Widespread global peatland establishment and persistence over the last 130,000 y

Claire C. Treat; Thomas Kleinen; Nils Broothaerts; April S. Dalton; René Dommaine; Thomas A. Douglas; Judith Z. Drexler; Sarah A. Finkelstein; Guido Grosse; Geoffrey Hope; Jack Hutchings; Miriam C. Jones; Peter Kuhry; Terri Lacourse; Outi Lähteenoja; Julie Loisel; Bastiaan Notebaert; R. J. Payne; Dorothy M. Peteet; A. Britta K. Sannel; Jonathan M. Stelling; Jens Strauss; Graeme T. Swindles; Julie Talbot; Charles Tarnocai; Gert Verstraeten; Christopher J. Williams; Zhengyu Xia; Zicheng Yu; Minna Väliranta; Martina Hättestrand; Helena Alexanderson; Victor Brovkin

doi:10.1073/pnas.1813305116

Widespread global peatland establishment and persistence over the last 130,000 y

Claire C. Treat, Thomas Kleinen, Nils Broothaerts, April S. Dalton, René Dommaine, Thomas A. Douglas, Judith Z. Drexler, Sarah A. Finkelstein, Guido Grosse, Geoffrey Hope, Jack Hutchings, Miriam C. Jones, Peter Kuhry, Terri Lacourse, Outi Lähteenoja, Julie Loisel, Bastiaan Notebaert, R. J. Payne, Dorothy M. Peteet, A. Britta K. SannelJonathan M. Stelling, Jens Strauss, Graeme T. Swindles, Julie Talbot, Charles Tarnocai, Gert Verstraeten, Christopher J. Williams, Zhengyu Xia, Zicheng Yu, Minna Väliranta, Martina Hättestrand, Helena Alexanderson, Victor Brovkin

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

94 Scopus citations

Abstract

Glacial-interglacial variations in CO ₂ and methane in polar ice cores have been attributed, in part, to changes in global wetland extent, but the wetland distribution before the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM, 21 ka to 18 ka) remains virtually unknown. We present a study of global peatland extent and carbon (C) stocks through the last glacial cycle (130 ka to present) using a newly compiled database of 1,063 detailed stratigraphic records of peat deposits buried by mineral sediments, as well as a global peatland model. Quantitative agreement between modeling and observations shows extensive peat accumulation before the LGM in northern latitudes (>40 ^° N), particularly during warmer periods including the last interglacial (130 ka to 116 ka, MIS 5e) and the interstadial (57 ka to 29 ka, MIS 3). During cooling periods of glacial advance and permafrost formation, the burial of northern peatlands by glaciers and mineral sediments decreased active peatland extent, thickness, and modeled C stocks by 70 to 90% from warmer times. Tropical peatland extent and C stocks show little temporal variation throughout the study period. While the increased burial of northern peats was correlated with cooling periods, the burial of tropical peat was predominately driven by changes in sea level and regional hydrology. Peat burial by mineral sediments represents a mechanism for long-term terrestrial C storage in the Earth system. These results show that northern peatlands accumulate significant C stocks during warmer times, indicating their potential for C sequestration during the warming Anthropocene.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	4822-4827
Number of pages	6
Journal	Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Volume	116
Issue number	11
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1813305116
State	Published - 2019
Externally published	Yes

Funding

We thank S. Frolking for helpful discussion. C.C.T. was supported by the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology, National Science Foundation (NSF) Award ARC-1304823, Academy of Finland (CAPTURE Project). T.K. was supported by the German Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) Grants 03G0836C and 01LP1507B. T.A.D. was supported by the US Army Engineer Research and Development Center Basic Research (6.1) and Strategic Environmental Research and Development Programs. S.A.F., T.L., and J.T. were supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. G.G. and J.S. were supported by the European Research Council (Grants 338335 and HGF ERC-0013). M.C.J. was supported by U.S. Geological Survey Climate and Land Use Research Program and NSF Award ARC-1304823. J.M.S., Z.X., and Z.Y. were supported by NSF (Awards ARC-1107981, PLR-1246190, and EAR-1502891). R.J.P. was supported by the Russian Science Foundation (Grant 14-14-00891). This work is the result of a Past Global Changes Carbon in Peat on Earth through Time (PAGES C-PEAT) working group. Any use of trade, product, or firm names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the US government. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. We thank S. Frolking for helpful discussion. C.C.T. was supported by the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology, National Science Foundation (NSF) Award ARC-1304823, Academy of Finland (CAPTURE Project). T.K. was supported by the German Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) Grants 03G0836C and 01LP1507B. T.A.D. was supported by the US Army Engineer Research and Development Center Basic Research (6.1) and Strategic Environmental Research and Development Programs. S.A.F., T.L., and J.T. were supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. G.G. and J.S. were supported by the European Research Council (Grants 338335 and HGF ERC-0013). M.C.J. was supported by U.S. Geological Survey Climate and Land Use Research Program and NSF Award ARC-1304823. J.M.S., Z.X., and Z.Y. were supported by NSF (Awards ARC-1107981, PLR-1246190, and EAR-1502891). R.J.P. was supported by the Russian Science Foundation (Grant 14-14-00891). This work is the result of a Past Global Changes Carbon in Peat on Earth through Time (PAGES C-PEAT) working group. Any use of trade, product, or firm names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the US government.

