowground carbon processing are more complex than previously recognized.

KW - carbon cycling

KW - peatlands

KW - warming

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105027728012

U2 - 10.1029/2024JG008573

DO - 10.1029/2024JG008573

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:105027728012

SN - 2169-8953

VL - 131

JO - Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences

JF - Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences

IS - 1

M1 - e2024JG008573

ER -

Plant-Induced Changes Mediate Belowground Carbon Cycling in an Experimentally Warmed Peatland

Abstract

Funding

Keywords

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