articleProceedings of the National Academy of SciencesAug 10, 2020HYBRID OA

Large stocks of peatland carbon and nitrogen are vulnerable to permafrost thaw

GHGustaf HugeliusJLJulie LoiselSCSarah ChadburnRBRobert B. JacksonMCMiriam C. Jones

Stockholm University · Bolin Centre for Climate Research · +16 more institutions

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Abstract

Significance Over many millennia, northern peatlands have accumulated large amounts of carbon and nitrogen, thus cooling the global climate. Over shorter timescales, peatland disturbances can trigger losses of peat and release of greenhouses gases. Despite their importance to the global climate, peatlands remain poorly mapped, and the vulnerability of permafrost peatlands to warming is uncertain. This study compiles over 7,000 field observations to present a data-driven map of northern peatlands and their carbon and nitrogen stocks. We use these maps to model the impact of permafrost thaw on peatlands and find that warming will likely shift the greenhouse gas balance of northern peatlands. At present,…

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Topics & keywords

Topics
Keywords
  • Peat
  • Permafrost
  • Environmental science
  • Greenhouse gas
  • Global warming
  • Climate change
  • Carbon fibers
  • Boreal
UN Sustainable Development Goals
  • Climate action
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