Keywords

Carbon
Carbon burial
Methane
Peatlands
Quaternary

Access to Document

10.1073/pnas.1813305116

Cite this

Treat, C. C., Kleinen, T., Broothaerts, N., Dalton, A. S., Dommaine, R., Douglas, T. A., Drexler, J. Z., Finkelstein, S. A., Grosse, G., Hope, G., Hutchings, J., Jones, M. C., Kuhry, P., Lacourse, T., Lähteenoja, O., Loisel, J., Notebaert, B., Payne, R. J., Peteet, D. M., ... Brovkin, V. (2019). Widespread global peatland establishment and persistence over the last 130,000 y. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 116(11), 4822-4827. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1813305116

@article{ffacca0c2cf949b283bf47c887c2cc03,

title = "Widespread global peatland establishment and persistence over the last 130,000 y",

abstract = " Glacial-interglacial variations in CO 2 and methane in polar ice cores have been attributed, in part, to changes in global wetland extent, but the wetland distribution before the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM, 21 ka to 18 ka) remains virtually unknown. We present a study of global peatland extent and carbon (C) stocks through the last glacial cycle (130 ka to present) using a newly compiled database of 1,063 detailed stratigraphic records of peat deposits buried by mineral sediments, as well as a global peatland model. Quantitative agreement between modeling and observations shows extensive peat accumulation before the LGM in northern latitudes (>40 ° N), particularly during warmer periods including the last interglacial (130 ka to 116 ka, MIS 5e) and the interstadial (57 ka to 29 ka, MIS 3). During cooling periods of glacial advance and permafrost formation, the burial of northern peatlands by glaciers and mineral sediments decreased active peatland extent, thickness, and modeled C stocks by 70 to 90% from warmer times. Tropical peatland extent and C stocks show little temporal variation throughout the study period. While the increased burial of northern peats was correlated with cooling periods, the burial of tropical peat was predominately driven by changes in sea level and regional hydrology. Peat burial by mineral sediments represents a mechanism for long-term terrestrial C storage in the Earth system. These results show that northern peatlands accumulate significant C stocks during warmer times, indicating their potential for C sequestration during the warming Anthropocene.",

keywords = "Carbon, Carbon burial, Methane, Peatlands, Quaternary",

author = "Treat, {Claire C.} and Thomas Kleinen and Nils Broothaerts and Dalton, {April S.} and Ren{\'e} Dommaine and Douglas, {Thomas A.} and Drexler, {Judith Z.} and Finkelstein, {Sarah A.} and Guido Grosse and Geoffrey Hope and Jack Hutchings and Jones, {Miriam C.} and Peter Kuhry and Terri Lacourse and Outi L{\"a}hteenoja and Julie Loisel and Bastiaan Notebaert and Payne, {R. J.} and Peteet, {Dorothy M.} and Sannel, {A. Britta K.} and Stelling, {Jonathan M.} and Jens Strauss and Swindles, {Graeme T.} and Julie Talbot and Charles Tarnocai and Gert Verstraeten and Williams, {Christopher J.} and Zhengyu Xia and Zicheng Yu and Minna V{\"a}liranta and Martina H{\"a}ttestrand and Helena Alexanderson and Victor Brovkin",

year = "2019",

doi = "10.1073/pnas.1813305116",

language = "English",

volume = "116",

pages = "4822--4827",

journal = "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America",

issn = "0027-8424",

publisher = "National Academy of Sciences",

number = "11",

}

Treat, CC, Kleinen, T, Broothaerts, N, Dalton, AS, Dommaine, R, Douglas, TA, Drexler, JZ, Finkelstein, SA, Grosse, G, Hope, G, Hutchings, J, Jones, MC, Kuhry, P, Lacourse, T, Lähteenoja, O, Loisel, J, Notebaert, B, Payne, RJ, Peteet, DM, Sannel, ABK, Stelling, JM, Strauss, J, Swindles, GT, Talbot, J, Tarnocai, C, Verstraeten, G, Williams, CJ, Xia, Z, Yu, Z, Väliranta, M, Hättestrand, M, Alexanderson, H & Brovkin, V 2019, 'Widespread global peatland establishment and persistence over the last 130,000 y', Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, vol. 116, no. 11, pp. 4822-4827. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1813305116

TY - JOUR

T1 - Widespread global peatland establishment and persistence over the last 130,000 y

AU - Treat, Claire C.

