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Carbon accumulation in permafrost peatlands in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, Canada

B. G. Warner

Wetlands Research Centre and Department of Geography, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada

J. Turunen

Department of Biology, University of Joensuu, Joensuu, Finland

R. Aravena

Wetlands Research Centre and Department of Earth Sciences, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada

Average long-term apparent rates of carbon (C) accumulation (LARCA) were estimated for four peat cores from Arctic and Subarctic Canada. Detailed analyses of dry bulk-density and C content were used to determine variations in C accumulation rates throughout the cores. LARCA range from 12.5 to 16.5 g C m^-2 yr^-1 over the past 6700-10000 years. Rates are lower for the surface layers of Arctic high-centred peat polygons, at 5.3 to 7.1 g C m^-2 yr^-1 for the last 3500-4500 years. By comparison, the rate for the near-surface peat from a Sphagnum fuscum hummock in the high Subarctic was considerably higher, at 24.1 g C m^-2 yr^-1. The highest carbon accumulation rates were from core segments older than 4500 BP, which represent fen stages according to palaeoecological analysis. The average LARCA in our study are considerably lower than recent estimates of average carbon accumulation in Boreal peatlands. This difference is attributable partly to lower carbon percentages in our cores compared to the mean or estimated values of 50 to 51.7% used in those studies. Another factor is the presence of ground ice, which exaggerates the apparent peat depth and leads to erroneously high values if cumulative carbon estimates are based on depth. Using cumulative dry bulk-density, as we have done, eliminates the influence of ground ice and thus makes more accurate estimates possible.

Key Words: Carbon accumulation • peatlands • permafrost • Holocene • Northwest Territories • Canada

The Holocene, Vol. 10, No. 2, 273-280 (2000)
DOI: 10.1191/095968300671749538


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