AU - Kleinen, Thomas

AU - Broothaerts, Nils

AU - Dalton, April S.

AU - Dommaine, René

AU - Douglas, Thomas A.

AU - Drexler, Judith Z.

AU - Finkelstein, Sarah A.

AU - Grosse, Guido

AU - Hope, Geoffrey

AU - Hutchings, Jack

AU - Jones, Miriam C.

AU - Kuhry, Peter

AU - Lacourse, Terri

AU - Lähteenoja, Outi

AU - Loisel, Julie

AU - Notebaert, Bastiaan

AU - Payne, R. J.

AU - Peteet, Dorothy M.

AU - Sannel, A. Britta K.

AU - Stelling, Jonathan M.

AU - Strauss, Jens

AU - Swindles, Graeme T.

AU - Talbot, Julie

AU - Tarnocai, Charles

AU - Verstraeten, Gert

AU - Williams, Christopher J.

AU - Xia, Zhengyu

AU - Yu, Zicheng

AU - Väliranta, Minna

AU - Hättestrand, Martina

AU - Alexanderson, Helena

AU - Brovkin, Victor

PY - 2019

Y1 - 2019

N2 - Glacial-interglacial variations in CO 2 and methane in polar ice cores have been attributed, in part, to changes in global wetland extent, but the wetland distribution before the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM, 21 ka to 18 ka) remains virtually unknown. We present a study of global peatland extent and carbon (C) stocks through the last glacial cycle (130 ka to present) using a newly compiled database of 1,063 detailed stratigraphic records of peat deposits buried by mineral sediments, as well as a global peatland model. Quantitative agreement between modeling and observations shows extensive peat accumulation before the LGM in northern latitudes (>40 ° N), particularly during warmer periods including the last interglacial (130 ka to 116 ka, MIS 5e) and the interstadial (57 ka to 29 ka, MIS 3). During cooling periods of glacial advance and permafrost formation, the burial of northern peatlands by glaciers and mineral sediments decreased active peatland extent, thickness, and modeled C stocks by 70 to 90% from warmer times. Tropical peatland extent and C stocks show little temporal variation throughout the study period. While the increased burial of northern peats was correlated with cooling periods, the burial of tropical peat was predominately driven by changes in sea level and regional hydrology. Peat burial by mineral sediments represents a mechanism for long-term terrestrial C storage in the Earth system. These results show that northern peatlands accumulate significant C stocks during warmer times, indicating their potential for C sequestration during the warming Anthropocene.

AB - Glacial-interglacial variations in CO 2 and methane in polar ice cores have been attributed, in part, to changes in global wetland extent, but the wetland distribution before the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM, 21 ka to 18 ka) remains virtually unknown. We present a study of global peatland extent and carbon (C) stocks through the last glacial cycle (130 ka to present) using a newly compiled database of 1,063 detailed stratigraphic records of peat deposits buried by mineral sediments, as well as a global peatland model. Quantitative agreement between modeling and observations shows extensive peat accumulation before the LGM in northern latitudes (>40 ° N), particularly during warmer periods including the last interglacial (130 ka to 116 ka, MIS 5e) and the interstadial (57 ka to 29 ka, MIS 3). During cooling periods of glacial advance and permafrost formation, the burial of northern peatlands by glaciers and mineral sediments decreased active peatland extent, thickness, and modeled C stocks by 70 to 90% from warmer times. Tropical peatland extent and C stocks show little temporal variation throughout the study period. While the increased burial of northern peats was correlated with cooling periods, the burial of tropical peat was predominately driven by changes in sea level and regional hydrology. Peat burial by mineral sediments represents a mechanism for long-term terrestrial C storage in the Earth system. These results show that northern peatlands accumulate significant C stocks during warmer times, indicating their potential for C sequestration during the warming Anthropocene.

KW - Carbon

KW - Carbon burial

KW - Methane

KW - Peatlands

KW - Quaternary

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85062870461&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1073/pnas.1813305116

DO - 10.1073/pnas.1813305116

M3 - Article

C2 - 30804186

AN - SCOPUS:85062870461

SN - 0027-8424

VL - 116

SP - 4822

EP - 4827

JO - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

JF - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

IS - 11

ER -

Widespread global peatland establishment and persistence over the last 130,000 y

Abstract

Funding

Keywords

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Cite this